Mind the gap.

Byline: Sanaa Tauseef

'No nation can be worthy of its existence that cannot take its women along with the men'-Muhammad Ali Jinnah

THE dream that was conceived as an idea became a reality 75 years ago when Pakistan was born as a sovereign independent state.

Our forefathers entrusted us with building Pakistan into a great nation, a country where justice shall reign supreme and human rights be accessible as birthrights to all.

Being fifth largest country in terms of population growth, we're surely growing magnanimously, but unfortunately quite clueless. Massive population of around 230 million comprises 51.46% male and 48.54% female population approximately. Apparently this appears as a minor gap of statistics but actual, and in fact major, gap lies in equality of representation between both genders.

Gender gap or disparity is the difference in representation of men and women in a society's social, cultural, economical, legal, educational and political domains.

The entire world has faced this challenge since the beginning of time but many countries have made conscious efforts and contributions in bridging the gender gap, whereas here, i.e. in Pakistan, we went from bad to worse and this gap has further widened over the years.

It's disheartening to read the recent reports by World Economic Forum on Global Gender Gap which places Pakistan in the 2nd last position; 145thamongst 146 countries in gender equality. So when and where did we go wrong?

We have multiple factors responsible for the gap and disparity with prioritizing education being the first and the foremost one.

Fate of women in our society is usually predetermined and planned by their families, especially the men of the house.

It was no surprise to learn that our female workforce is disappointingly low as only 25% of women, approximately, with university degrees, carry on to pursue their careers and work for the society.

Demographic disparity (urban vs. rural) also plays a major part as women of our rural areas are mostly confined to working in fields or staying at home. They barely have access to health facilities and are seldom involved in any decision-making; education is not even on the priority list for them.

Urban women, after completing their studies, usually don't pursue their careers mainly because of the social responsibilities entrusted upon them by the society.

Wage or remuneration gap is another demotivating factor that's affecting our gender gap as women in Pakistan are...