A recent Gilani Poll conducted by Gallup Pakistan revealed that more than half of Pakistanis claim that women are not given their due share of respect as ordained in Islam. Forty percent believe that the women in the society are given high level of respect or the right level of respect as prescribed in the Holy Book.
According to survey, 59 percent respondents claim that women are not given their due share of respect in line with Islamic teachings. While 40 percent believe that the women in the society are given high level of respect as outlined in the Holy Book.
A nationally representative sample of men and women from across the country were asked "In your view, are women in our society given due respect as prescribed by Islam, less, or more than prescribed?" Majority of the respondents thinks that women are not given their due respect. Interestingly, the results indicate that a proportionately higher percentage of respondents from NWFP think that women are given less respect than what is prescribed by Islam. Twenty two percent were of the opinion that women in our society get full respect. Interestingly, a higher percentage of people living in rural area (25 percent) share this view as compared to the urbanites (16 percent).
It is important to note that an equal proportion of men and women think that women are not awarded the kind of respect they deserve according to Islam. The study was released by Gilani Foundation and carried out by Gallup Pakistan, the Pakistani affilliate of Gallup International. The latest survey was carried out among a sample of 2690 men and women in rural and urban areas of all four provinces of the country, during April 2009.