SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS OF WOMEN IN PAKISTAN —AN OVERVIEW

Introduction
The status of women in Pakistan is not homogenous because of the interconnection of gender
with other forms of exclusion in the society. There is considerable diversity in the status of women
across classes, regions, and the rural/urban divide due to uneven socioeconomic development and the
impact of tribal, feudal, and capitalist social formations on women’s lives. However, women’s
situation vis-à-vis men is one of systemic subordination, determined by the forces of patriarchy across
classes, regions, and the rural/urban divide.
Gender is one of the organizing principles of Pakistani society. Patriarchal values embedded
in local traditions and culture predetermine the social value of gender. An artificial divide between
production and reproduction, created by the ideology of sexual division of labor, has placed women in
reproductive roles as mothers and wives in the private arena of home and men in a productive role as
breadwinners in the public arena. This has led to a low level of resource investment in women by the
family and the State. Thus, low investment in women’s human capital, compounded by the ideology
of purdah (literally “veiled”), negative social biases, and cultural practices; the concept of honor
linked with women’s sexuality; restrictions on women’s mobility; and the internalization of
patriarchy by women themselves, becomes, the basis for gender discrimination and disparities in all
spheres of life.
Demographic Background
Pakistan is a federation of four provinces conjoined with the federal capital area, the
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA),
and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. According to the census conducted in March 1998, the total
population of the country is 130.6 million with an annual growth rate of 2.6 percent. About 55.6
percent of this population is in Punjab, 23 percent in Sindh, 13.4 percent in the North West Frontier
Province (NWFP), 5 percent in Balochistan, 2.4 percent in FATA, and 0.6 percent in Islamabad.
Women form 48 percent of the total population and 52 percent are men. The population of women
has increased slightly more than the population of men. The latest intercensal average growth rate per
annum is estimated at 2.6 percent for women and 2.5 percent for men during 1981–1998.
According to the 1998 census data, 88 million people live in rural areas, whereas 42 million
live in urban areas. The data revealed that 45 percent of the population are below 15 years of age.
About 52 percent of adolescents are male and 48 percent are female. The dependency ratio is
approximately 87.1. On average, one person in the working age group population would have one
dependent in the year 1998.
The average age of women for marriage has increased from 17.9 years in 1951 to 20.8 years
in 1981. About 23 percent of females between the ages of 15 and 19 are married, compared with 5
percent of the male population in the same age group. A majority of women are married to their close
relatives, i.e., first and second cousins. Only 37 percent of married women are not related to their
spouses before marriage. The divorce rate in Pakistan is extremely low due to the social stigma
attached to it. In 1996–1997, according to official statistics, women-headed households
constituted only 7 percent of total households. The share of women-headed households is less in
urban areas as compared with rural areas.
2 Country Briefing Paper—Women in Pakistan
The Social and Cultural Context
The social and cultural context of Pakistani society is predominantly patriarchal. Men and
women are conceptually divided into two separate worlds. Home is defined as a woman’s legitimate
ideological and physical space, while a man dominates the world outside the home. The false ideological
demarcation between public and private, inside and outside worlds is maintained through the notion of
honor and institution of purdah in Pakistan. Since the notion of male honor and izzat (honor)1 is linked
with women's sexual behavior, their sexuality is considered a potential threat to the honor of the family.
Therefore, women’s mobility is strictly restricted and controlled through the system of purdah, sex
segregation, and violence against them.
In the given social context, Pakistani women lack social value and status because of negation
of their roles as producers and providers in all social roles. The preference for sons due to their
productive role dictates the allocation of household resources in their favor. Male members of the
family are given better education and are equipped with skills to compete for resources in the public
arena, while female members are imparted domestic skills to be good mothers and wives. Lack of
skills, limited opportunities in the job market, and social and cultural restrictions limit women’s
chances to compete for resources in the public arena. This situation has led to the social and economic
dependency of women that becomes the basis for male power over women in all social relationships.
However, the spread of patriarchy is not even. The nature and degree of women’s
oppression/subordination vary across classes, regions, and the rural/urban divide. Patriarchal
structures are relatively stronger in the rural and tribal setting where local customs establish male
authority and power over women’s lives. Women are exchanged, sold, and bought in marriages. They
are given limited opportunities to create choices for themselves in order to change the realities of their
lives. On the other hand, women belonging to the upper and middle classes have increasingly greater
access to education and employment opportunities and can assume greater control over their lives.
The most powerful aspect of social and cultural context is the internalization of patriarchal
norms by men and women. In learning to be a woman in the society, women internalize the
patriarchal ideology and play an instrumental role in transferring and recreating the gender ideology
through the process of socialization of their children. This aspect of women’s lives has been largely
ignored by the development initiatives in the country.
Education and Training
Despite the improvement in Pakistan’s literacy rate since its independence (1947), its overall
literacy rate of 45 percent (56.5 percent for males and 32.6 percent for females in 1998) is still behind
most of the countries in the region. The literacy rates may have risen generally; however, with the
increase in population, the number of illiterate Pakistanis has more than doubled since 1951, while the
number of illiterate women has tripled. Approximately 60 percent of the total population is illiterate,
and women form 60 percent of the illiterate population
Strong gender disparities exist in educational attainment between rural and urban areas and
among the provinces. In 1996–1997 the literacy rate in urban areas was 58.3 percent while in rural
areas it was 28.3 percent, and only 12 percent among rural women. There are also considerable
inequalities in literacy rates among the four provinces, especially disparities between men and women
(Table 1).
1 “Honor” can be interpreted in various ways but generally refers to women’s purity and modesty.
Situational Analysis of Women in Pakistan 3
Table 1: Literacy Rate in Provinces by Gender
(percent)
Punjab Sindh NWFP Balochistan Pakistan
Year Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Total
1975 31.6 12.6 39.3 20.0 24.1 5.3 15.0 4.2 31.8 13.0 23.2
1980 36.4 16.4 39.7 21.5 25.7 6.4 15.2 4.3 34.8 15.7 25.9
1985 40.8 18.2 43.2 22.4 30.5 7.1 17.9 4.9 38.9 17.0 28.4
1990 45.2 20.8 46.5 23.7 38.1 8.6 21.0 5.7 43.4 19.1 31.7
1995 50.0 24.9 51.6 25.8 47.3 12.0 25.3 6.6 48.7 22.5 36.1
Source: Social Policy and Development Centre, “Social Development in Pakistan, Annual Review, 1998,” p.130.
Despite the higher rate of female enrollment in 1998–1999 at the primary (4.6 percent male
and 8.0 percent female), secondary (1.2 percent male and 6.8 percent female), and high school levels
(7.4 percent male and 8.3 percent female), the gender gap in the literacy rate is widening in Pakistan.2
Of those without basic education opportunities, about 70 percent are girls. The primary school
enrollment rate for girls during 1996–1997 was estimated at about 66.6 percent of total female
population and 90.7 percent of males. This is primarily due to the high dropout rate among girls (50 percent).
The overall participation rate at primary stage is estimated at 77 percent (male 92 percent,
female 62 percent) during 1998–1999. At middle stage the participation rate is 51 percent (male 64
percent and female 37 percent), and at high stage it is estimated at 36 percent (45 percent male and 26
percent female). Gender disparities in educational attainment are even greater in the rural areas. Only
3 percent of rural 12-year-old girls continued in school, compared with 18 percent of boys. Fewer
than 1 percent of girls remained in school in the 14-year-old age group compared with 7 percent of
boys.3
At present less than 3 percent of the age group 17–23 have access to higher education.
Women in particular have limited opportunities to acquire higher education and attain professional or
technical degrees. This is due to the cultural prescription of gender roles and inadequate number of
vocational training and professional institutions for women. Out of 172 professional colleges in
1996–1997, only 10 exist exclusively for women. In the other 162 professional colleges, women can
get admission only against a reserved quota. The female enrollment in professional colleges was 48
against 100 boys in 1996–1997. Similarly, the gender ratio in 26 public sector universities, including
one for women, is 28.9 percent. In 1991–1992 the number of female polytechnic institutes was 12
with an enrollment of 1,676 women as compared with 40 male polytechnics with an enrollment of
21,503. Of the 12 female polytechnics, 8 are in Punjab, 3 in Sindh, and 1 in NWFP. Balochistan has
none. There are 12 female commercial institutions; all of them located in Punjab with an enrollment
of 1,493. This is small in comparison with 225 male institutions in all provinces with an enrollment of
20,527.
Interestingly, the educational achievements of female students are higher as compared with
male students at different levels of education.

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