IRP- Complete (Final)

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QUETTA

INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH PAPERNDIVIDUAL RESEARCH PAPERON

WOMEN IN PUBLIC SERVICE WOMEN IN PUBLIC SERVICE :

ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

by :

Naushad Ahmad Participant

1st MID CAREER MANAGEMENT COURSE3 rd March 2008 10 th May 2008


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Advisor: MR MAQBOOL ALI Zafar Acknowledgement

The term paper is an important component of the 1 st Mid Career Management Course inPublic Sector Management. In order to furnish this assignment within the stipulated

time, one requires adequate time and resources such as relevant material books, typing

and photocopying facility and conducive environment.

I wish to place on record my deep appreciation and gratitude to Air Commodore (Retd)

Shaukat Haider Changezi, SI(M) SBt, Director General, Lt Col (Retd) Hamid Ghani

Anjum TI(M) Course Coordinator, and Mr Faris Rehman Chief Instructor, and other

officials at NIM for their assistance and creating the right setting which helped me to

complete my assignment without much difficulty.

I am indeed indebted to Mr Maqbool Ali Zafar Senior Instructor, a veteran and honest

research scholar who guided me all through the stages of the assignment with his

acumen, dexterity for which I can claim that I have learned a lot from him which will

guide me all through my life.

Finally, I would be failing in my obligation, if I do not acknowledge the unconditional and

sheer support of Mr Tanveer Hussain Library Officer, Syed Farzand Ali Acting

Programme Officer and Mr khalid Wali without whose help it would have been a

Herculean task to be completed.

Naushad Ahmad


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C ONTENTS

DESCRIPTION Page #

1. Executive Summary 1

2. Introduction 2

3. Chapter- 1 6

- Population and Labour Force

4. Chapter 2 14

- Women in Public Service

6. Chapter 3 22

- Challenges

7. Chapter 4 28

- Issues

Chapter 5 33

- Recommendations and Conclusion

Bibliography 36


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AIM OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study was to analyze the present status of women in Public Service

in Pakistan the constraints being faced by the women folk while entering the public

sector of the economy and women contribution in economic development of the country.

The objectives of this Research Paper are to :-

(a) Analyze the gradual increase in tendency of female entering into public

service / education in the province.

(b) The factors helping in increasing this tendency.

(c) Observing the changing attitude of the tribal society towards female

exposure to the male dominant segment of the sector.

(d) Critically examine the obstacles to the female entry in public service andeducation in Balochistan.

Methodology

For the purpose of the study I relied on secondary data, which has been collected from

published government documents, Internet and from other reliable sources. A course of

verbal discussion were carried out with Dr Rehmat Ibad Khan Director/Assistant

Collector, Employees Old-age Benefit Institution, Under Labour Division Govt of

Pakistan for his guidance and providing me relevant material and data on the subject.

Besides, a friend of mine provided me some printed material from the library of the

University of the Balochistan, Quetta. From the aforesaid details, I want to explain that I

adopted the historical method of research in accomplishing the task.


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outside the house (in manufacturing, as construction workers, in domestic services, and

as vendors).

Women participation in economic productive activities in rural and urban areas, both

within and outside the house, is now an established fact. However, they face a variety of constraints, the major ones being isolation and mobility, which prevent women's access

to information, training skills, credit and opportunities. As a result women's work

continues to be arduous and tedious and their potential productivity remains unrealized,

concurrently, their quality of life is abysmally sub-standard.


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Introduction

The occupation of women in Public Service can be traced throughout the history of

mankind. The references in scriptures of different religions refer participation of womenas worker and co-worker with men at work. Even there are evidences of coordinated

work approach between Adam and Eve. The annals of history however, reveal that

working environment, nature of duties monitory returns and facilitations to women at

work have been changing from time to time and had been different from area to area. In

general, working women had been facing adverse and restricted environment with less

then compensated monitory returns.

With the advent of political awakening and the Industrial revolution in 17 th century,

particularly under the influence of liberate philosophers and proponents of social justice,

working environment for women had been gradually improving. However, this

evolutionary process had not been uniform in different areas and had been changing its

pace from one era to the other.

The life of a Pakistani woman is not easy. It is not a hidden fact that she is subjected to

discrimination and harassment, within and without the so-called sanctuary of her home.However, harassment and bullying becomes more intense and blatant when she steps

out of her home for work or education. From catcalls to verbal innuendo to physical

harassment, she has to endure it all, mostly at the hands of strangers, on the streets

and on public transport. This harassment does not stop, or rather become more

palpable in many cases, at her place of work.

