Pakistan has one of the lowest women labor force participation in South Asia, primarily due to the fact that women’s careers, professional growth, creative expression, and mobility are constrained due to the prevalence of patriarchal norms. Historically, Pakistan has always been a male-chauvinistic society, but with changing times and increasing participation of women in the workforce, public spaces need to become much more accessible and safer for women.

In the last few decades, women in Pakistan have emerged as leaders in various fields be it public or private sector. They are now working in diverse sectors from agriculture to health to technology, making their mark on the national and international front and contributing to Pakistan’s development such as Ayesha Malik, Pakistan’s first female Supreme Court judge. She is also known for her ground-breaking ruling last January for abolishing the two-finger virginity test that was previously performed on victims of sexual violence and assault during rape exams. Assistant Superintendent Police (ASP) Amna Baig took oath as a sub-divisional officer in January last year. Her contributions towards making positive changes and devoting her time towards raising women and gender issues in Islamabad won her the Integrity Icon Award Accountability Lab. Shazia Parveen is the first female firefighter of rescue unit 1122 in Vehari (near Multan), and the first female firefighter in Pakistan.

With ever increasing participation of women, access to public services for women and their security needs to be prioritized. This can be achieved by creating designated spaces for women in transport, hospitals, bus stands, public washrooms, parks, and recreation spots. This is especially needed in big cities, where a competitive lifestyle requires women to participate in the economy and public life. 

Article 26 of Pakistan’s constitution emphasizes access to public spaces for every citizen of Pakistan without any discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, race, and place of birth. Ironically, Pakistani women struggle with social taboos, cultural constraints, and structural neglect that led to public spaces neither being safe nor accessible to them.

Many working women, during their daily commute to the office hardly have access to women-specific bus stands, and daily have to suffer being stared at and feeling vulnerable to harassment. The Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for Protection Against Harassment’s (FOSPAH) Annual Report 2022 outlines that the total number of complaints from 2018 to 2022 was 2,169 in the government sector, 582 lodged by women and 148 by men. In the private sector, there were 994 complaints from women and 445 by men.

The social structure divided into different classes of society also impacts how women are treated in public domains. High-end or posh areas of society treat women with more respect and women feel safer being out and about in these areas. To tackle this issue a group of women came up with an organization called ‘Girls at Dhabas’ with the aim to make local chai dhabas and local eateries which were primarily dominated by male customers become accessible to women as well.

A similar initiative by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in collaboration with UN Women is sensitizing  women, and the wider public, about their right to feel safe in public spaces, and what they can do to fight harassment and violence, including on public transport. Information stands have been set up in bus stations, containing information material  on what constitutes harassment, and what legal resources are available for women if necessary.

Women not only deserve to be safe in the streets and on public transport: But it is also essential for their equal access to social activities, education, employment, and leadership. The truth is, it’s not the piercing gazes or the opinions that have really changed, especially not among the working class. What has begun to change is women’s responses to traditional mindsets.

Recommendations or way forward

• There is a need to launch a National level policy centered on women mainstreaming, focusing on making public spaces accessible, safe, and friendly in Pakistan. 
• There is a need to educate the masses, especially men and young boys to bring about a change in mindset. Institutions with reach to the masses such as Higher Education Commision of Pakistan and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority should take the lead and implement laws and regulations that discourage objectification of women or depicts them in a restrictive manner. Powerful female archetypes from Islamic history and the sub-continent should be taught and celebrated at the public level to encourage young women in taking up space in public life. 
• Women parliamentarians  should play their role and women voters should push Political Parties to include Gender Policy in Manifesto. Specific laws to make digital and physical spaces safe for women including Laws for Cyber Space Safety of Women, Budgetary focus and Parliamentary debates on making women-friendly public infrastructure, high penalty, and swift court procedures on Harassment, Assault, or Rape cases filed by Women. 
• Police forces, public servants, and administrative staff in public service institutions should be trained and incentivized for implementing policies and procedures that facilitate women and discourage men from marginalizing women away from public life. 
• To make women feel comfortable in public places, sanitation, female hygiene and facilities for young mothers should be made accessible.
• Cyberbullying, sharing obscene material to harass women is very common. Pakistan introduced the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act in 2016. There are serious implementation gaps, strict action should be taken against violators and the FIA should hire female inspectors to investigate cases reported by females.

*This Blog Post is written by Saroosh Zafar. She is a Research and Communications Officer at Accountability Lab Pakistan.