Neglecting the better half
According to the generally accurate 1981 population census, there is a slight majority of females over males in Pakistan. However according to the roll of registered voters in 1993 there are more males than females among them. Whatever the actual count the fact remains that the two sexes are more or less almost in equal numbers. That is where the parity comes to a dead stop, thereafter there is enormous disparity in the social and political disciplines, a disparity that has translated into not only severe pressures on the economy but also on the fine socio-political balance. In the National Assembly (NA) there are a handful of females MNAs, the Senate does not have a single female. While there is plenty of rhetoric about evening out the imbalances but religious, cultural and psychological reservations among our mostly conservative population emasculate any real commitment towards the goal of ensuring equal opportunities to women. We have seen in our lifetime that disparity of any kind can have unfortunate consequences.
A cursory examination of the 1970 elections, conducted by Gen A.M.Yahya Khan, generally considered to be the most free and fair in Pakistan’s history, shows that in then West Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s support was derived from a preponderance of women responding to his “Roti, Kapra Aur Makan” slogan, an economic aspiration resulting from the unequal sharing of the economic pie. From 1970 to 1997, almost three decades, this support remained firm for the PPP.
A post-election PATHFINDER survey to determine the anomalies in most of the pre-elections polling that could not accurately reflect the size of Mian Nawaz Sharif’s landslide victory revealed that a vast majority of the PPP voters who stayed home rather than vote for the Zardari-dominated PPP were women. Similarly in the increase of voters for Mian Nawaz Sharif the vast majority were again women. Thus it was the “women” factor that ensured Mian Nawaz Sharif walked into the National Assembly (NA) with the biggest mandate in Pakistan’s electoral history. Another startling fact to emerge was that a fairly large segment of voters, particularly females, who would have voted for Imran Khan, voted for Mian Nawaz Sharif since they thought he was a surer bet in ensuring that Benazir Bhutto did not come back to power, in effect a negative vote of sorts. In sum, while females have a lot of political clout at the ballot box, unfortunately this does not translate into the corridors of power after Election Day. Lip-service is given to equal opportunity for women by having a handful of reserved seats in the NA. If that should become a reality as promised by the Pakistan Muslim League (PML), the next condescending exercise would be to carefully choose such representatives from among females who would not be too vocal about women’s rights and thus become an embarrassment to the ruling Party. There is strong element of male chauvinism in our political leadership, shockingly Benazir also subscribed to it except in rhetoric and some strong cases. In all fairness there must be a drastic increase in the number of women’s seats (perhaps on the basis of Proportional Representation (PR) to an extent) from 20 to at least 50 and instead of the present modus operandi of selections, a democratic way of “straw polls” among the female party faithful must be adopted in each constituency to choose their representatives. PPP’s Benazir Bhutto or for that matter, PML’s Begum Abida Hussain, must not be taken as really representing Pakistani women as given their political heritage they are capable of winning elections on their own against any contender. Begum Abida Hussain is not only positively Prime Minister-material in her own right, unlike PM-twice over Benazir she is also a lady of considerable maturity and brilliance. It is therefore an irony that she is today in the Federal Cabinet as a sop to the female constituency.
It is interesting to analyse why some Asian countries have become Asian Tigers. Indonesia and Malaysia made their extraordinary development mainly because of the vast mineral and natural resources available but even they have sustained their tremendous progress because of the substantial increase of women in their working population, particularly in high-tech industries and services. A closer model is Bangladesh, which less than two decades ago was labelled by Henry Kissinger as an “international basket-case”. Starting first with garment industries which were almost 100% populated by women, the number of women earning money has increased by leaps and bounds over the last decade. The Grameen Bank made it possible for a vast number of women to make money within the parameters (or in the vicinity) of their home despite a lack of education. This innovative and pragmatic entrepreneurial force-feeding increased the volume of money being re-cycled into the economy. Instead of creating jobs in medium and heavy industries, which cost a lot of money, in scarce foreign exchange, self-employment opportunities have been created which in turn has increased the number of jobs in the Services sector, both for males and females, dramatically rejuvenating the economy. This snowball effect has raised Bangladesh from the economic dumps it once was in. While there remains “many miles to go” (with apologies to Robert Frost), there is now light at the end of the tunnel. Conversely one adverse effect has been severe electricity shortage as the planners did not cater for the increased demand because of the new female entrepreneur class, in business, professions and the commensurate domestic increase in usage.
Pakistan will remain economically in the doldrums unless we can bring our female population into the body politic and economic. There is no doubt that in a way our vast female population in the rural areas make a silent but major contribution in the agriculture field but their counterparts in the urban areas are not as productive. We must tap this vast dormant resource and make it productive. This can only be done by having a comprehensive economic plan that will encourage self-employment among our female population by adopting the Grameen Bank concept and adapting it to the Pakistani environment. At the moment the best placed vehicle we have is the First Women Bank which already provides an infrastructure-in-place. However simultaneously with an economic plan we must have substantive political initiatives, something that is very much within the capacity of Mian Nawaz Sharif to deliver, given his enormous mandate.
Given the course of events since the elections, the PML has not shown any inclination (except for plenty of lip-service) to acknowledge the sizable contribution made by Pakistan females to their success. While it was to be expected that in the do-or-die struggle pre-elections PML could not afford to experiment, one very much expected this positive initiative post-the-elections. Sad to say that for the Senate, PML did not give any seat to females either in the “general” or “special” categories. While this was astonishing there does not seem any real urgency to increase the number of “reserved” women seats in the NA. A post-poll survey shows that while PML support remains strong in anticipation of the pre-poll promises made by the PM as he arouses trust and confidence among the female population, there is now a definite hint of disenchantment at what is being perceived as gross neglect. Noticeably this is being felt at the grassroots level, the female PML supporters inclined at the present to blame local leaders upto the Provincial level for not giving access to the Federal hierarchy except to “special interest”, “well-connected” or “controlled” groups. While the voices are still muted, the PML should be well-advised about the dangers of dealing with “women scorned”. If this perception of neglect persists, then instead of reaping the advantages of their potential, the PML may well find themselves on the receiving end of a similar campaign that downed Benazir. This would be fatal if the economy does not show positive signs of recovery, women being concerned most with food on the table. The PML have a tremendous opportunity to tap into their vast female-support resource and force-multiply their potential they would be well-advised to acknowledge women-power and utilize it effectively instead of seeming to neglecting the better half.
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment