Scant progress

One of the UN Millennium Development Goals, which this country has signed up to, is "to promote gender equality and empower women”. Being from a rural background, I know that many educated women have made no gains despite their education, and that there has not been a meaningful enough increase in female labour force participation. I also know that early marriage and pregnancy are not discouraged across rural Pakistan.

Do our rulers really understand the UN Millennium Development Goals? If so, what steps have been taken so far to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls?

Kalsoom Abro

Islamabad