What is Public Service?Public service is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its

citizens , either directly (through the public sector ) or by financing private provision of

services. The term is associated with a social consensus (usually expressed through

democratic elections) that certain services should be available to all, regardless of

income . Even where public services are neither publicly provided nor publicly financed,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_(economics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_sectorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Private_provision&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Social_consensus&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incomehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_(economics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_sectorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Private_provision&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Social_consensus&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income


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for social and political reasons they are usually subject to regulation going beyond that

applying to most economic sectors . Public services is also a course that can be studied

at college and/or university. These courses can lead entry in to the: police, ambulance

and fire services

Participation Of Women In Public Service

Until modern industrialized times, legal and cultural practices, combined with the inertia

of longstanding religious and educational traditions, have restricted women's entry and

participation in the workforce . Economic dependency upon men, and consequently the

poor socio-economic status of women have also restricted their entry into the workforce .

Particularly as occupations have become professionalized over the nineteenth and

twentieth centuries, women's meagre access to higher education has effectively

excluded them from the practice of well-paid and high status occupations. Entry of

women into the higher professions like law and medicine was delayed in most countries

due to women being denied entry to universities and qualification for degrees. For

example, Cambridge University only fully validated degrees for women late in 1947, and

even then only after much opposition and acrimonious debate. Such factors have

largely limited women to low-paid and poor status occupations for most of the 19 th and

20 th centuries. However, through the twentieth century, public perceptions of paid workshifted as the workforce increasingly moved to office jobs that do not require heavy

labor, and women increasingly acquired the higher education that led to better-

compensated, longer-term careers rather than lower-skilled, shorter-term jobs.

Restrictions on women's access to participation in the workforce include the wage gap

and the glass ceiling , inequities most identified with industrialized nations with nominal

equal opportunity laws; legal and cultural restrictions on access to education and jobs,inequities most identified with developing nations; and unequal access to capital,

variable but identified as a difficulty in both industrialized and developing nations.

The division of labor by gender has been particularly studied in women's studies

(especially women's history, which has frequently examined the history and biography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_sectorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workforcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socio-economic_statushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workforcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professionalizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_educationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Careerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage_gaphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_ceilinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_opportunityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_of_laborhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_studieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_sectorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workforcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socio-economic_statushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workforcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professionalizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_educationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Careerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage_gaphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_ceilinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_opportunityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_of_laborhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_studieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_history


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of women's participation in particular fields) and gender studies more broadly.

Occupational studies, such as the history of medicine or studies of professionalization ,

also examine questions of gender, and the roles of women in the history of particular

fields.

Womens participation in the service arena and politics and in the exercise of political

responsibilities should be encouraged and facilitated by action to promote awareness,

comprising civic and political education, which helps women to known their rights and to

become conscious of their capacity to have a direct hand in political life. The public

sector of government dept, Parliament, Political Parties and organizations, trade unions,

non-government organizations and the media can all contribute to this process.

Status Of Women In Pakistan

Pakistan consists of four provinces, the Federal Capital area and the Federally

Administered Tribal Area (FATA). The overwhelming majority in Pakistan is Muslim and

the society consists of a, linguistic, ethnic and cultural diversity. Both women and men

have equal rights under the Constitution. The Fundamental Rights in the Constitution

guarantee the equality of all citizens before the law and forbids discrimination on the

basis of sex alone. However, it provides space for affirmative action by the state in the

context of women particularly in providing them with the job opportunities especially in

public sector.

Despite tall claims the status of women in Pakistan is not homogenous due to the inter-

connection of gender with other forms of exclusion in society. Unseen socio-economic

development and the impact of tribal, feudal and capitalist social practices have led to

diversity in the status of women across classes, region and the rural / urban divide.There remains a significant dichotomy however, in the status of women in Balochistan

with that of the rest of the nation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_studieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_medicinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professionalizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_studieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_medicinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professionalization


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CHAPTER - 1

POPULATION LABOUR FORCE AND EMPLOYMENT

At the time of independence in 1947, 32.5 million people lived in Pakistan. By 2006-07,

the population is estimated to have reached 156.77 million. Thus in roughly three

generations, Pakistans population has increased by 124.27 million or has grown at an

average rate of 2.6 percent per annum. While Pakistan has more mouths to feed, more

families to house, more children to educate, and more people looking for gainful

employment, the high population also represents an abundance of labour, which can be

used for productive purposes.

The large population also represents a large potential market for goods and services.

This large consumer base with increasing disposable income may attract even more

foreign investment. The large population therefore represents a big opportunity for

Pakistan to benefit from demographic dividend which can fuel Pakistans growth for the

next fifty years. The interest in relationship between population change and economic

growth has reignited in Pakistan which is experiencing declining fertility and mortality

rates and therefore declining growth in population. Consequently, Pakistan is witnessingchanges in age structure with proportion of working age population increasing and

offering a life time window of opportunity to turn demographic transition into

demographic dividend.

