THE UN secretary-general’s recent observation that peace lasts longer when women are at the table, economies become more dynamic when women have equal opportunity, societies more resilient when women can learn and lead, and institutions more effective when power is shared, is not simply a statement about fairness. For Pakistan, it is a development proposition. The question is not whether Pakistani women can lead. It is why a country of more than 240 million people still uses so little of that capacity. The numbers expose the gap. Pakistan’s 2024-25 HIES puts literacy among people aged 10 and above at 63 per cent: 73pc for men but only 54pc for women. The rural female rate is 44pc, compared with 68pc for urban women. Literacy determines whether a woman can understand a contract, use a digital service, claim a benefit, read a disaster warning or participate confidently in a public meeting.

The economic divide is sharper. World Bank gender data put female labour force participation at 24pc in 2025, against 80.1pc for men. Women are heavily concentrated in vulnerable work: 73.2pc of employed women were in vulnerable employment, compared with 50.4pc of men. Agriculture accounts for 68pc of women’s employment. A nation cannot........

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