Pakistan has been ranked the second worst country in World Economic Forum’s annual Gender Gap Index (Yemen was ranked worst). While this does not mean all women are suffocating behind the ‘chaddor and char-diwari’ – an infamous phrase meaning the three-metre cloth covering and the four walls of the house – it does speak volumes about the centuries-old patriarchal culture ruling the land. Sheba R Sultan takes a closer look.
Pakistani women make their mark
Women living in cities, especially the provincial capitals, have access to education, health and other essentials of human rights. The textile industry is booming and Pakistani women are known for their style. Women are welcomed by banks, hospitals, the educational sector, NGOs, the courts along, and the entertainment and fashion industries, and are working in graphic design, photography, journalism and film-making.
Benezir Bhutto paved the way for women to enter politics. This year, Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and five Pakistani women were included in the BBC’s 100 women of 2014. This year a Pakistani woman climbed Everest. The capabilities and spirit of Pakistani women have found international acclaim.
In the church, women outnumber men. Seminaries encourage women to enrol in degree courses and other short courses. Women are invited to preach and lead in prayer. Mother’s Day and Women’s Day are celebrated, and women of all ages are encouraged to lead youth groups and participate in women’s fellowships. The Church of Pakistan also has a women’s synod, which has representatives on the church’s synod executive, the church’s highest leadership forum.
Women encouraged to be homemakers
At the age of 15, Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai was shot in the face and left in a critical condition because of campaigning for women’s rights.
The Emmy-winning documentary Saving Face looked at the phenomenon of acid attacks that happen daily on Pakistani women. Women from the lowest economic group to the elite face sexual harassment.
Afrah Khan, a student from Peshawar, explained: ‘Daughters and sisters are considered to be a financial burden… but now women are gaining education and want to be part of the economic struggle.’ She is right. Women are joining the workplace, however they must first be ‘allowed’ to do so by their families. Most girls are still advised to choose ‘safe’ jobs, like teaching and medicine, in order to avoid long hours, travel and meetings. In fact, it is almost a cliché that Pakistani families want daughters-in-law who are qualified doctors but who will stay at home and make chapattis.
Women are given opportunities to educate and gain professional training, but they are also encouraged to leave their jobs the minute the baby cries or the house starts looking unkempt.
The church replicates society. Women are told what to wear to church. Men typically receive communion before women. And while women may be invited to the pulpit, opportunities are extremely limited. A senior clergyman told me: ‘Yes, it is a bit difficult for women to be involved in full-time ministry because of their home and family responsibilities.’
A constant threat of violence
In the cause of family ‘honour’, women are subjected to acid attacks, rape and numerous atrocities. It is common for women to be beaten and then locked inside the chardiwari to cook and clean.
At the top of the economic ladder, we find educated and sophisticated women whose role in life is often little more than being a trophy wife, decorated with branded designer clothing.
A little further down the ladder, women are ‘working professionals’ or entrepreneurs who run businesses (especially online). Their role is to support the economic growth of the family. However, their careers must fit in around their foremost duties, which are housework and childcare.
Further down this metaphorical ladder, we see women in factories, toiling in the fields or begging by the roadside.
What of the future: signs of hope
Fundamentalism, political instability and an ever-increasing rate of inflation makes life in Pakistan a challenge for both men and women. But the spirit is strong and we try to hold onto hope.
Lubna Younas, who graduated at Torch Trinity College, Korea, is encouraging women by preaching the word to congregations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In the small parish of St James, in the Taliban-stronghold of Hangu, young girls practise a Christmas carol that they will sing at a youth seminar in Mardan.
At the University of Heidelberg, in Germany, PhD student Cheryl Sultan prepares to return home to Karachi to celebrate Christmas with her family.
Throughout Pakistan, women are leaving the char-diwari to study, dance, sing, write and make their mark on the world. Women in Pakistan are joining the church, and the army too. Whatever their vocation, whatever opportunities they are able to seize, they are fighting for their rights, standing up to adversity, and serving the Lord or their country.
Sheba R Sultan is an educational trainer and member of the Church of Pakistan. This article first appeared on Weareus – the website of the Anglican mission agency Us – and is republished with permission.