The population profile in Pakistan reveals that in order to achieve sustainable

development and to control overpopulation, empowerment of women, effective use of

resources, efficient family planning, and popularization of small family norm are

imperative. Furthermore, slowdown in population growth rate, wider coverage of

reproductive health services, education of women, and effective steps to eradicate

poverty are prerequisites for sustainable development in Pakistan as well.


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Socio Economic Profile

Pakistani society is characterized by tremendous linguistic, ethnic and cultural diversity.

There are also considerable economic disparities between different sections of society,

as well as divisions of caste, tribe, clan and class. It is dominated by a feudal and tribalvalue system, with strong patriarchal trends which permeate attitudes and behavior

even where the actual social structure has changed. The overwhelming majority in

Pakistan is Muslim, but while Islam and related State policies have affected social

patterns to some extent, Pakistani society is so entrenched in culture, that customary

and traditional laws and practices usually override both statutory and Islamic laws,

which are only used selectively or adapted in accordance with cultural traditions.

Pakistans political history includes several constitutional crises, frequent periods of political turmoil, economic instability, martial laws, wars and internal strife on sectarian,

ethnic, language and provincial autonomy issues. This has affected the evolution of a

political culture, the development of democratic norms, and respect for human rights

and the rule of law. All these social, cultural, economic and historical factors have

directly and indirectly affected the status and rights of women at every level and in all

sectors, and have negatively impacted on their integration in development or their real

participation in the processes of decision-making.

Table 1: Basic data on Pakistan

PopulationFemale Male

Level of Urbanization(As percent of

totalpopulation)

GNP per capita US $

48 : 52 32.5 500

Source :1. Population Growth and its implications, National Institute of Population studies,Islamabad.2. Provisional results of fifth population and housing census, Statistic Division, Govt of Pakistan 1998.3. Human Development Report 1999 - The Crisis of Governance


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Table 2: Participation of Women in the Labour Force

Labour Force Percentage of Women inLabour Force

Share of Income of Women

Urban : 12.5 million 8.4 26 percent (U/R)

Rural: 26.9 16.3Source: 1. Economic Survey 1900-20002. Human Development Report 1999 - The Crisis of Governance

The share of urban women in professional and related jobs was stated to be about 20

percent in 1992, largely in the traditional teaching and medical professions. They

constituted 9.4 percent of production workers, only one-sixth of whom were paid

employees, while most were relegated to temporary, casual or contract work outside the

regular workforce. It was estimated that 77 percent of the economically active women in

urban areas in 1991-2 were employed in the informal sector, four fifths of whom were

home-based workers with average monthly earning of less than one-third of the factory

workers, themselves the lowest level employees in the formal sector.

Labour Force Participation Rate

In Pakistan, labour force participation is estimated on the basis of the Crude Activity

Rate (CAR) and the Refined Activity Rate (RAR). The CAR is the percentage of thelabour force in the total population while RAR is the percentage of the labour force in

the population of persons 10 years of age and above. According to the Labour Force

Survey 2003-04 the overall labour force participation rate (CAR) is 30.41 percent (48.74

percent of males and 11.16 percent of females). CAR was 28.7 percent in 1996-97

increased to 29.4 percent in 1997-98 but later declined to 29 percent in 1999-00. It has

increased to 29.61 percent in 2001-02 and finally to 30.4 percent in 2003-04.

The labor force participation rates for women are grossly underreported by the official

sources of data. The 1997 Labour Force Survey reported the refined activity rate2 for

women as 13.6 percent and 70 percent for men, while the crude activity rate3 was 9

percent and 47 percent, respectively. This is due to problems in data collection such as

an inappropriate definition of economic activity, male enumerators who get information


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regarding working women from the male members of the family, questions seeking

information on a single main activity, and exclusion of the informal sector. In the cultural

context of Pakistan, womens wage work is considered a threat to the male ego and

identity and womens engagement in multiple home-based economic activities leads to

under remuneration for their work. Pakistani girls and women spend long hours fetching

water, doing laundry, preparing food, and carrying out agricultural duties. Not only are

these tasks physically hard and demanding, they also rob girls of the opportunity to

study.

Employment Situation

The employed labour force is defined as all persons of ten years and above who workedat least one hour during the reference period and were either paid employees or self-

employed. Based on this definition, the total number of the employed labour force in

2005 is estimated at 43.22 million compared to 42.24 million in 2004. The total number

of employed persons in rural areas has increased from 28.98 million in 2004 to 29.65

million in 2005. Similarly, urban employment increased from 14.69 million in 2004 to

15.03 million in 2005. The distribution of the employed labour force in urban / rural

areas from 1990-91 to 2003-05 is given in Table 2. The above table also reflects a

steady rise in the quantum of employment over the years for both rural and urban parts

of Pakistan. In 2003-04, rural employment (1.98 million increase) has increased more

than urban employment (0.89 million). Whereas total employment has also risen

considerably from last year (0.71 million increase).

