News flash: Women in Pakistan have it PRETTY bad!
There is a lot of research being done globally on which countries are the best to live in and what not. And a lot of research tends to focus on certain subsections which exist within society such as children, elderly and popularly women.
And similarly, the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security compiled a list of 153 countries and ranked them from the best to worst in terms of how they are for women to live in. They have an entire system on how they calculate their rankings.
These latest rankings are from 2017, and in that Pakistan was ranked at number 150 out of 153… yep.
That’s not great. And if you have disbelief reading that number then you’re not alone and you’re probably also a man. While these statistics have been around for a while, men on Twitter seemed to have just discovered them. They were recently shared by someone on Twitter who simply could not accept that Pakistan was one of the very worst countries for women to live in.
I don't know where they get their stats. We can't possibly be among the bottom 5 countries for quality of women's lives. I know we are not the best, not even good, but bottom 5? Come on! pic.twitter.com/47JBsySaVS
— Khurram Zafar (@kayzafar) October 28, 2018
And of course, other MEN could not begin to accept such an inaccuracy. Surely, women in Pakistan can’t have it THAT bad.
I agree. This does not seem correct. We have women in parliament. We have women in business. We have women in adacemia. We have women in policy making positions. There is definitely a long way to go but this information simply can’t be correct.
— Faisal Sherjan (@fsherjan) October 29, 2018
In the absence of credible research coming out of Pakistan these kind of reports will continue to malign our image on the global level.
— Faisal Sheikh (@fmsheik) October 29, 2018
Definitely need to ask source of facts for 11 indicators of Pakistan from @giwps
— Adeel Ghaffar (@adeelghaffar14) October 29, 2018
YES, EXPLAIN YOURSELF STATISTA.COM
@StatistaCharts explain this chart? How is Pakistan rated one of the five worst countries?
— Ejaz Ah (@ijazahmed101) October 29, 2018
But clearly, these men have not been talking to the women in their lives because uh, it’s pretty tough out here for us.
And a lot of women thought this ranking seemed pretty accurate.
as a woman, this list seems fairly spot on!
— Virghoe (@MahnoorMannan) October 29, 2018
Not surprised that a Pakistani man looks at these statistics with disbelief.
Maybe if you all were more aware and accepting, we would have ranked higher 🤷
— h (@bananapeppersx3) October 29, 2018
as a woman, this list seems fairly spot on!
— Virghoe (@MahnoorMannan) October 29, 2018
Sounds about right… Only women should be allowed to comment on this one
— Major Money Penny (Not a Dude) (@shieldarm19) October 29, 2018
this might come as a shocker for many @humzee1 but fact of the matter women ain't doing so good in sub continent
— Rafale Modi 🚩 (@Rafaleasur) October 29, 2018
If you are a woman who is reading this article chances are you are in the topmost percentage of this country. You cannot be considered as the average Pakistani since a large part of Pakistan’s population lives in rural areas and is largely uneducated.
So it’s not that these men are in denial but just ignorant about the fact that the women around them are privileged. And constitute a very small part of Pakistan’s female population.
Just because the women that we know and those who are usually around us seem to not have it THAT bad, does not mean that this is the reality for all the women of Pakistan. And that is exactly what some people pointed out.
Go to rural areas
— Ali Aurangzeb (@aliaur) October 29, 2018
Majority of our population is rural. Given their conditions and the horror stories we hear, these stats may not be all that off.
— Shamim Rajani (@shamimrajani) October 29, 2018
Actually we see only a small percentage in cities and are devoid of larger percentages in rest of city abd villages. Trust me majority women population is in conditions you cannot imagine. It sadly includes educated ones too.
— Huma (@humzee1) October 29, 2018
Er..
Child marriages. Women being treated as property. Women being married off to repay debts. Women getting stabbed/burned for refusing to marry someone.Young girls being shot because they go to school. 7 year olds getting raped and murdered.
But go on.— jay 🏳🌈 (@fakeandlovely) October 29, 2018
The sad part is, that these men were more upset with the thought of the ranking being seen by people around the world than by how bad lives of women in Pakistan must be for us to land this dismal spot on the list.
And these are the thoughts and opinions of educated and powerful men in the country. Turning a blind eye to the suffering of women and completely denying it will not make things any better. If men are so concerned about how bad we are doing in our ranking then they need to change their attitudes towards women and help make Pakistan a better place for females to live in. Because honestly, that is the only way that things will get any better.
What do you think about this ranking? Let us know in the comments.
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Cover Image Source: dawn.com