Gender Gaps And Gender Discrimination

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Pakistan is predominantly a patriarchal society where the roles of men and women are divided into two separate worlds, where the women are expected to lead a domesticated lifestyle, while a man dominates the world outside home. Due to the uneven socioeconomic development, the rural/urban divide as well as numerous other factors like tribal, feudal and capitalist social formations, the gap between the diversity of the status of women in general has increased. Moreover, the fact that the status of a woman is constantly molded and shaped by the male dominated classes and regions has, over the years, become a systematic process.

However, over time this setting has changed and the awareness of woman’s abilities, her rights and her status has reached a greater part of the areas in Pakistan. The majority of Pakistani women belong to the rural areas who work in the fields, in urban households and in the industrial centers. It is a poor and virtually illiterate majority, which leads a life of physical hardship involving long hours at tedious chores for which there is neither compensation nor recognition. Most of these women bear the double burden of housework and outside work. (Firdoos, 2005)

According to the World Development Indicators (WDI), the female labor force participation rate as a percentage of female population in Pakistan has increased over the years from 13 percent in 2003 to 23 percent in 2010. There are several factors affecting the female labor force participation in Pakistan, education playing the most influential role. The probability of participation increases substantially with increase in the level of education (Hafeez and Ahmed 2002). Other factors include the monthly household income, ownership of financial assets and the number of other working members in the family.

Moreover, a working women’s wage is considered to be a threat to the male ego and identity; therefore, women are forced to keep out of the labor force and run household errands which leads to under-compensation for their work.

Political Participation

Female participation is of immense importance in all spheres of life and their need for political participation is no different. For decades, women in Pakistan have been suffering due to the hierarchical structures prevalent in the country. Women do not play a significant role in the policy making arena even though they are equally affected by them as the male members of the society. The elimination from the decision-making bodies deprives women of the opportunity to raise their concerns or advance their perspective.

Women’s exclusion from politics stem from the social and political discourses, political structures and institutions and the socio-cultural and functional constraints that put limits on women’s individual and collective agency. Patriarchy as a system of male domination shapes women’s relationship in politics. When the gender role ideology intersects with economic, social and political systems of a particular society; women continue to be defined as private across countries which resulted in their exclusion from politics.

However, this biasness is slowly being worked upon and has resulted in a 17 percent quota for women in all law making bodies under the Legal Framework Order (LFO) 2002, which is much less than the 33 percent stated in the Strategic Objective G-2 in the plan. Through active participation in the legislative assemblies, women legislators, from Local Government to national and provincial legislatures, have challenged the stereotypical perceptions regarding being there as merely for filling reserved seats. Furthermore, the active role played by women legislators in the 12th National Assembly as public representatives by taking up issues of national concern such as natural resources, import, export, foreign policy, unemployment and environment forced the political parties to elevate women parliamentarians to important elected positions.

Despite the efforts being made to increase female participation in the working of the political system and the provision of segregated voting facilities, there is low female voter turnout in the general elections. Women face two distinct barriers in exercising their right to vote for a candidate of their choice. On the one hand, traditions or cultural stereotypes discourage the exercise of own preferences, mobility constraints limit participation and, if there are expectations of voter intimidation or violence, personal security concerns may also have a larger dampening effect on female participation. On the other hand, women have fewer and/or poorer sources of information about the significance of political participation or the balloting process, perhaps due in part to illiteracy and limited mobility. Lack of information may also reinforce stereotypes that further disengage women from public life (Gine and Mansuri, 2010). However, the socio-cultural dependence of women is considered to be one of the key detrimental factors to their political participation.

Educational Attainment

Women in Pakistan stand at the liaison of poverty and illiteracy, and their educational attainment is of serious concern both nationally and internationally. By some accounts more than 70% of women in Pakistan are not literate (Human Development Report, 2004); the situation in the rural areas is much worse, with literacy rates persisting in the single digits.

Lack of education and mobility is adding up to the dismal conditions of women prevalent in Pakistan owing to the patriarchal values and customary practices.

The age-old traditions of confining women to the walls of the house combined with the purdah culture in the society are a major impediment in the educational attainment of women. This situation is being worsened by militarization in some of the tribal areas of Pakistan where the schools providing education to females are a constant target, resulting in low enrollments in the schools of the affected areas.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) explicitly recognizes the fundamental right of a human, irrespective of the gender, to attain education whereby it is stated: "Elementary education is the fundamental right of all people, men and women, of all types of areas and places, irrespective of gender, sect, religion or any other denomination. Everyone has the right to education". The Government of Pakistan has been working towards encouraging parents to send their children to school and have come with schemes such as "Parha Likha Punjab". Furthermore, The National Education Policy (1998-2010) focused on improving the quality, expanding access for out of school children, especially disadvantaged groups, improving management and supervisory services, capacity building, institutional development and financial sustainability (Bengali, 1999).