Table 3 : No. of Employed in comparative LFS (Million)

Year Pakistan Rural Urban Increase1990-91 29.14 20.66 8.48 ---1991-92 30.19 21.82 8.37 1.051992-93 31.06 22.38 8.68 0.871993-94 31.83 23.42 8.41 0.771994-95 31.96 23.34 8.62 0.131996-97 34.75 24.24 10.51 2.791997-98 36.44 25.50 10.94 1.69


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1999-00 36.72 26.08 10.64 0.28

2001-02 38.88 26.66 12.22 2.162003-04 41.75 28.64 13.11 2.87Source: Labour Force Survey 2003-04

Employed Women

The present society of Pakistan inherited majority of trends form the Hindu Culture,

Muslim rule and Foreign Occupation. During the last 6 decades of indolence, people of

Pakistan had been able to develop their own thoughts and thus amended the ongoing

trends in all walks of life including trends for working women. Pakistan is one of the

countries in which despite a lot of improvement, much jobs is still to be done. When

planning or attempting to get the things better, there emerges another complication, thetrends and level of environmental setup very form province to province and from area to

area within the same province.

In Pakistan's economy women play an active role. But their contribution has been

grossly underreported in various censuses and surveys. Consequently, official labour

force statistics show a very minimal participation of women. For example, the 1991-92

Labour Force Survey revealed that only about 16% of women aged 10 years and over were in the labour force and in comparison, the men's participation rate was 84%. On

the contrary, the 1980 agricultural census showed that women's participation rate in

agriculture was 73% and that women accounted for 25% of all full-time and 75% of all

part-time workers in agricultural households. Also, the 1990-1991 Pakistan Integrated

Household Survey indicated that the female labour force participation rate was 45% in

rural areas and 17% the urban areas. Thus it is clear that if women's contribution to

economic production is assessed accurately, a conservative estimate of women's labour

force participation would be between 30% and 40% (ESCAP, 1997).

Classification of Working Women


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Pakistan's population estimated at 131.6 million in January 1996, comprised 47.5%

women and 52.5% men. The population growth rate remains as high as 2.8% per

annum. Based on a 1993 survey, 46.1% of the population is under 15 years of age and

4.1% over 65 (EIU, 1997). According to the 1981 census, 72% of the population lived in

rural areas. A 90% of the households are headed by men and most female-headed

households belong to the poor strata of the society (ESCAP,

1997). The population density is 106 persons per square km

(EIU, 1997). The total fertility rate was 5.4% in 1990-91.

Pakistan is an Islamic country and 97% of the population

follows Islam. The important religious minorities are

Christians, Hindus and Parsis. (ESCAP, 1997). The sex ratioin Pakistan is such that there are 110.6 men per 100 women (1981 census). This

phenomenon is attributable to male-favoured sex ratio at birth and higher female

mortality. Further, in urban areas this sex ratio is 115.3 men to 100 women, whereas in

rural areas it is 108.7 men to 100 women. Such a difference could be attributed to a

large male out-migration from rural to urban areas (ESCAP, 1997).

EducationIn Pakistan, educational attainment shows poor results. Particularly the educational

status of Pakistani women is among the lowest

in the world. According to the 1981 census, the

literacy rate for the population of 10 years and

above is 26.2%. However, there are distinct

gender and rural/urban differentials concealed in

the literacy rate. Women have a literacy rate of

16%, as against 35% for men. Similarly, the

literacy rate for the urban population only is

47.1%, whereas the literacy rate for the rural

population is 17.3%. Moreover, this rural/urban differential is more pronounced in the

case of women than men. The literacy rate for urban men (55.3%) is more than twice

Sex ratio by

residence

(males/100 women)

Source: ESCAP, 1997

Literacy rate in different

residence

by gender (%)

Source: ESCAP, 1997


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the rate for rural men (26.2%). However, the literacy rate for urban women (37.3%) is

more than five times the rate for rural women (7.3%) (ESCAP, 1997). The crude activity

rate (% of labor force in total population) for women in rural areas is 10.7% and 6.3% in

urban areas) and the refined activity rate (% of labor force in population of persons

having 10 years of age and above) is for women in rural areas is 16% and 8.8% in

urban areas.

As we have discussed in the previous paragraphs / pages, these are innumerable

professions where ladies are performing different functions, however in terms of

interaction with public working ladies can broadly be divided into two main groups.

These groups include:-

(i) Women not in interaction with public.(ii) Women with interaction in public.

