Daily Times

What is Gender equality and how it can be achieved? the answer is very much simple gender equality is achieved when women and men enjoy the same rights and opportunities across all sectors of society, including economic participation and decision-making, and when the different behaviours, aspirations and needs of women and men are equally valued and favoured.

Let me define it more briefly according to Wikipedia, “Gender equality, also known as sex equality, gender egalitarianism, sexual equality, or equality of the genders, is the belief that everyone should receive equal treatment and not be discriminated against based on their gender. Gender equality is one of the objectives of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The principle of equality of women and men and the corresponding prohibition of discrimination is a fundamental principle of international human rights law. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948 proclaims that:

Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Similar anti-discrimination provisions can be found in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Articles 2 (1) and 3) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Articles 2 (1) and 3), which were adopted in 1966 and, together with the UDHR, constitute the “International Bill of Human Rights”.

But on the other hand gender inequality is a bitter fact of life but, unfortunately, little is being done in most countries to change the situation for the better. According to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report, 2016, the world is facing a serious challenge by not acting faster to tackle gender inequality, which deprives most economies of the opportunity to develop.

The report, published annually, measures progress made towards ensuring gender parity in four areas, including educational attainment, health and survival, economic opportunity and political empowerment. First published in 2006, the Global Gender Gap Report ranks 145 countries according to their gender equality in these four sectors. The Index classifies countries based on how well they cater to the needs of their female population based on economic, educational, health and political indicators.

According to the report, Iceland led the index for the eighth consecutive year, closing more than 87 percent of its overall gender gap, followed by Finland at second and Norway at the third place. Sweden is at No.4, while the next highest placed nation is Rwanda, which moved one place ahead of Ireland to 5th position. Following Ireland, the Philippines remained unchanged at 7th, narrowly ahead of Slovenia (8) and New Zealand (9). With Switzerland dropping out of the top 10, 10th position is taken up by Nicaragua.

Interestingly, the United States (45) loses 17 places since last year, primarily due to a more transparent measure for the estimated earned income. Other major economies in the top 20 include Germany (13), France (17) and the United Kingdom (20). If we look into South Asia, with 67% of its overall gap closed, is home to two of the top 10 climbers of the world since 2006: Nepal (110) and India (87). Nevertheless, progress in closing the economic gap has been negligible and it could take over 1,000 years to close the economic gender gap fully unless efforts are accelerated. The lowest placed region – having closed 60% of its overall gender gap – is the Middle East and North Africa. With only Israel (49) in the global top 50, the next highest in the region are Qatar (119), Algeria (120), the United Arab Emirates (124). Like South Asia, progress in addressing economic inequalities has been too slow and will not be closed for a further 356 years at today’s rate. Nevertheless, it is home to some of the most improved nations since 2006 on economic participation, including Saudi Arabia (141), Bahrain (131) and Yemen (144).

Sadly, Pakistan’s position in the global gender gap index has not improved much from last year. Pakistan is ranked 143rd rank, above Yemen, which is at the bottom. Pakistan’s poor ranking presents a bleak portrait of the state of modest progress made on female empowerment and gender equality. In Pakistan, discrimination against woman starts since her birth. While girls face restrictions at all stages of their lives, they are, mostly, not allowed to take independent decisions in their lives. Too much emphasis is put on the way women dress. Women are asked to cover up; many women are not allowed to leave their houses without permission. Women exist among countless restrictions whereas men are free to do as they please.

Over the years there has been no real change in treatment of females in Pakistan. Honour killing continues and will continue unless there is a change in the mindset. A majority of women cannot move beyond the status patriarchy assigns to them, thereby remaining excluded from developing necessary skills to be part of the work force. In Pakistan, 98 percent top managers in banks and other financial institutions, government departments and industrial units are males. This clearly shows that women are not treated equally as candidates for top management positions. Males are given priority over females in a country where females are more in number. On a serious note government should introduce laws that prohibit gender discrimination and offer remedies for such behaviour in employment as well as in educational and financial institutions. Legislative measures need to be taken so that females feel free to take decisions about their life.

We should remember that Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but also a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.

The writer is a social and political activist based in Lahore. Presently, he is linked with a humanitarian organization working in Interior Sindh. He can be reached at salmanali088@gmail.com