Education plays a significant role in the empowerment of women as it helps them develop a clear understanding of their rights, the need for a better quality life and social and economic mediation. Therefore, the stereotypical functioning of the society is suppressing the right of females to education and in turn, their freedom, mobility and empowerment.

Health and physical well-being

The majority of people in Pakistan do not have access to basic health care because of the inadequate health facilities. Pakistan’s health care system is essentially doctor-oriented, it has a curative rather than a preventive emphasis, it is urban biased in terms of resources and personnel and with the now dominant role of the private sector over the public sector health facilities, it is highly inequitable, with ability to pay rather than need determining access to health care.

The health indicators of women in Pakistan are amongst the worse in the world. The low health status of women is the result of women’s lower social, economic, and cultural standing. Social and familial control over women’s sexuality, their economic dependence on men, and restrictions on their mobility determine differential access of males and females to health services. Intra household bias in food distribution leads to nutritional deficiencies among female children. Early marriages of girls, excessive childbearing, lack of control over their own bodies, and a high level of illiteracy adversely affect women’s health. Institutionalized gender bias within the health service delivery system in terms of lack of female service providers, and neglect of women’s basic and reproductive health needs, intensify women’s disadvantaged health status. (ADB, 2000)

Early childhood marriages and excessive childbearing by young girls adversely affect their health status, this compounded with the lack of access to health facilities results in high female mortality.

However, Pakistan has taken certain initiatives to improve the gender imbalances in the health sector. These initiatives include: Prime Minister’s program of lady health workers, village-based family planning workers and extended immunization programs, nutritional and child survival, cancer treatment, and increased involvement of media in health education. (ADB, 2000)

(1.2) Socio-economic, cultural and household aspects of gender empowerment and disempowerment

1.2.1. Economic dependence of women in Pakistan and the family system

Women in Pakistan are economically dependent upon men which results in an exploitation of women at the hands of their male counterparts. Not only are women subject to intra-household biases but are also a victim of differential access to health, educational and employment facilities.

For centuries, Pakistani women have been slaves to social and cultural restrictions that are reflective of gender-based injustices in the region and are disadvantaged by systematic brutalization. The destinies of women are controlled by men in the society and the resulting mistreatment of women in households deters their personal, social and economic development.

In the Pakistani society, particularly in the rural areas, when a woman’s behavior is seen to threaten the patriarchal order, it is her body that is punished with beatings, burnings, sexual abuse, and even murder in the name of honor. Women not only face physical violence at the hands of their husbands and in-laws but are also subject to psychological and emotional abuses. These brutal forms of mistreatment of women go unnoticed in this hierarchical society.

Contrary to social notions of the man being a protector and provider for the woman in the Pakistani society, some women are pressured to bring material gains to their husbands and in-laws. These expected sources of material gains vary from dowry that a newlywed wife is supposed to bring, to a newborn son who will grow up to be a bread-earner for the family. Therefore, on numerous accounts, women face victimization for bringing insufficient dowry or giving birth to a daughter instead of a son.

1.2.2. Cultural norms and their role in women empowerment

The hierarchical make-up of the society of Pakistan along with socio-cultural norms and gender relations determine the female mobility, participation and freedom in society, especially in the rural areas of the country.

It is believed that the women of the house have an obligation to uphold the honor of the family and are thus compelled to live under purdah (veil) and are subject to restricted mobility. Consequently, gender discrimination and disparities form the basis of the day to day lives of these individuals. However, women belonging to the upper and middle classes have increasingly greater access to education and employment opportunities and can assume greater control over their lives. (ADB, 2000)

The formal statutory laws, Islamic laws, and customary practices jointly shape the lives of women in Pakistan. Customary practices prevail when they encounter a clash with the law and this has allowed practices like honor killings as well the treatment of women as mere goods by male members. Being transferred from one household to another for sums of money decided by brothers or fathers, whoever is in charge of the house. Evidence of this can still be found in areas like F.A.T.A who denounce the Pakistani Government and thus do not accept its code of law.