Our present paper in not concerned with ladies of first identity. In this paper we have to

discuss ladies in interaction with public. The profession in which women / ladies come in

interaction with the public mainly include professions of teaching, civil profession.

(i) Women in profession of teaching are usually respected and found to be

more effective and result oriented. Not only the students, but also family

members of the students respect teachers. As all families have girls thus

all families, one way or the other respect ladies in the profession of

teaching.

(ii) Women / ladies in medical profession, particularly the doctors are also

respected among masses. However, despite openings to all filed to

specialization, lady doctor prefer to go in the field of gynecology.

Nevertheless lady doctors with other specialization are also working and

holding good name.

Women in the professional of nursing are generally good professional however, public

opinion differ about them. Majorities of masses like and respect nursing profession but

few sections of masses generally take nurses involved in immoral activities. Usually


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CHAPTER - 2

WOMENS REPRESENTATION IN PUBLIC SERVICEIn order to increase womens representation in public service, the Government of

Pakistan has developed institutional arrangements at the federal and provincial levels: A

National Commission on the Status of Women was set up in 2000, with the objective of

the emancipation of women, equalization of opportunities and socioeconomic

conditions amongst women and men and elimination of all forms of discrimination

against women. The Ministry for Womens Development has taken on a more policy

oriented and advocacy role, a shift away from being project focused. A National Policyfor Development and Empowerment of Women has been in place since 2002, which

aims at gender equality and social, political and economic empowerment of women.

Womens issues are important question that concern society as a whole. Government

should thus take the necessary steps to ensure that the interests of women are explicitly

dealt with, in a permanent and thorough manner and in all areas pertaining to

government jurisdiction. It is absolutely essential that the necessary material and human

resources be earmarked for this purpose. Part of these resources should be devoted to

promoting womens to participation in civic life as an integral part of part of the process

of strengthening democracy and the Ministry of Education should specially see to it that

proper civic, political and legal education is dispensed form early childhood.

Positive Aspects for working Women in Pakistan

The betterment of environments for working women in Pakistan is die to different

reasons. The important reasons include the following:-(i) Innumerable openings for girls to go for formal and technical education.

This includes a large number of primary, middle and high schools for girls,

colleges of formal education, vocational institutions and Skill Development

centers.


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(ii) Increasing number of position of jobs in Government, Public and private

sector specifically for ladies. This includes jobs in the institutions precise

for girls and women, jobs for lady doctors and nurses in hospitals and

health centers and above all equal opportunities for girls in federal and

provincial competitive examinations.

(iii) Entrance and active participated of ladies in national polities. This has

been a very positive and influential factor. A large number of women have

started participating in national polities through participation in political

parties. in addition, ladies were equally allowed to compete male

candidates in national, provincial and local bodies elections along with

special seats, reserved only for women in national and provincial

legislature.

Quota Provisions to Achieve Gender Equality in Public Offices

Pakistan is a federation with four constituent provinces - Punjab, Sindh, North-West

Frontier Province (NWFP) and Balochistan including Islamabad Capital, Federally

Administered Northern Areas (FANA) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas

(FATA). Pakistan has a parliamentary system of government and Constitution provides

a power sharing formula. The federal legislature comprises the National Assembly and

Senate, referred to as the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament respectively. Quota

provisions have been introduced as special measures to address the gender inequality

in public life at all the three levels of government national, provincial and local.

Effectiveness of Quotas

It is often argued that increased representation of women through quotas will have

direct, tangible outcomes which will be good not only for women but also for the political

system in general:

Equality between men and women will engender general social equality;

Because women are more hard working, their increased representation will

improve the work of legislative bodies;

Because women are less corrupt their inclusion will lead to good governance;


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Because women are more problem-solving in their approach to politics, their

presence in public office will reduce adversarial politics in favour of a more

inclusive approach.

In this study I have examined whether these arguments are valid and hold up to

scrutiny. That the barriers to their participation can be both formal (state law) and

informal (social norms) reinforcing each other in gendered hierarchies and both

have to be challenged. That is, both the form of politics and its content. The question of

form includes:

a) the demand to be among the decision-makers and

b) the demand for participation and a share in control over public affairs.

In terms of content, it includes being able to articulate the needs, wishes and demands

of various groups of women. While quotas are an important strategy for addressing the

gender imbalance in public offices, other enabling measures also need to be taken in

order to encourage women to access and participate in public life and to continue to

work in it for the long term. This can only happen when strategies address both, issues

of recognition of different status of women and men in Pakistani society and that of

redistribution of material and cultural resources so that women are able to secure thefoundations of their choice to enter public life.

