Why do we celebrate 'Women's Day' every year, while women are still treated as second-class citizens. Such anniversaries can not change the social attitudes. These seminars and conferences are fashionable occasions to deliver grand speeches.
Woman is still struggling for emancipation in this male dominated world.
A woman is seen only in the family perspective: a mother, daughter, sister or wife. She is not recognised as a person. This is common all over the world.
Islam is the first religion to grant equal social and legal rights to women. Islam first emphasised that all men and women receive education. It was the first religion to recognise woman as a human being.
The women always have been showed weak, vulnerable and lower status and dependent on men in our society.
But we are still in the clutches of our religious and social taboos. In the rural areas, women's literacy rate is less than man, they do not know their rights. The recent examples are Dir and Malakand, where women have no rights to participate in the election and even to cast their vote.
Due to poverty and lack of education such cases being occured. The primary issue is poverty alleviation which would never be resolved.
The educated people are so disoriented then what about the illiterate masses. We claim that Islam was the first religion which emancipated women. Yes, Islam did emancipate the women but we are more loyal to our traditions.
Violence against women continues, a violation of basic human rights and is an obstacle in the achievement of the objectives of equality, development and peace.
World moves towards the advanced technology, we still indulge in social evils like honour killing or karo kari. It is a harsh reality that generally only women are killed in the karo kari tradition. Karo kari is nothing but cold-blooded murder. The punishment of this should be similar to all those found involved in the crime or abetting it. According to Shariah, four eye witnesses are required to prove the crime but do we follow Shariah?
Many women detained under the Hudood Ordinance cases. The convicted (women) ratio is double then the acquitted (men) ratio, because acquitted men easily released from Hudood cases. The 25-year passed since General Ziaul Haq promulgated five Hudood Ordinances ostensibly to bring some criminal laws in accordance with Islamic injunctions. But the condition of women had not changed materially by 1979. The role of women is crucial to the all-round development and progress of any society.
Though, women the world over, contribute a great deal to the economic growth but they are undervalued; their worth is unrecognised and they continue to remain subservient to men. It is not that their work is not visible or tangible; it is just that it has not been acknowledged. This gross injustice has its roots in the in-built gender bias and practices of an archaic social order.
Women have greater access to employment, a growing number of them is paying for the access due to their weak position and greater insecurity. Equality in treatment and opportunity in employment and occupation is still not within reach. The concept of equality in employment does not mean that men and women are identical; equality does not mean sameness.
It is recognised that they have different needs. These differences need to be taken into account in order to promote equality effectively. These distinctions are encompassed in the concept of gender. Therefore, the equality in employment issue should be seen from the gender perspective.
"Those countries where women have rights, enjoy higher growth and lower poverty rates". Societies that discriminate on the basis of gender, pay a significant price in greater poverty, slower economic growth, weaker governance. Corruption tended to run low in countries where women are involved in public life. It was found that women are still under represented in the political arena.
Women in Pakistan would have join the actual work force in a big way if they desire to become an economic force in the country.
Among other things, the women empowerment by raising the number of women in the parliament, because women in the House will certainly mean a plus point, so far as their role in managing the affairs of the nation is concerned. But, will their larger presence in the House really increase enough input in the legislative business? It marked that women everywhere are awakening. Women legislators should also move a bill in the parliament so that divorced mothers can get their rights according to the Holy Quran and Sunnah.