(1.3) Political and institutional elements of gender empowerment

1.3.1. Role of non-state organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in women empowerment

With the increasing failure of the governmental organizations to cater to the needs of the masses, the NGOs, in particular, have proliferated over the last few decades and are involved in a number of activities from delivering basic goods and services such as health care and clean water, to fighting for human rights and women’s right. (Jafar, 2007)

Non-state and non-governmental organizations play a pivotal role in Pakistan in order to safeguard the rights of women and to provide them easy access to credit to help them fulfill their day to day needs. NGOs such as Bedari (funded by UNDP) and Aasha are making an effort to put an end to the violence against women in society while NGOs like Kashf Foundation and Asasah are bent upon providing financial services to the financially excluded and vulnerable communities.

1.3.2. Opportunities for women in the public and private sectors and their empowerment status

Women in Pakistan are less "visible" in the public and private work force, especially those belonging to the rural areas of the country. This can be attributed to their restricted mobility and the cultural norms that bind them within the boundaries of a household and prove to be a hindrance in their educational attainment. This lack of exposure is one of the major obstacles in the development of women in the world outside their homes and is therefore a source of disempowerment.

Despite the reservation of 33 percent of seats for women in the local government, the active participation of women remains low; however, it has resulted in a noticeable presence of women in the public sector than before.

According to the LFS 2010-11, the percentage participation of women in the informal sector stands at 9.68 percent only while that of men is at 90.32 percent. On the other hand, female participation in the formal sector stands at approximately 7 percent.

There are considerable gender differentials in access to paid jobs primarily due to reasons such as vertical segmentation in the labor market, different reservation wages for men and women, and residual jobs for women. (social policy and development centre)

(1.4) Financial exclusion, microfinance outreach and female access to credit

Financial exclusion and microfinance lending

Formal financial institutions do not cater to the credit needs of the poor, particularly that of women. Commercial banks pay no attention to women clients due to their defined views on women’s creditworthiness because of their dependency on men for physical collateral, high transaction cost of small loans.

Of the total population, 14 percent have access to formal finance, and about 40 percent have no financial access to formal or informal financial systems altogether. Policy efforts to increase access to finance in Pakistan have taken time to bear fruit, but access now is expanding quickly in certain financial sectors, albeit from a very low base. Lack of information on available financial services, combined with high levels of poverty, low literacy rates, and gender bias, result in low levels of financial inclusion.

Inspired by the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh established by Muhammad Yunus in 1970’s, there has been a growth of microfinance institutions in developing countries; Pakistan is no exception. In 1980s two microfinance institutions namely the Agha Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), later known as First Micro Finance Bank (FMFB), and the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) were set up with a social objective of alleviating poverty by providing credit to the poor. These loans primarily targeted women who were unable to take up loans from formal institutions due to their inefficient targeting and strong collateral requirements.

In spite of recent achievements, access to financial services remains quite limited in Pakistan. The predominant share of the financial system, the banking sector, is mostly focused on large enterprise lending. One of the reasons for the lack of improvements in access provision is the limited availability of data on patterns of access to and usage of financial services among different population groups.

1.4.2 Gender norms of microfinance institutions and microfinance lending

Microfinance programs are assumed to play a significant role in promoting gender equality and in empowering women. These programs are not only known for giving both men and women credit and access to savings, they also reach people all over the world and bring them together in organized groups.

Microfinance has gained popularity in regards to poverty alleviation, women empowerment and community development strategies. The Government of Pakistan along with various rural support programs in the country feel that by providing credit to women which is used for income generation and consumption, the social and economic status of women can be improved. However, this faith put into microfinance is viewed with skepticism by institutions who feel that microfinance lending has further deteriorated the prevalent conditions of the women in Pakistan.

Table 1: Microfinance institutions in Punjab province of Pakistan

Institution

Bank/NGO/RSPs

Focus on women

Target Areas

Starting year

Objectives

Khushali Bank

Bank (specialized)

No

Rural and Urban Slums (All provinces)

2000

Operational and financial self

Sufficiency

KASHF Foundation

NGO (specialized)

Yes

Urban slums (Punjab)

1996

• Women Empowerment

• Poverty Alleviation

ASASAH

NGO (specialized)

Yes

Urban slums (Punjab)

2003

• Financial Sustainability

• Poverty Alleviation

DAMEN

NGO (Specialized Microcredit Division)

Yes

Rural (Punjab)

1996

Microcredit for poverty alleviation

AKHUWAT

NGO (specialized)

No

Urban slums (Punjab)

2001

Poverty alleviation

Community Support Concern

NGO (Specialized Microcredit Division)

Yes

Urban slums (Punjab)

