Shireen Mazari rejects WEF data on gender inequality in Pakistan
Human rights minister says it was incorrect to place Pakistan even behind Saudi Arabia in terms of gender equality
December 21, 2018
ISLAMABAD: Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari has rejected statistics about Pakistan published in a recent report by the World Economic Forum, which ranked the country as the second worst in terms of gender equality.
Expressing her views in a session of the National Assembly on Thursday, Mazari declared the WEF statistics regarding gender inequality in Pakistan as “incorrect” and said talks were being held with the forum to set its record straight.
“We are not saying that gender inequality doesn’t exist in Pakistan,” she elaborated, adding that it was the extent of the gender gap portrayed in the report that was incorrect.
WEF in its report titled 'Global Gender Gap Index 2018’ ranked Pakistan at 148th among 149 nations in terms of gender equality, being only one number ahead of Yemen. The report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
Mazari pointed out that Pakistan was placed even behind Saudi Arabia in terms of gender equality in the report, which was not correct. The report, she said, mentioned that no women held ministerial positions in the country, which was also incorrect. Many women have served as and continue to be ministers, Mazari noted.
The minister added that the government is taking steps to ensure women get their rights on an equal footing with their men counterparts.
