Sunday, January 17, 2021
Women at a loss: In 2021, woman still have many hurdles to cross to succeed in Pakistan
World Bank’s Human Capital Index (HCI) notes that a female child born in 2020 will be 44 per cent less productive than those born in the pre-pandemic years. HCI measures the contribution of health and education to the world’s citizens’ productivity and economic potential.
As per recent World Bank reports, a female child born in Pakistan today has 59 per cent fewer chances of reaching her full potential. The number is the lowest amongst all countries in the region, and most others in lower-income groups. If the HCI measures are believed, Pakistan is wasting nearly 60 per cent of its human potential.
Moreover, Pakistan ranks 154 out of 184 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI), another UNDP measurement based on life expectancy, education and per capita income. The rankings are a definite cause of worry for a country grappling with several socio-economic concerns. The most troubling part is that when the HCI and HDI rankings for Pakistan are discounted for gender inequality, we find ourselves among the worst performers in the nations’ league.
The startling number of out-of-school children is a prime issue for Pakistan, especially when it comes to girls’ education. Only 27.6 per cent of women have earned secondary level education. This compares poorly with 45.7 per cent achievement for their male counterparts.
With millions of young women unable to continue their education online, young mothers deprived of routine antenatal checkups, coupled with reduced family income in the year 2020, the future appears even bleaker.
The year of the pandemic’s spread has significantly impacted the lives of women everywhere, with the United Nations calling gender-based violence in 2020 a shadow pandemic.
There have been news reports of a surge in domestic violence, honour killings and gender-based violence during the lockdown that has led to an increase in depression, aggression and violent behaviour within households.
With a notable increase in rape cases during the first quarter of 2020, the reported number stands at 1,868. The lockdown, otherwise an effective strategy for containing Covid-19, could not prevent female kidnappings — the number of kidnapped women in the last half of 2020 was a staggering 6,720.
The shift to remote learning and working systems during the pandemic further proved that women are not safe in cyber-spaces, as cases of online harassment increased manifold in the last year.
In the pandemic year, 4,737 women suffered sexual violence, and 1,843 faced severe domestic violence. Unfortunately, most social welfare helplines at the provincial level were shut down during the Covid- -19 lockdown in Pakistan. The police helpline and the Ministry of Human Rights Helpline, which remained available, received approximately 40,000 calls a month seeking a referral, legal advice and actual physical recovery.
National Disaster Management Authority of Pakistan also has a dedicated Gender and Child Cell to support the most vulnerable population during emergencies. After the Sheikhupura gang-rape incident in December, one can only hope that a better emergency helpline system for women and children is established.
As the world moves into 2021, a woman still has many hurdles to cross to succeed in Pakistan.
Female participation in the labour market continues to remain low (21.9 percent compared to 81.7 per cent for men).
One of the primary reasons for women lagging in entrepreneurial ventures is a lack of access to finances. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has noted that only 3 per cent of small and medium business loans go to women. Only 19 per cent of the microfinance loans go to women.
The Ehsaas programme aimed at supporting women from the low-income background is a step in the right direction.
Notifications such as the Policy for Counteracting Harassment Issues in Educational Institutions, bills like the Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Amendment Bill 2019 show the government’s intent to sensitise institutions to the predicament of Pakistani women.
In a significant move at the start of the 2021, Lahore High Court has directed the Government of the Punjab to abolish the virginity tests.
In 2021, actionable research will play a pivotal role in informing policymakers to make better decisions regarding increasing gender equality. Decisive policy changes are pivotal for Pakistan’s improved performance in the HDI and the HCI.
Policymakers and researchers must work together this year to find effective ways to protect and promote the country’s female population. Programmes focused on promoting equality overall should be a focus of research now. Social protection schemes will also help foster a culture of safety and openness and reduce the ever-widening gender gap.
A focus on women empowerment in 2021 is critical to the country’s socio-economic growth. The hope remains that Pakistan, through dedicated effort, will see a change for the better in women’s safety and gender equality measures.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/775198-women-at-a-loss
Pakistan - Sexually victimized - The problem needs serious attention
Pakistan has become a country where sexual abuse is the most ubiquitous form of violence against children and women. Sexual exploitation of children and women is a long-standing and unbridled iniquity that haunts our society. The evil reminds us that we have failed to safeguard our most vulnerable citizens for a long time.
A very few of the painful and hair-raising incidents of sexual abuse against females that occurred in 2020’s last two months must be mentioned here. In December, just three days after her marriage, a woman was gang-raped in the presence of her in-laws in the Farooqabad area of Punjab’s Sheikhupura district. A young girl was gang-raped in Larkana district of Sindh. In November, six girls of 5 to 15 years of age were raped in Kasur district’s Sarai Mughal village. A woman and her four-year-old daughter were allegedly subjected to rape for three days in the Kashmore district of Sindh.
The barbarous and degrading actions of sexual abuse occur very frequently in Pakistan’s society with not even slight hesitation or fear of punishment. These activities, which can never be regarded as normal and socially acceptable, are the worst case of human rights violation. Such unkind deeds are the evidence of the existence of moral degradation, barbarity and viciousness.
