Daily Times

Fatima starts her day before sunrise. After offering her prayers, she feeds and milks the cow, cleans up the shed and sweeps the courtyard. After that she starts cooking the breakfast and also shuttles between kitchen and bedroom to get her three children ready for school. Her husband suffered an accident afew years ago and lost his ability to walk. Fatima has to leave for cotton picking in the field so she can gather enough wheat that she gets in return of her labour to feed her family for coming months. Apart from this seasonal work, she stitches clothes to make ends meet for her family. Fatima’s biggest dream is to get her children educated so that they don’t have to face the same faith as their parents.

Gul works in a stitching unit. She works from nine to five. Then she goes to a vocational training school where she works as a tailoring instructor. Her work ends around eight in the evening. When she gets home her mother and two young sisters are waiting for her for dinner. She lost her father in an accident and had to say goodbye to her studies. She is the only breadwinner for her family. The thought of making her mother happy and her sisters independent keeps her going with a positive mindset.

Gul and Fatima are two different individuals, but they have one thing in common: love for their family. Both work tirelessly to bring happiness to their loved ones.

These uncommonly strong common women represent the 49 percent of the total population of Pakistan. In 2017, Pakistan’s total literacy rate was around 59 percent, with less than 47 percent of women being literate and more than 71 percent of men. In big cities, this parity in access to education is not that visible, but in areas like rural Sindh and south Punjab this divide becomes more evident. Illiteracy adds to the existing economic deprivation in women.

The Pakistan Employment Trends Report 2017 by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics shows thatlabour force participation of women is approximately 23percent as compared to 81 percent in men. Labour force participation of women is lowest (9 percent) in Balochistan and highest (29 percent) in Punjab province. An important factor leading to less participation in gainful economic activities is that women are ten times more responsible for household chores that leaves them with less time to engage in economically rewarding work. Research proves that without including women in economic development activities, no country can achieve its development goals. So, serious work is to be done for improving the literacy rate and skill development opportunities for females in Pakistan.

Women are ten times more responsible for household chores that leaves them with less time to engage in economically rewarding work

According to the Bureau of Statistics, working more than 50 hours a week comes under excessive work. This indicator also represents working for low pay in informal work environment. Ironically, 56 percent women working in agriculture sector in our country are working excessive hours. The International Labour Organisation explains that people engaged in vulnerable employment are less likely to get decent working conditions, adequate social security and right to voice their concerns. Vulnerable employment is often characterised by inadequate earnings, low productivity and difficult conditions for work that undermine the workers’ basic rights. A labour force survey indicates that 70 percent females aged 15 years and above are engaged in vulnerable employment. There is a need to improve implementation of labour laws and discourage gender-based exploitation of women workers. On one hand, skill development programmes should be launched so women can get skilled jobs, and on the other, they need to be made aware of their rights as workers.

Zara is an aspiring doctor working in a non-profit organisation. She is an effective communicator and empathetic professional who not only leads her team with zeal but also makes a wonderful team player. She is always willing to go an extra mile to facilitate her clients. Her beautiful smile never lets any one around her feel the challenges she faces being a mother of two wonderful boys with special needs. The challenges faced by her children look skimpy in front of her efforts and conviction. She has converted challenges into opportunities and is not only leading her children to success but also guiding hundreds of parents of special children to the road of hope and success.

Zara is a true representative of hardworking women professionals. Recent researches have also proved that women work harder than men. HIVE, a productivity platform, gathered data in a survey from 3,000 workers. Their research findings revealed that women are ten percent more hard working than men. Men and women both complete 66 percent of work assigned to them, but females are assigned 10 percent more work than men. Another important finding of their study was that women are more likely to be assigned non-promotable tasks, which are beneficial for the organisation but not for the career growth. In other words, women are assigned the work that men do not like to do.

Quaid-e-Azam said, “No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you.” In order to flourish as a just society, we have to give, not less, not equal but rightful place to every segment of society to ensure equity and inclusion.

The writer is a Director Programs & Projects at Rising Sun Education & Welfare Society