Understanding quotas in context is thus to explore the political, economic and social

landscape within which they unfold. Without the understanding of these contexts,

quotas can only be focused on increasing numbers. Going beyond numbers requires a

more nuanced and context specific approach.

Before we examine the current quota policies and their impact, we outline the evolution

of this policy to indicate that although this policy has gained international prominence

fairly recently, a quota policy has been a long standing strategy to address gender

inequality in Pakistan.


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and there is a fear the financial resources may not be committed by the already

financially stretched provincial governments. Currently the work is going on to change

the rules of business, and changing nomenclatures etc. There is a provision for Gender

Resource Centre in the federal GRAP money. But there is concern whether these

measures might not be cosmetic. The elected representatives generally did not have a

fair idea of what GRAP was. In addition, women parliamentarians did not have a clear

idea of the Gender Reform Action Plan, which would lead to issues of ownership of the

Plan.

Quota Provisions

As noted above, quotas have become a key strategy for increasing womens

participation in Public Service. By examining womens representation in public officeswe can explore the following:

Strategies that women employ to access the public sphere in the context of a

patriarchal socio-political system. These women have been successful in

subverting the boundaries of gender, and in operating in a very aggressive

male dominated sphere. Could other women learn from this cohort?

The role that the State can play in increasing womens representation

through both direct quotas and indirect supporting shifts in publicdiscourse measures.

The impact of greater womens presence in challenging and shifting gender

hierarchies whether an increase in numerical presence results in a

substantive presence .

Under the Conduct of General Elections Order 2002, (Chief Executives Order No. 7 of

2002) the number of seats in the Senate, National Assembly of Pakistan and the

Provincial Assemblies of Punjab, Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan was increased,

considerably improving the number of women in political institutions at the provincial

and national levels.


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Although under the National Plan of Action there was a quota of 5% within all

occupational groups and grades of public services, the Commission suggested

enhancing this further by: 10% in all sectors and grades 15% in BPS-19 and above

15% in key policy bodies, including autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies, advisory

boards, banking institutions etc.. The Commissions conclusions highlighted extensive

systemic discrimination faced by women in recruitment, transfers, promotions and

institutional support. As the table below shows, despite the outlining of the governments

commitment to address this issue in the National Plan of Action the percentage of

female employees in Federal employment is extremely small.

Given the security of jobs, the possibility of monitoring employment conditions and the

cultural predisposition of families towards government jobs, these figures show littleprogress for women in this key area of employment. A key finding of our fieldwork

towards writing this Report was the inadequacy of transport, child care and washroom

facilities for women, making the daily work environment a struggle for them. Our studies

in this regard support the Reports findings.

Source: The National Commission on the Status of Women, 2003

CHAPTER

Balochistan Factor

Senior bureaucrats in local government in Balochistan, in the planning and development

divisions and even senior women bureaucrats argued that women were simply not

available for the positions that were advertised. The perception was that women did not

come up for interviews, that they did not show up and finally that they simply were not

available for the jobs that were being advertised. However, the Balochistan Public

Service Commission figures explode this myth with the figures of the women who

appeared in various tests in the past six years. Out of 2779 posts advertised, 8613

women had applied, four times the number, even in the province where womens

literacy in rural areas is as low as 11%. The other perception was that women prefer to

be in health and education, where the conditions were favorable for women in terms of

postings, and holidays, etc. However, it is quite clear from the data of the Balochistan


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Public Service Commission that most of the recruitment that is carried out with respect

to women is only in education, health and population departments. Only 3 position out

of a total of 2779 positions advertised, had openings for women outside these three

womens departments. So, it is not that these positions are liked, but that they are

available for women officers. The need for a quota for women in the bureaucracy at all

levels and in all departments especially in the top echelons of the service is critical.

Basic Pay Scale %age of female employeesAll scales (BPS 1-22) 5.4

Officers Category (16-22) 8.7

Other Category (1-15) 4.9

TO ACHIEVE GENDER EQUALITY IN PUBLIC OFFICE

Studying quotas in political institutions in context helps us recognize the importance of

civil service reform. Without a significant increase in the number of women in public

services the effectiveness of quotas for women in legislative institutions suffers

women we interviewed often complained of government offices being hostile territory for

them. Civil service reform is therefore necessary for the full realization of both

devolution and poverty reduction, as well as to achieve a more focused, results and

performance oriented, demand driven, transparent and accountable public

administration that is more responsive to the citizenry. Despite several initiatives to

improve the presence of women in public life, the most successful measures have been

at the level of local government with 33% quotas for women, with the parliamentary and

provincial quotas following. There is still a long way to go before gender equality can be

achieved in the bureaucracy and political parties. Given the fact that political parties donot have a quota system and that gender imbalance there is significant, it seems that

quotas remain a key strategy to achieve gender equality in public life.