Globally, the age at which a person may give effective and full consent to marriage is generally set between 12 to 18 years. Pakistan under the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 has set the age 16 for girls and 18 for boys to give consent to marriage. While Sindh, under the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2013, sets 18 years of age for both genders.
Forcible sexual relations or sexual intercourse with a person under the age of consent is regarded as a statutory rape. The definition shows that child marriage is a statutory rape. Regrettably, in Pakistan, statutory rape, not unlike most countries across the world, is enormously pervasive. UNICEF reported that 21 percent of girls are married under the age of 18 and 3 percent before 15. Victims of statutory rape experience adverse long term psychological effects and physical mutilation which include sexually transmitted diseases.
However, the perpetrators of this heinous crime deserve to be awarded stringent and harsh punishment commensurate with their inhuman and monstrous activities. It will help reduce the sexual abuse incidence in the country. To ensure the administration of justice to victims of the heinous crime, there is a desperate need to take concrete measures for the effective implementation of punishments awarded to sexual abusers under Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The law has introduced imprisonment for 10 to 25 years for rape and hanging or life imprisonment for gang-rape.
It shows that in Pakistan the situation for children and women has become startling and precarious as the horrific crimes against them have become increasingly commonplace. They have been molested, raped and murdered by beasts roaming around freely in the garb of human beings. Sahil, a local NGO, revealed that around 2,846 cases of rape and sexual abuse in 2018 and 3,832 in 2019 were reported across Pakistan. In the first six months of 2020, around 1489 children were sexually abused. In reality, for the state, protection of children and women has become a superhuman task. All this has created a sense of fear and a feeling of constant horror among children, women and their families. They could not sleep with ease and solace.
The fact is that survivors of rape can experience strenuous and agonizing sentiments and feelings. With a slight variation, every survivor reacts to disturbing incidents. The survivors face unpleasant effects which include flashbacks, ephialtes, intense disquietude, long-lasting dejection and despondence. They face the lack of interest in activities they enjoyed previously and focus on their work and schooling. They develop a sense of deep distrust of others and think that the world is not a safe place to live.
The science of psychology terms rape a form of torture. Rape survivors develop feelings of shame, indignity, fear and bewilderment. They feel overwhelmingly vulnerable to sexual attackers. Besides, in most cases, victims of rape always face the threats of ostracism or killing by family members to safeguard so called honour.
Shockingly, police have been found reluctant to register most rape and gang-rape cases and arrest the accused. After stories of these painful incidents go viral on the social, print and electronic media, and people take to the streets to protest against the incidents, police per force lodge the cases and bring about some arrests. This behaviour of the force is the result of the existence of inefficiency and corruption, and involvement of influential people in the cases.
The cases of rapes and gang rapes should be dealt in special courts established under the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Ordinance, 2020, for speedy trials of accused rapists. Punishment of chemical castration that the Ordinance, 2020 introduces for rapists is inadequate. However, the perpetrators of this heinous crime deserve to be awarded stringent and harsh punishment commensurate with their inhuman and monstrous activities. It will help reduce the sexual abuse incidence in the country.
To ensure the administration of justice to victims of the heinous crime, there is a desperate need to take concrete measures for the effective implementation of punishments awarded to sexual abusers under Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The law has introduced imprisonment for 10 to 25 years for rape and hanging or life imprisonment for gang-rape.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2021/01/17/sexually-victimized/
#Pakistan - People are worried for the country, and it is because of the illegitimate Prime Minister that the country stands at this position, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the people are worried where the country stands today because of the illegitimate Prime Minister as this has never happened in our history.
Addressing a press conference at Media Cell Bilawal House, the PPP Chairman said that the issue of PIA plane in Malaysia shows where the country stands at the moment. There is a blackout in the country, but the government has no answer.
He said that Pakistan was lagging far behind the neighbouring countries in terms of vaccines against COVID-19. The government has not yet imported any vaccines, and the government will take the matter to the private sector, after which whoever has the money will be able to get the vaccine. He said the Sindh government had been told by the Federal government that the vaccine would be available by January, after which the provincial government had made all preparations. He pointed out that the instant lockdown initiated by Sindh government caused less damage to the country after the coronavirus epidemic, but now the only solution is a vaccine.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the people are worried due to severe shortage of gas, but the incompetent and incapable government is not aware of the problems of the common man. He said that Sindh should be given priority in the supply and supply of gas, which is its fundamental right. “Our islands and hospitals are being snatched from us,” he added saying the matter of hospitals is in the court, and we have already filed a review petition in this regard.
Responding to a question, the PPP Chairman said that the PDM would protest in front of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on January 19 and demanded that ECP should first take the case against the PTI to its logical conclusion.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, while referring to the presidential reference regarding the Senate elections, said that the Federal government has once again tried to make an institution controversial, and the court has no role in this matter.
Senator Sherry Rehman, PPPP Information Secretary MNA Shazia Marri and Sindh Information Minister Nasir Shah were also present on the occasion.