“No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you; we are victims of evil customs. It is a crime against humanity that our women are shut up within the four walls of the houses as prisoners. There is no sanction anywhere for the deplorable condition in which our women have to live.”
–Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1947).

In Pakistan, the situation is steadily deteriorating: women remain sidelined from mainstream economic activities mainly due to the dominant religious and patriarchal ideology that continues to confine, subjugate and violate their space despite their having equal rights under the Constitution.
Women’s participation in civil and social activities, and their contribution on a national and international level, is necessary in order to progress gender equality and reduce gender disparities, thus steering the country towards development. These measures, though only skimming the surface, will nevertheless increase women’s visibility, generate confidence, create role models and provide increased space for leveraging their access to education and health, the other sub-indices which are critical prerequisites for inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
There is a terrible need to upgrade the status of women in society and it is only possible through giving them protection legally and mentally. She should be given access and control over resources. An effective mechanism should be institutionalized to enable the women in decision making at all levels.