1999

Microcredit for Women Empowerment

National Rural Support Program

RSP

No

Rural (All provinces)

1991

Multi-Sector Development

Program: Health, Education

and Microcredit for Social Mobilization

Punjab Rural Support Program

RSP

No

Urban slums (Punjab)

1998

Replication of NRSP at

Provincial Level: Integrated Multi-Sector Approach

First Microfinance Bank

Agha Khan RSP transformed into a Bank

No

Urban and Rural (All provinces)

2002

AKRSP Development Agenda: Sponsors’ mandate

Center for Women Cooperative Development

NGO

Yes

Urban slums (Punjab)

1999

Economically Empower Poor

Communities: Poverty

Alleviation

From the table above, it is clear that most of the NGO based institutions have a gender specific solidarity group approach to microcredit, where they are catering mainly to female clients. Within the group of NGOs identified ASASAH and Kashf Foundation are appropriate for this study.

ASASAH is a non-governmental and non-profit organization established in 2003 with a mission to provide quality health and social services to underserved communities. One of the core objectives outlined by ASASAH is the empowerment of women. The organization has launched its microcredit program, as part of its commitment to work towards the training of women as agents of socioeconomic development. It sees a huge opportunity to fill the present gap in the microfinance industry by developing an innovative model that brings creates a sustainable and cost effective financial services institution serving the bottom of the pyramid.

Kashf Foundation, a non-profit NGO based MFI, started its operations in Lahore District in 1996. Kashf started with the mission to `provide quality and cost effective microfinance services to low income households, especially women, in order to enhance their economic role and decision making capacity. Kashf provides four types of loan products: Firstly, the basic loan product is the general loan; secondly, it has an emergency loan which is confirmed only if the credit committee takes responsibility for repayment; thirdly, there is the home improvement loan for old and reliable clients; and fourthly, Kashf has introduced a business loan for the missing middle market. The most popular one is the general loan, which has to be repaid over a period of 12 months at an interest rate of 20 percent.

Kashf's solidarity group lending model is a Grameen Bank replication with some adaptations. At the first, the branch officers find women in the local area who want to establish a center. The center is sub divided into five groups and each group has a leader. Together, these seven women form the credit committee and are responsible for maintaining credit discipline in the center.

(1.5) Effective utilization of microfinance lending: A gender perspective

Despite efforts being made to upscale the status of women to empower them via access to credit for their own needs, entrepreneurial or personal, some evidence suggests that women are often not the final users of loans, but rather are conduits to male household members. The practice of passing on loans to male household members is potentially quite widespread; women may be bearing all the transaction costs and risks of accessing loans, but are not the final beneficiaries.

According to a report prepared by the World Bank (2012), 59 percent of women who are counted as microfinance clients, a significant proportion are likely not the final users and beneficiaries of the loan. Estimates vary, but between 50 and 70 percent of the loans made for women clients are in use by their male relatives.

In urban areas where lending is done exclusively to women, only 28 percent of the women borrowers, on average, are using the loans themselves. In contrast, in rural areas, where both men and women are active clients, approximately 68 percent of women clients are the final borrowers. In addition, 90 percent of women have to ask for permission from their husbands to obtain a loan, and 60 percent have to "urge" their husbands to repay the loan. The passing on of loans is higher in programs that lend exclusively to women, higher in nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) than in Microfinance Banks (MFBs), and higher in urban areas than in rural regions. Furthermore, it was observed that mean who have previously defaulted now use women to access credit. (World Bank, 2012).

Goetz and Gupta 1996, Kabeer 2001, Rahman 1999, reassert the point where it is emphasized that women resign the use of their loans to their husbands losing control over the decision making power to utilize the loan amount according to their personal will.

However, we cannot blind ourselves to findings that suggest that women have been able to effectively utilize the loan amount independent of the pressures by their male counterparts. (ADD MORE)

(1.6) Key words and definitions

Microfinance: "A type of banking service that is provided to unemployed or low-income individuals or groups who would otherwise have no other means of gaining financial services. Ultimately, the goal of microfinance is to give low income people an opportunity to become self-sufficient by providing a means of saving money, borrowing money and insurance."

Empowerment: "It is the process of increasing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes. Central to this process are actions which both build individual and collective assets, and improve the efficiency and fairness of the organizational and institutional context which govern the use of these assets."

Economic Empowerment: "The process which increases women’s real power over economic decisions that influence their lives and priorities in society."

Social and Political Empowerment: "A blend of women’s increased control over income resulting from access to microfinance with improved women’s expertise, mobility, and education status."

(1.7) Study objectives