Equality now

Today marks International Women’s Day, a global call to eliminate gender bias, discrimination, and stereotypes. This year’s theme, ‘For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment’, aligns with the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a visionary 1995 plan signed by 189 governments. Yet, three decades later, much of the world is still struggling to achieve true gender equality. UN Women’s report, ‘Women's Rights in Review 30 Years After Beijing,’ highlights alarming setbacks. Women’s rights regressed in a quarter of countries last year due to factors like climate change and democratic backsliding. The latter, in particular, has fueled a backlash against gender equality, with populist and chauvinist movements actively resisting progress. While the proportion of women in parliaments has more than doubled since 1995 and over 1,500 legal reforms have been enacted to promote gender equality, 75 per cent of the world’s parliamentarians remain men, and women only enjoy 64 per cent of the legal rights of men.

This disparity doesn’t just harm women -- it weakens entire economies. Pakistan is a stark example of this. If women were employed at the same rate as men, it could add over Rs200,000 to every citizen’s income. Yet, only two out of ten women (aged 15-64) participate in the workforce, compared to eight out of ten men, according to the World Bank’s Gender Strategy report (2024-2030). Female political representation also remains low, with women holding just 53 out of 336 National Assembly seats. Literacy rates further illustrate this gender gap -- only 51 per cent of Pakistani women are literate, compared to 73 per cent of men. Given these conditions, it’s no surprise that the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report ranks Pakistan as the second-worst country in the world for gender discrimination. Women here face significant challenges, including physical and sexual violence, honour killings, and forced or early marriages. Climate change is expected to exacerbate these inequalities.

None of this would work without remembering the origins of International Women’s Day. Initially known as International Women Workers’ Day, it was proposed by German Marxist Clara Zetkin in 1911. Soviet Russia became the first country to recognise it in 1917, granting women the right to vote. Today, many who march for women’s rights may not know these historical roots, but the spirit of the movement -- focusing on grassroots inclusion -- means that women workers and peasants need to be at the forefront of efforts. In Pakistan, women have long used this day to rally and protest for their rights. In recent years, the Aurat March has become a powerful symbol of this movement. However, like everything else women attempt to do publicly, the march has become a site of fierce contestation. Society continues to dictate what women should or should not demand, reducing their struggle to debates about honour, culture, and propriety. Today, as officials pay lip service to gender equality, it is crucial to remember that real change will only come through a consolidated fight for social justice. The fight for women’s rights is inextricably linked to broader struggles against war, poverty and oppression. Only by addressing these root causes can we build a truly equal society.