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Women in Public service in Balochistan:

The moment the provinces of North Western Frontier Province and Balochistan comes

to the mind, one immediately thinks of pro-Taliban and pro-Al Qaeda forces, rugged

geographical terrain, religious fundamentalism, suppressive patriarchal society, which in

some ways reflects total anarchy. The rise and empowerment of the women of

Balochistan has undermined as well as challenged the denominator that usually

characterizes the position of women in a society. They remain to be extremely poor,

illiterate and bound by traditional norms of a tribal society that remains to be patriarchal

in nature, but they still play an influential role in determining the future of the province.

Educational institutions remain to be principal agents of political socialization and

awareness, and the first womens university, the Sardar Bahadur Khan WomensUniversity in Quetta, remains to be a step forward for strengthening a portion of the

Balochi tribal women community who has been deprived of the fruits of modernization

and development. According to a World Bank Report, only 15 percent of women in

Balochistan, the largest but least populated province of Pakistan, have attended school.

Though the quality and standard of education for women remains to be very poor in the

province, but there has been an initiation of improvement in that aspect. However,

according to data collected from Directorate of Education, and Bureau of Statistics P&D

Govt of Balochistan, total number of women engaged in major Public Service i.e.

education sector are 543 lecturers, 12920 are employed in various Govt Schools in

various positions. Similarly the number of lady doctors is 383, nurses 486 LHVs 556 and

Midwives 1345. While a good number of women are engaged in various NGOs

however, the exact data could not be obtained.


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CHAPTER - 3

CHALLENGES FOR WOMEN IN PUBLIC SERVICE

It has been observed in chapter 2 that despite an increasing rhetorical acceptance of

quotas for women in public life, the effectiveness of quota based representative

institutions and politics is not yet very high. In the last chapter we outlined three areas

within which quotas need to be contextualized economic, political and cultural if

women are to take up leadership roles in Pakistani public life. Based on our research, in

this section we set out the socio-economic and political challenges facing women who

access public life with the support of quotas. The research findings support our

hypothesis that gaining political equality for women is critical for the effectiveness of measures that seek to achieve gender balance in public life.

Lack of Access to and Transformation of Public Space

Lack of access to public spaces is one of the key impediments faced by many women

public servants; public offices remain alien environments. This, of course also reinforces

the need for womens presence in large numbers in public offices so that a

transformation of public space can take place. This inaccessibility affects their work, andtheir ability to solve problems and to deliver services to their constituents. Only those

women who had overcome their inhibitions and did enter public spaces were confident

about their roles as problem solvers. In rural and semi-urban districts, such women

remain a minority. Women politicians who step out into the male space feel there are

clear problems of access to the male electorate. There is only a slight difference a

problem of interaction with colleagues. Men can do those at all levels, backslapping

clubbing behavior. But we are excluded from that. That, she argues, makes a problem

at decision-making levels. In the constituency as well, there is a slight problem of

access and women can not be as accessible as a man can be, even though the

conditions have improved.


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Continued Gender Segregation and Subordination

Gender segregation and subordination challenges women who are able to access

public office. In the case of women councilors, nearly all were persuaded by their male

relatives or other influential men of the community to put their names forward for

election. As a result, they continue to confront the traditional mind-set where their male

colleagues reject them as equal partners in politics. They are seen as representing only

women and they are given the responsibility related to gender specific project and

programs. There are frequent complaints by women councilors that they do not receive

invitation to the council meetings. They are not consulted in development planning at

the district and union council levels. Women from the district councils are not given

equal share of development fund as they are perceived to have no direct constituency.The findings of the study showed that 50% of the women councilors attended only one

meeting where the election of chairman took place. Afterwards, if there was any matter

in which their presence was required papers were sent to their houses for their

signature or thumb impression.

Ideologies of Honour and Shame

One out of the four women government officials interviewed reported sexual

harassment. The cultural ideology of hiya or shame was raised by the male councilors

as a factor that inhibited womens participation in the public space, as it inhibited their

movements and their voice. Sexual harassment often took the form of male gossip

against women in public life. Councilors in Balochistan, like Farida Kakar, talked about

how people talked behind her back. Her being single also made it a big problem, as it

gives more room for gossip to people. They say Jawan behan ko chor diya hai. Ghar

main nahin rehti (He has left his young sister; she doesnt stay at home). I am sensitive

so I go down for a day, and then come out again. The DCO Quetta spoke of historical

reversal, where from a liberal face, the society became conservative, an era especially

attributed to General Zias Islamisation of society. When I was a boy, there were co-

educational schools. In Quetta there were hotels in which girls from good families used

to come in the evening and take dinner. There was a liberal atmosphere. The culture of


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Baloch and Pakhtoon is liberal. Now a reversal of trends has taken place and the

conservatism of Zia rule has taken hold in the society. Co-ed institutions are finished.

