The Global Gender Gap Report 2025 paints a deeply troubling picture for Pakistan, ranking it 148th out of 148 countries — the lowest in the world. This descent is not just a statistical embarrassment but a scathing indictment of decades of policy negligence, entrenched patriarchy, and ineffective institutional frameworks. The country’s gender parity index dropped to 56.7% from 57% last year, with particularly steep declines in economic participation and opportunity for women.
A closer examination of the report’s four core indices — economic participation, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment — reveals systemic rot. Pakistan ranks 147th in economic participation and opportunity. Only 25% of the formal labour force comprises women, a dismal figure that reflects structural barriers including workplace discrimination, lack of childcare, gender pay gaps, and limited mobility. Despite a 1.5% rise in educational parity, Pakistan still ranks 137th in educational attainment — a hollow victory, especially since the improvement is partly due to a drop in male tertiary enrolment, not actual progress for women.
The political empowerment index places Pakistan at 118th, exposing the performative nature of political representation. Women lawmakers, even when present in assemblies, often remain silent or constrained by male-dominated party structures. The health and survival index at 131st further underscores the vulnerabilities faced by Pakistani women in accessing quality reproductive care and general health services.
The failure of the state to offer legal protection is perhaps the most damning. In Punjab alone, only 924 convictions occurred out of over 60,000 reported cases of abuse in 2024. With a rape occurring every two minutes and a conviction rate of just 3%, the message is clear: Pakistan is failing its women at the most basic level — safety and justice.
While the methodology of the report does deserve scrutiny — for instance, the absence of war-torn Afghanistan from the ranking, and Pakistan’s positioning below Sudan and Yemen — it cannot overshadow the real and measurable gender inequalities that persist here. Many argue that the informal sector, where countless Pakistani women contribute economically, is not properly represented in global indices. Even if true, that doesn’t exonerate the state from its responsibility to protect, empower, and provide equal opportunities for women in both formal and informal spheres.
If Pakistan is to shed its ignominious title as the worst country for gender parity, systemic reforms must begin now. We need policies that go beyond slogans, budgets that prioritize gender equality, and a judiciary that upholds women’s rights without prejudice. Only then can we hope to reverse this shameful trajectory — and give women their rightful place in society.
