Daily Times

Human beings are on a level playing field. They should have lived in peace with each other. To some extent, along the way, women have begun to be considered inferior and have not received the attention they deserve. They are not allowed to make their own decisions and must abide by the restrictions placed on them. The empowerment of women is a global initiative aimed at bringing women to the same level as men and aimed at enhancing all rights to the social, economic and educational needs of women. It is about creating an environment without gender inequality. It ensures that they have equal opportunities in the family, culture, community, and workplace. Women account for roughly half of the world’s population, implying that there will be no growth or progress in the country without them. Women’s empowerment would foster society’s overall growth due to their active involvement in all fields. The empowerment of women means that women have the ability to grant them equal rights in life, work and decisions in various fields, such as personal, social, economic, political and legal. Women are increasingly capable of determining their own lives and occupations, and of realizing their full potential.

Gender equality is a strategy for women’s liberation. It is a human right, but men and women in our society also have unequal access to opportunities and decision-making authority. Women have less opportunity to engage in economic and fiscal activities than men in the world, women have less reach to education, and are more susceptible to health, security and safety threats. Such marches are not only for achievement of gender equality, but also for the achievement of development goals, ensuring women’s rights and also provide them the opportunities to achieve their full potential and talent is critical. Women and girls who are empowered have the potential to contribute to the health, education, betterment of their families, community, society and countries, and they have also a positive ripple impact that benefits the world.

If we look in the history to grasp the women status, it can be found that in Greek mythology, the woman is considered the root of all evil. The Greeks portrayed women in the name of art to promote unfettered sex. In the second civilization, the Romans and their philosopher Seneca condemned the depraved family system of the Romans. A movement called “Floralia” promoted the atmosphere of debauchery.

“Women are the unavoidable bad, sad disasters, and seductive problems,” Chrysostom said of Christianity. “The feminine condition is a deformity,” Aristotle claimed. “Women are immoral men,” says Roman Catholic Aquino (Aquino). “Women are the root of stupidity and irrationality,” Nietzsche, a German philosopher, argues. In modern Europe, women do not have the same rights. This has led to the feminist movement; they have been fighting for equal rights for women.

Empowerment is multidimensional, because it encompasses personal financial independence, social awareness, and political awareness. These elements can be divided into economic authorization, social authorization and political authorization

Before the advent of Arab Islam, the status of fairness was daunting. Sometimes girls are killed as soon as they are born. Men can marry or divorce as many times as they want. The number of wives is unlimited. Islam liberated women in all aspects. The rule that empowers women in the Islamic way of life is freedom.

Empowerment is multidimensional, because it encompasses personal financial independence, social awareness, and political awareness. These elements can be divided into economic authorization, social authorization and political authorization.

Usually, when a woman is empowered, the family will move, the village will move, and the country will move. Perhaps the best form of empowerment is to make women the mainstream of development. Only by empowering women with income and property, enabling them to stand up and establish their social status, and empower women can it be real and effective. The empowerment of women has become one of the most important concerns of the 21st century not only at the national level but also at the international level. Government initiatives alone are not enough to achieve this goal. The society must take the initiative to create an atmosphere free of gender discrimination, and women have ample opportunities to make decisions and participate in the country’s social, political and economic life with an equal consciousness. The world is undergoing tremendous changes in this contemporary society. Another need is to empower women to change the situation of women. In this male-dominated society, changing society’s attitudes towards women can promote social development, contribute to the professional, social, political and economic growth of the country and the world, and beautify the world.

Pakistani women face a variety of social ills as a result of the society’s and country’s deeply rooted patriarchal social, religious, and political structures. Sexual inequality is caused by systemic discrimination, which includes, but is not limited to, forced marriage and early childhood marriage. Lack of formal public education opportunities, lack of mobility and access to two-wheelers, lack of free and safe use of public spaces, domestic abuse, sexual assault and family violence, public transit and workplaces, wage disparity, and the right to sexual freedom Under religious garb, there is freedom of movement, choice, and equality. Women are the victims of a variety of serious crimes, such as rights violations and retaliation, including but not limited to acid attacks and unexplained honour killings, about which culture is often quiet and the state often ignores. With the aid of social media, a new generation of women started collectively questioning the status quo under the leadership of the feminist movement.

Aurat March 2021 focused on the women’s health issue, economic disparity and domestic violence to bring attention and adverse impact of Pandemic on women in Pakistan. During Covid 19 Pandemic time, 2,297 cases of domestic violence have been increased. There were 57 % cases in Punjab, 27% cases from Sindh. In Aurat March, it is tried to express that patriarchy is the major factor behind this domestic violence against the women during this pandemic.

Most of Pakistanis have criticized the Aurat March just because of the inappropriate slogans. The slogans and play-cards were not made to attract people of all walks of life. These were considered vulgar and inapt in their nature. Pakistanis’ are not against the Aurat March but they have reservations on the way they conducted the protest. The protest should be so attractive and eye catching that must respected be respected by people of all walks of life. Anyhow, overall, the Aurat March has given a new dimension to Pakistani women to think about their rights for the betterment of their lives. In nutshell, women must continue their fight for their rights and equal empowerment.

Nasir Khan (Ph.D. Scholar in Media and Crime, CSS Coach and author of different books on International Relations, Criminology and Gender Studies)fastian.mentor @gmail.com