Gender Equality & Women Empowerment!

Gender equality and Women empowerment, is it a foreign agenda? Are women supposed to sit at home and do nothing at all? Women empowerment refers to increasing and improving social, economic, political and legal strength of the women to ensure their equal rights and to exercise control over decisions that affect their lives. Women all over the world have been facing challenges and gender inequalities since the beginning of time. In Muslim states, especially in Pakistan if we seek the religious point of view it would be understandable that in Quran and Hadith there is an emphasis on the protection of rights of women; including rights of education, freedom of opinion, choice of spouse, economic freedom and social role is given. An example of which is Hazrat Khadija(R.A) and her business.

“No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you; we are victims of evil customs. It is a crime against humanity that our women are shut up within the four walls of the houses as prisoners. There is no sanction anywhere for the deplorable condition in which our women have to live.” – Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Is this of lesser value where the leader or forefather of a nation promotes equality or our own religion promotes benefits for the women? Yet we suppress them.

Many of our people with huge qualifying degrees suppress women and prefer them to be bound at home. Although with a literate mind and qualification, one should know women empowerment is a vital tool, globalizing this idea is essential because it would result in overall development of society both at micro and macro level. Women can help boost the economy nationally and internationally, but a few social barriers prevent them from playing a vital role as financial, political affairs and firms. Whereas, 98 percent top managers in banks and other national institutions and industrial units are male. The social barriers that affect women participation include superiority complex in men, high domestic responsibilities, restrictions to participate or male validator for approval of their decisions is required, boys are considered important since childhood and their education is more essential as compared to girls.

In addition, the evils in our society such as; discrimination, stereotyping, harassment, domestic violence and rape are very common. For these evils, women are targeted for their appearance, dresses and are fed lessons to cover up themselves if they need to be protected, restrictions for not leaving the house without permission are applied. Whereas the men aren’t rebuked for the way they ogle at them, as if they are born with license to do as they please.

The vulgarity is not only promoted by the flesh of women but the eyes of men that target women. They are equally responsible. Thus, promoting women rights or empowerment and war against discrimination is not a foreign agenda. Only the foolish who think women are fighting for equality take it as a threat. Whereas, the smart ones know that these rights have been bestowed from the start.

In my opinion, we have worked hard through media and NGO’s. Which have progressed in awareness and rights of gender quality and women empowerment but further measures to enhance participation of women in economic and social development, their status in society and protection needs to be upgraded. Awareness campaigns and laws should be made, and enforced to prohibit gender discrimination. Most importantly what needs to change is the mind set of our society, this process needs to begin at home. Parents need to educate their children specially their sons, instead of forcing girls to learn what not to do in the society and to end the gender discrimination at home.