Women’s Poverty and Economic Empowerment in Pakistan
－Shabana Mahfooz, Pakistan
A few months ago, I would turn and watch in awe as well as pride a lone woman riding a motorbike on the busy streets of Lahore; the cultural hub and second largest metropolitan city of Pakistan. Now, although the pride remains, the element of surprise is decreas-ing.
This may sound strange to the readers outside Paki-stan, who may be wondering about the reason for my excitement. The truth is, that in a country still strug-gling with fundamentalism, conservative ideas and a strong patriarchal system, a woman riding a motor-bike alone or with passengers is actually a remarkable feat.
For we are a nation that still debates whether a woman should leave her house for education or em-ployment, whether she should travel unaccompanied by a male relative, and whether any streak of inde-pendence that emerges in her personality is a step to-wards immorality.
Why may there be a shift in women’s mannerism in Pakistan? Change in mannerism although directly im-plies only for the recent preference of women to be independent in traveling without feeling the need of a male companion, but this shift in the mannerism also indicates the sense of liberty women in Pakistan are slowly experiencing, since even until recent years, every decision in their lives was dominated by males; whether parents or spouses or even brothers. Now, more and more women are becoming independent in their lives. While these may be positive improve-ments, most of these streaks stem from a need to break the shackle of poverty and achieve economic empowerment. A woman may ride a bike because she has chosen the bold profession of working as a deliv-ery woman for online orders. A woman may also ride the localised combination of a car and a motorbike – the rickshaw – because she has taken charge of her household and is responsible for generating income.
This may be just a small example, but increasingly, women in Pakistan have started participating in work or business opportunities. While the country struggles with huge burdens of debt, increasing inflation and dismal growth, many female members of the society have decided to shoulder the household expenses with their parents or husband, or may simply have de-cided to take the plunge alone as their drug addicted husbands prove to be incapable of earning any in-come. The truth is, that the economic conditions of most households are so precarious due to the fragility of the country’s resources that it has come upon many women to strive for a better future for themselves and their families. That is also the reason why there is an increasing turnout of young women in colleges and universities, who want to contribute substantially to their future.
Despite this societal progress, women continue to earn less than men in Pakistan and consequently, re-main poorer. According to the United Nations, ₁ “Women’s labour force participation rate (21.5%) is among the lowest in the region, as are rates of gender parity in education.”
₂ These facts show that there is still a lot more pro-gress to be made in Pakistan for women to come out of poverty and achieve economic empowerment. ₃ In-clusive policies, increased opportunities, and above all, societal acceptance are the key triggers that can boost women’s empowerment and help lift not only them, but also the stunningly high about 40% of the population of Pakistan living in poverty.
So the more we see women walking, riding and driv-ing on the streets of Pakistan, the closer we get to an equitable and empowered nation, shrinking its pov-erty.
1 “One UN Pakistan : Annual Report 2021.” United Nations in Pakistan, 6 September 2022,
https://pakistan.un.org/en/197948-one-un-pakistan-annual-report-2021 . Accessed 13 November 2024.
2“One UN Pakistan : Annual Report 2021.” United Nations in Pakistan, 6 September 2022,
https://pakistan.un.org/en/197948-one-un-pakistan-annual-report-2021.. Accessed 13 November 2024.
3 Shaikh, Hina. “Women economic empowerment is key to Pakistan’s development.” International Growth Centre, 13 March 2023, https://www.theigc.org/blogs/gender-equality/women-economic-empowerment-key-pakistans-development. . Accessed 29 September 2024.
【Profile】
Ms. Shabana Mahfooz
Shabana Mahfooz is an educator with an extensive background in Print and Broadcast Journalism. She writes about topics related to societal injustice, women’s rights and culture.
Women’s Representation in Fiji’s Parliament:
Could Quotas be the Way Forward? A Call for Action
－Zaynah Shameem, Fiji
Despite making up half of the population, women in Fiji have long struggled to secure their rightful place in leadership roles, particularly in Parliament. Histor-ically, their representation has lagged, reflecting a broader issue of gender imbalance in decision-mak-ing spaces. The contrast between past and present sta-tistics is striking.
₄ In 1999, Fiji achieved a record high with 16 women in Parliament, making up 11.3% of the House of Rep-resentatives and 25% of the Senate. However, current figures are less encouraging. As of the third term of Parliament (2022–2026), women hold only 9% of the seats, a decline from 11% achieved in the 2022 gen-eral election. Women’s representation is notably lower than both the Pacific average of 19.5% and the global average of 26.5%. The previous two parlia-mentary terms had seen slightly higher representa-tion: 16% after the 2014 elections (the first term) and 19.6% after the 2018 elections (the second term).
The 2024 Fiji Women’s Mock Parliament, themed “Women’s Leadership and Political Representation,” recently convened 58 women from diverse back-grounds for a two-day event. This initiative aimed to tackle the challenges women face in Fiji’s politics, in-cluding the persistent lack of genuine political will to support female representation
Building on the success of the 2016 Women in Par-liament initiative, this event provided a valuable plat-form for women to gain practical experience in pol-icy-making and parliamentary procedures. It offered hands-on opportunities to understand the political process, boost their confidence, and prepare for future elections. Notably, some participants from 2016 went on to run in the 2018 and 2022 elections. Today, one of them serves as the Honourable Minister for Women, Children, and Social Protection. The Mock Parliament has proven to be a crucial stepping stone for women aspiring to influence Fiji’s political arena.
₅ According to the World Economic Forum, Fiji’s po-litical empowerment index is ranked 140th in the Global Gender Gap Report 2024.
Implementing gender quotas in Parliament could be a crucial step toward improving governance and repre-sentation. Gender quotas, while not a complete solu-tion to entrenched patriarchal norms, offer a practical way to increase women’s participation in decision-making processes. By reserving a minimum number of seats for women, quotas can address historical im-balances and ensure that women’s voices are heard more effectively in legislative discussions.
Such reforms have the potential to make governance more responsive to the diverse needs of the popula-tion. Women’s perspectives on critical issues like health, education, and social welfare are often un-derrepresented, and quotas could help rectify this im-balance. More women in Parliament would likely lead to policies that better reflect the interests of the entire population, fostering more inclusive and equi-table governance. However, quotas alone may not suffice to entirely shift deep-rooted gender biases and structural inequalities. They need to be accompanied by broader efforts to address these issues at multiple levels.
In the context of Fiji, where gender disparity remains significant, adopting a national gender quota could catalyze broader social changes and enhance the ef-fectiveness of governance. Thus, embracing gender quotas could be a vital step toward a more equitable and representative political landscape.
A national gender quota can be the way forward, but it must be part of a larger strategy to create a more inclusive political environment.
4 Parliament of Fiji – Women’s Representation in Parliament: https://www.parliament.gov.fj/women-have-always-been-under-represented-speaker-hon-ratu-naiqama-lalabalavu/
5 Global Gender Gap 2024: https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2024.pdf
【Profile】
Ms. Zaynah Shameem
Zaynah Shameem works at an engineering firm, and has had a keen interest in politics and in-ternational affairs, women is-sues, gender equality, and inclu-sivity.
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