Women are the building blocks of any society, and Pakistan is not an exception to this fact. If we want to commence sustainable social and economic development, we must make Pakistan, its business sector and society more inclusive for women. Without this, we cannot build a resilient Pakistan, strong enough to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

The Seventh Population and Housing Census (2023) reveals that Pakistan’s cumulative population was 241.5 million, with women at 117.15 million and men at 124.32 million. Thus, 48.5% of our population is women, and we must educate and train them adequately so they can become effective members of our society.

By doing so, we would make better financial and social decisions to manage Pakistan more sustainably. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, among the age group 25-34, 85.99% of men are employed, whereas only 27.72% of women are; the remaining 70%+ of women in this age group are unemployed. Similarly, in the age group 35-aiwhoppingping 97.59% of men are employed while only 28 of 55% women are worup 35-44. We must put an end to this unsustainable trend and ensure that women have the same socio-economic opportunities they deserve to enhance their labour force participation in the age group 25-44. We have what is needed to make our society, business sectors and country more inclusive for women.

There are many crucial steps we can execute to make our society more socially safe and financially inclusive for women. Offering free education to girls from the start of primary school through 12th grade is a much-needed step in the right direction. As we all know, education is pivotal to finding suitable jobs, and without it, the chances of finding a decent job are very low. The United Nations highlights that each dollar spent on girls’ education would yield a return of USD 2.80.

The United Nations highlights that each dollar spent on girls’ education would yield a return of USD 2.80.

The United Nations highlights that each dollar spent on girls’ education would yield a return of USD 2.80.

Similarly, the World Economic Forum points out that half of all economic growth over the last 30 years is due to investments in the education sector. The World Bank Group stresses that women who have completed secondary education earn twice as much as women without any education. Thus, making education free up to the 12th standard for females is a must for the Government of Pakistan (GOP) if it wants to commence sustainable social and economic development. By doing so, the GOP will create a resilient Pakistan, strong enough to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Apart from free education up to 12th standard, we must also offer respect to women both indoors and on the streets in Pakistan. It is completely unnecessary to pass an indecent comment on women, regardless of whether it’s indoors or outdoors. We must offer respect to everyone to create a socially safe Pakistan, and we cannot compromise on that. According to the Senate of Pakistan, in 2024, Islamabad Capital Territory reported 22 honour-killing cases and 176 rape cases.

Similarly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 143 honour-killing cases and 258 rape cases, followed by Sindh with 243 rape cases and 375 domestic violence cases and Balochistan with 32 honour killings, 21 rape cases, 185 kidnapping and abduction cases and 160 domestic violence cases. Finally, Punjab reported 225 cases of honour killing in 2024. We must put an end to this horrible trend. Otherwise, it will become nearly impossible for us to create a socially resilient, economically progressive, and ecologically sustainable Pakistan for ourselves and our future generations. Unfortunately, UN Women points out that over 90% of working women in Pakistan have acknowledged being harassed in both public and private sectors.

Similarly, UN Women again highlights that going out without informing the husband, neglecting children, arguing with the husband, refusal to have an intimate relationship and burning food are the primary causes of domestic violence in Pakistan. It is important to point out here that the type of mentality that we have adopted so far has neither helped us in the past nor will it help us in future. We must learn to offer respect to women and understand that she also has a right to express what she is feeling, and it is our responsibility to pay attention to that.

She might need some rest, she might be ill, and she might be going through an emotional turmoil and need a break from regular domestic tasks. It is crucial to point out that taking care of family is not solely a woman’s job. Just like both husband and wife make a family, so should be the case when it comes to managing the home sustainably, where both contribute equally to run the home effectively. It is possible, and we have what is needed to make this happen.

We cannot choose to ignore nearly 50% of our population, and doing so will hinder our economic progress and development in the international arena. Ignoring women would mean using only one hand when both hands are working fine. We all know that using only one hand when both hands are ok makes no sense. Similarly, as a society, we must offer respect to our women and give them all their due rights.

We must understand that an independent woman with adequate formal education, a decent job and a salary is in our best interest. A woman’s education can be referred to as a family’s education since a lion’s share of children’s upbringing responsibility lies with women in Pakistan. Thus, a woman with formal education will certainly be in a strong position to help her children out with education. To conclude, Harvard Kennedy School (John F. Kennedy School of Government) points out that each extra year of female education decreases child mortality by 18 per thousand. Similarly, 1% increase in women’s education fosters economic growth by 0.3%. Thus, investing in female education is crucial to create a socially safe, economically resilient and ecologically sustainable Pakistan for all. We have what it takes to offer free education from the start-up to the 12th standard to all females in Pakistan. Likewise, we can offer 50% scholarship at the bachelor’s level to all the females who would complete their education up to the 12th standard.

In addition, it should be made compulsory for females in Pakistan to learn martial arts from standard 1 up to 10th standard and to do compulsory military training in 11th and 12th standard. This will enhance their ability for self-defence and to defend Pakistan when it is needed the most. We have what it takes to offer respect to women both indoors and out on the streets, and not to incur either physical violence or mental abuse on them. We have what is needed to give women their due rights and to offer them a socially safe society free from workplace harassment and from the fear of honour killings and rapes.

The sort of mentality that took us here has neither helped us in the past nor will it help us in the future. We cannot ignore and deprive half of our population of their due rights. We are better than this, and we must continuously strive to offer our women all their due rights. They are also human beings, and it’s really that easy to understand. Choice is ours and will always be.

The writer is a Stockholm-based policy analyst and the Founder / Operations Manager of Project Green Earth (www.projectge.org). He can be reached at [email protected].

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