Implementation of Women’s Property Act demanded

Islamabad : Women’s increased access to land through inheritance and purchase and elimination of discriminatory practices and customs that prevent rural women from acquiring land are crucial to empower rural women of Pakistan and bridge the gender gap. Experts suggested implementation of Women’s Property Act 2019 to make sure rural women are not left behind.

They were speaking at an event jointly hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United Nations, UN Women Pakistan and International Labour Organisation (ILO) in connection with the International Women’s Day here on Tuesday. Out of Pakistan’s 132 million rural population, 65 million are women. 62 per cent women work in the fields while only 19 percent women are in paid employment and 60 per cent work as unpaid workers on family farms and enterprises. The unpaid work is valued at 2.6 percent of the national GDP. Only one per cent women are entrepreneurs in Pakistan; 20 per cent of rural women are classified as own account workers – 14 per cent in agriculture and 6 percent in non-agri work. International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights”, which is aligned with UN Women’s new multigenerational campaign, Generation Equality, which marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the most progressive roadmap for the empowerment of women and girls, everywhere. Two panel discussions were organized where development sector actors, NGO representatives, and rural women discussed about the existing policies and frameworks to safeguards the rights of rural working women. Country Representative FAO Mina Dowlatchahi while moderating the panel said, “Women are not paid equally to that of their male counterparts. Despite steady progress in representation, women are still not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women's education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men. Pakistan ranks 152nd in Human Development Index.”

Younas Khalid, Senior Gender Advisor UN Women Pakistan, in his presentation said, “We cannot claim to be on the road to advancing gender equality if we do not promote rural women’s participation in decision-making and involve them in the design, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all relevant policies and strategies with focus on climate change.”

“Fewer rural women make decisions about paid work, marriage or family planning. Rural women face limited access to financial services, health and basic services. We must strengthen rural women’s access to health and other basic services, including education,” he added.

He further suggested to introduce technology for easing domestic burden through labour saving devices and improving agricultural work through tools and equipment in order to support rural women. FAO together with partners is marking the International Women’s Day by highlighting the role of rural women in agriculture Sector in Pakistan, the systems set in place that support them, and the policy work that needs to be done to ensure implementation of policies and reforms.