Investing in women.

COULD there be a more heartbreaking tale than that of Shahida Raza? A former national hockey player forced to pursue illegal emigration, only to lose her life along with dozens of other refugees in the tragic boat crash off Italian shores last month.

Her story will resonate with most Pakistani women. She dared to dream and make the most of her talents but was stymied by the lack of opportunity. As a single mother without a job, she struggled with financial insecurity. Faced with her young child's ill health, she had no social safety net to fall back on. If these conditions won't breed desperation, what will?

Raza's trajectory is an indictment of Pakistan's sports ecosystem, its social welfare and healthcare systems, its economy with an incapacity to absorb labour and talent - indeed, of the country itself. But it also highlights the reality that Pakistani women are direct participants in our dysfunctional society, not merely appendages to it. As such, the society must be reshaped to cater to their needs and aspirations.

The typical framing of women in Pakistani public discourse as daughters, sisters, wives and mothers implies that they are secondary - the supporting cast hovering around men, who are the central characters on our sociopolitical stage. We pretend that women in their own right - women such as Raza - do not exist.

We pretend that women in their own right do not exist.

This oversight leads to the challenge that women, when they are considered, are perceived by both the state and society as inconvenient or problematic - quite literally, a public order problem.

That explains why the Lahore deputy commissioner rejected permission for the Aurat March to proceed on International Women's Day, citing concerns about 'controversial' banners and the likelihood of these provoking clashes with those who privilege haya over gender inclusion and equality.

That also explains why the most robust state response to the horrific rape in an Islamabad park last month was a directive by Pemra banning any coverage of the incident.

These are just recent examples of what are daily, egregious attempts to erase women from our social fabric.

But women are not going away. And Pakistan only ignores them to its detriment. At present, the main concern is potential economic collapse. The men running the economy have made a hash of it. In all their recent machinations, have they even considered the gains to be had from unleashing Pakistani women's potential?

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