By IANS,
Islamabad : Women in Pakistan must unite and “raise high the banner of their rights”, said a Pakistani daily on International Women’s Day Tuesday.
An editorial in the Daily Times said: “Pakistani women have struggled hard for their rights and have been able to achieve larger presence in the public sphere, as exemplified by reservation of women’s seats in parliament and women’s quota in public service.”
Pakistan has a population of over 160 million, of which about 48 percent are women.
“In urban areas, girls have outshined boys in education in almost every field and are giving them tough competition in job market. Pakistan has seen women in key positions such as prime minister, governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, Speaker of National Assembly and president of Supreme Court Bar Association, which is the envy of women of the entire Muslim world.
“However, women of Pakistan still have a long way to go and also deal with emerging challenges.”
On the state of women in Pakistan, the editorial said: “While women of urban and semi-urban areas have progressed somewhat, their counterparts in rural areas are lagging far behind.”
“Despite improvement in Pakistan’s literacy rate, the educational status of Pakistani women is among the lowest in the world. There are very few women who have control over their properties and other financial resources. In addition, they have to fight off different forms of violence, such as female infanticide, childhood and forced marriages, rape, honour killings, domestic violence and risk of being sold off to settle disputes of family men.”
It noted that this was the result of “patriarchal attitudes and a particular brand of Islam in our society that can be traced back to the Zia era when he tried to push back women in the name of Islamisation”.
“Zia’s legacy has been given a new lease of life by the ongoing terrorist activities targeting women’s education. But Pakistan women must unite and raise high the banner of their rights and defeat these elements with steely determination.”