Short Notes on “Political economy and women’s position in the Pakistan’s society since independence”

Readings:

“Political economy and women’s position in the Pakistan’s society since

independence”

Since independence on 14 August 1947, the economy of Pakistan has always been in
vicissitudes situations. For long, the country has suffered from political instability and
military interventions; in fact politics and economy have had a more profound impact on
one another in the case of Pakistan. The interactions between economics and politics have
further been complicated by the enormous influence of the country by the eternal forces
and the changes in the external environment.

Socio-political history of Pakistan:

State power in Pakistan has effectively been wielded by three sections of the ruling class;
the military, the civilian bureaucracy, and the feudal landlords. This configuration of state
power has been largely the legacy of colonial rule. All three groups that have held power
since the Partition of India and continue to exercise it today had been closely allied to the
Raj, albeit in different capacities.

The military made its first aggressive political move in 1958, and for almost the next 15
years they kept their stranglehold on state power. Ayub Khan’s military dictatorship
lasted for about 11 years and, during his era, American intervention in Pakistan’s
economy and politics intensified.

Economic development during different regimes:

Ayub Khan: His economic model appreciated in particular by the community of foreign
indoors and had produced massive macroeconomic results. GDP increased by 6.1 percent
a year and income per head of the population by 3.8% per annum.

However the rewards of the economic growth were concentrated in a few hands. There
was considerable discontent in the country’s eastern wing.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto: n 1970’s, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto came into power , Bhutto adopted a
different model of economic development from that followed by his military
predecessors. Bhutto was mainly devoted to the socialist economy, and just because of
that this period is critics by his failure. In his period, he nationalized the financial
institutions- like banks and insurance sector and some basic industries. He placed the
public rather than the private sector at the commanding heights of the economy however
this leads to the expansion of state role creating different kinds of exploitation. This
resulted into growing discontent and economic degradation leading to a regime change
bringing back the military to power in 1977 under General Zia Ul Haq.

General Zia: He took the reins of the country in 1977. During that time, the USA was
trying to pull Soviet-Union back from Afghanistan. Pakistan had taken a part in that,
which ended up with the Islamization of Zia, which he done to increase his political
support. At the same time, bulk of foreign aid was received by standing on the front line
against the Soviet Union. Moreover, the increasing trends of industrial growth can be
seen in his period, which were the result of investment in Bhutto’s era. Hence, GDP grew
at the average rate of 6.6% per annum in General Zia’s period.

The post Zia’s era led to the structural adjustment programs. In this era most of the
policies were supported by IMF programs. Pakistan was first introduced to the structural
adjustment programs during General Zia’s regime in 1982. However, after receiving the
first SAP loan, the military government discontinued these foreign loans when Pakistan
received 3.2 billion US dollars owing to Afghan-Soviet war. But in the late 1980’s
because of decline in the industrial sector, which was a major source of income, the
country faced twin fiscal and exchange deficit accompanied with the reduction foreign
aid. This compelled the government to look forward to the Bretton Wood Institutions for
support. As a result, the World Bank and IMF impelled Pakistan to decrease the public
spending and increase taxes, which eventually resulted in the cuts of developmental
projects.

Economy during military regimes: The economy did well growing at an average yearly
rate 6.5%. Rapid economic progress was often used by the military claim legitimacy for
governing the country

Close relations with United States: In a space of Žfive years (1954–1959), Pakistan
entered into as many pacts with the US and its allies.

The military leadership was able to bring the foreign affairs close to the west and in
particular the United States. During the long periods of its rule it was able to forge close
relations with the US resulting to significant amount of assistance by the US which later
on is the reason why wealth was accumulated in the hands of the few. American
economic and military assistance has had severe long-run implications for Pakistan’s
development. Its dependence on the US has influenced the direction of Pakistan’s
economic and social policies which, in turn, have studied substantive economic and
social development. In terms of industrial development, Pakistan has experienced quite
impressive rates of economic growth, but these have not been consistently achieved.

Islamization program and its implications on the women society of Pakistan:

Since Pakistan's independence, a majority of people in the country have wanted an
Islamic system. The public emotions were indeed exploited by General Haq to strengthen
his dictatorial rule.
Supporters of Islamization believe that women will finally receive their due under the
Islamic law: inheriting lands, protected by separate courts and no longer feeling the
indignity of laboring before men. However opponents of this view claim that this will
demote women to second class citizen and the meager status women in the 1970s enjoy
will disappear; be it access to health care and education.

Introduction of Islamic economic values have had minimal impact on women as only few
of them were working earning for cash. With regards to the judicial reforms including
incorporating federal shariat court and the appointment of religious scholars as qazi
(judges) ,initially conservatives were against women serving as a qazi under the shariat
law. Punishments with regard to sexual intercourse were meted out highly in a
discriminatory fashion against women. The fiat potentially most damaging to women’s
equity is Law of evidence recommended by the advisory council to the president where
women may be testifying in a hadd case.

The law of evidence, law of qisas’s and diyat, the Ansari commission’s measure has met
resistance from educated women of Pakistan, and the women action forum comprising of
lawyers and other concerned women has taken an active stance against these proposals.

The effects of Islamization at workplace are largely cosmetic; advising women to dress
more modestly, covering their heads and emphasis more placed on women compare to
men. And with regard to education policy, Urdu has been made the official language,
compulsory courses on Quranic studies and the most important changes was the proposal
for women university which some critic claim of furthering women isolation.

Conclusion:

.Zia’s regime introduced such laws and acts which were perceived as a threat to the status
of women in the country.

The intricate dance of political agitation and economic turbulence has been a defining
feature of Pakistan's landscape for the past three decades. This dynamic interplay
between the realms of politics and economics has not only steered the nation's course but
also illuminated the multifaceted challenges that have marked Pakistan's enduring quest
for stability and prosperity.