In Pakistan, bias against girls begins at birth, as discriminatory practices, traditional attitudes, and poverty limit growth. However, Unicef Pakistan has announced a National Gender Strategy (2024-2027) aimed at generating a transformative shift for a large number of females aged 10 to 19 years. It thinks that effective policy implementation in rural and urban areas may reduce inequities and improve the lives of women, especially those with disabilities. A key component of the strategy is to engage leaders, clerics, boys, and men so that prevailing myths shift and all women have agency. Unicef also stresses the tragic truth that Pakistan has approximately 19 million child brides, 54 percent of whom became pregnant before the age of 18, and 88 percent of underage girls live in poverty. The UN’s 2023 Gender Social Norms Index was not a happy read either. According to the report, progress in reducing bias against women has been stagnant for the past decade. In this scenario, the UN’s goal of achieving gender equality for all countries by 2030 appears unrealistic.
There is no doubting that a number of social norms contribute to gender inequity and limit women’s rights. As more people fall below the poverty line in a stagnant economy, indigence is expected to worsen the gender gap by limiting access to healthcare, education, and lucrative opportunities. In these circumstances, perhaps Unicef Pakistan’s gender equal programming should begin in areas where men’s honour depends on rendering women invisible, such as sections of Balochistan and KP. Females in ultra-conservative places are completely disenfranchised, stuck in a culture of bride price, the sale of females for monetary gain or to settle disputes, and the lack of reproductive and socioeconomic liberty. All of this must change through improved education, healthcare, and employment, as well as the cultivation of empathy and awareness among men. Closing gender inequalities is important because it promotes social fairness and prosperity. It’s a long path, but we can’t finish last.