ASSIGNMENT

Institute Of English Language and Literature

Submitted To Ma’am Bakhtawar Jaleel
Dated: 12/March/2020

Article Title:
Movement Of Women’s Rights And Unnecessary
Slogans
Writer’s Name: Zahida Detho

Translatation by: Awais Raza Memon

Roll No: 2K19/ENG/40
Class: BS Part 2

Article Hyperlink: Kawish.Asia.Articles

Source Website: http://kawish.asia/Articles1/Zahida%20Detho/2019/2019/15%20Mar
%202019.htm
Movement Of Women’s Rights And Unnecessary
Slogans
The symbol of advanced societies and cultures is also that how
empowered women are in those societies? And are they self-involved
in employment and other matters? The societies which have a
foundation of equality for women, such societies will never become
dependent onanyone ineconomical, cultural, political and social
context. Those societies that oppose women's equality will never be
able to establish their foothold in the modern world. When more than
half of this country’s population consists of women and they are not
self-sufficient, then the concept of the development of this country
becomes incomplete. In this time, it has been proved that if there is no
participation of women in a movement or any major struggle in the
world, the struggle will not achieve its success. Pakistan's constitution
also enacted laws on women's rights, but nonetheless home-based
workers (women and children working at home) are tortured in
different ways. There is a need for more legislation against regional
conditions and local customs, which could prevent the violence.
Although the ruling class of government and politics within this country
has been claiming that women in their basic political agenda will live on
their priority, but the reality is quite opposite. The class which is most
exploited by bad governance, poor policies and the inefficient
redistribution of resources are the women.
According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan's Annual Report 2012-
2013, 56% of urban women in rural areas and 84% of rural women are
illiterate. Similarly, in Punjab, 25% of the urban population and 48% of
the rural women are illiterate. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 49% of the
urban population and 69% of the rural women are denied the right to
education. In Balochistan, 56% of urban areas and 77% of rural women
are denied educational rights. The province that is most affected in the
statistics is Sindh. Even now, when it comes out in 2019, there will be
no major change if the numbers are collected, because no major or
important decisions at the governmental level for education of the
women are seen. All the rulers of the country are currently claiming as
much for women's education and their health reforms. In practice, the
health sector spent 0.6% of the country's GDP on education and 2.4%
on health in the same years. We are the only country in our
neighboring countries, whose least part of the GDP is spent on
education and health care.

According to a 2013 annual report by a non-governmental organization,

5815 cases of violence against womenwere reported in the country,
which increased by 12% from 2012. The same year UNDP's Human
Development Index reports that we would be ranked 146 out of 186
countries in the world. Despite the most significant reforms and
legislation we have made for 2017, we remain at number 150 in the
Human Development Index numbers, which include 189 countries
worldwide. It is important to note that one of the major reasons for
examining the progress and prosperity of the countries in the world
right now is the elimination of gender gap and the economic prosperity
of women. If the rulers of Pakistan want economic development of
women then they have to think seriously about increasing the
education rate for them. The education rate of women will open up
new jobs for them, but sadly the lack of employment resources in this
country also closes the line for the economic development of educated
women.

It is a pity that the struggle for the achievement of the basic human
rights of women this year on the International Women's Day was
deliberately turned into a movement against women. The peaceful
struggle that women would have to do to change men's chauvinist
thinking was destroyed with the so-called slogans. The slogans on the
banners became a topic of debate throughout the country. Instead of
representing women belonging to the oppressed and backward classes
of society, they were representing the women belonging to that class
whoseproblems are quite different. If you look at the ground facts,
were those slogans representing the brutally murdered innocent girls in
Kandakot? Or what about the slogans associated with the oppressed
women of the country, whose faces are burned every day by acid, or
the slogans for the women who in every district of Sindh face violence
just for not being able to prepare meal on time. Did those slogans
become voice of those women? Those slogans were representing the
women of the elite class of the country, whose problems are dissimilar.
Even if the Feminist movements become unaware of the basic human
rights of women and intentionally become obstruction in the struggle
for women's rights, who would raise the voice for women's rights? The
educated and sober class of the country, which has been dealing with
these women's movements and garnered a great deal of sympathy, is
also pondering at what point the struggle for women's rights has been
diverted. If women could have their rights through such slogans, then
why would there be a need for new bills and new laws in the House of
the country? It is important to understand that within each country, the
nature of women's issues varies. In a country like Pakistan where
women are living the hardest lives, a few elite class women join the
rallies for the rights of such women and weaken the ongoing struggle
and movement for women's rights. Instead of getting support of
people, they fabricate new causesof hatred. Then how can women be
empowered? The problem of women is not just clothing, nor is it for
women to have the freedom of t-shirts and jeans instead of shalwar
and kameez. But the problem of the here is hunger, bad living
conditions and the resulting catastrophes of which the first victims are
the women living here.

If so, why are there no any social awareness banners at these rallies for
the important issues of women mentioned in the figures above?
Health, education, load shading, inflation, unemployment, lack of
resources and infrastructure, social injustice, rapes, gang rap, under-
age marriages, physical and psychological violence, honor killings, and
many more catastrophes, which comes in the women’s life. On the
other hand, it is women who accept all these distresses as their destiny
and fate, so that their problems continue to grow rather than be
solved. If a woman wants to know about health matters then she too is
counted as guilty. According to a UN report of February 15, 2018, 48%
of Pakistan's women do not even have the right to comment on their
health matters. It can be anticipatedby this, that in what period we are
living in?