Girls and boys are segregated.83 He forwarded a culture change argument saying that

until and unless the culture of conservatism does not change, womens presence in the

public spaces and offices will not be a reality.

Equal Opportunity Policies

Recruitment and Promotion of women Increasing womens employment must be the key

element in the governments approach to achieving gender equality in public life. As we

have seen, there is particular need to address the issue of womens employment in

public service over which the government has direct control. In both public service and

political life, we have seen that women often do not get the support of senior officers inpromotion. They have to routinely work harder than men in order to gain the respect of

their colleagues and make a case for their promotion. Attention should be given to the

gender balance of recruitment panels, as well as gender training of those serving on

these. Due process must be adhered to when making appointments. Recruiting more

women should be accompanied by gender sensitive career management programmes

throughout government services. The social infrastructure needs to be improved

together with emphasis on recruiting women, in particular by improving training, sanitary

and childcare facilities.

Equal opportunity policies for recruitment and promotion should be clearly set out,

monitored and implemented rigorously. Reporting mechanisms to ensure that equal

opportunity policies are being implemented should be strengthened. The flouting of

equal opportunity policies should not be tolerated and measures to address this must be

implemented. The Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) should oversee these

measures. However, this can only happen if the FPSC is itself gender sensitized

through a thoroughgoing gender mainstreaming training programme.

Work and Womens Empowerment

The division of a family's joint benefits is likely to be less unfavorable to women if:


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they can earn an outside income;

their work is recognized as productive (this is easier to achieve with work

done outside the home);

they own some economic resources and have some rights to fall back on; and

there is a clear-headed understanding of the ways in which women are

deprived and a recognition of the possibilities of changing this situation.

This last category can be much influenced by education for women and by participatory

political action. Considerable empirical evidence, mostly studies of particular localities,

suggests that what is usually defined as "gainful" employment (i.e., working outside the

home for a wage, or in such "productive" occupations as farming), as opposed to unpaid

and unhonored houseworkno matter how demandingcan substantially enhance the

deal that women get.

Source: Amartya Sen, More Than 100 Million Women

Are Missing The New York Review of Books, Volume

37, Number 20; ucatlas.ucsc.edu/contents, December

20, 1990

Ensuring Joined Up Thinking On Gender Mainstreaming

The various government departments need to work together in cross-cutting ways to

ensure that gender mainstreaming takes place across issue fields, policy frameworks,

and implementation strategies. Parallel, disjointed work duplicates efforts, treats

womens issues as add-ons and restricts the remit of gender mainstreaming.

Womens Protection Act

After a long consultative process with all stakeholders, Pakistan's National Assembly

and Senate approved in November 2006 amendments to a controversial rape law. The

new law makes a distinction between Zina (i.e. sex outside of marriage) and rape. Rape

is no longer covered under the Hudood Ordinance and is tried under the normal PPC

law. In addition, the new procedural changes require that anyone accusing a person of


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committing Zina would also need to provide four witnesses. False witnesses would be

automatically tried for Qazf, without the victim needing to file a separate case.

Furthermore, Zina is now a bail able offence where bail can not be refused. However, a

controversial clause has 496-B has been added in PPC under which consensual non-

marital sex (Zina) has been made punishable by five years in prison or a 10,000 rupees

(US$165, euro129) fine. Under the Hudood Ordinance, Zina and rape would be treated

similarly and rape victims could only raise a case under the Hudood Laws, which

required testimony from four witnesses to the crime.

Source : Women Protection Act, 2006

Role of NGOs

It will be fruitless to think that the issue of overpopulation can be laid to rest without thehelp and support of the private sector. In this regard the non-governmental

organizations (NGOs) play an important role. Realizing this the government highly

encourages and supports endeavors undertaken by various NGOs for undertaking

innovative and cost-effective service delivery and awareness campaigns to cover

specific urban and semi-urban areas like slums, katchi-abadis and labour colonies.

There is a strong tradition in Pakistan of local NGOs being engaged in social andeconomic issues, from land reform to the rights of women to economic development.

Many of these groups, though small in resources and staff by international standards,

nevertheless have significant experience and capacity in program implementation,

monitoring, and training at the local level. While the relationship with the Government of

Pakistan and local NGOs has been strained at times, there is a functional foundation

and history to build upon. The fact that the local NGOs have in the past confronted and

challenged the government is in keeping with their role as local organizations engaged

in promoting change, and they should remain strong in this key role. Their demonstrated

willingness to confront and challenge the government on behalf of those for whom they

advocate makes them uniquely qualified to give voice to the needs of destitute women.


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For the first time in Pakistan civil society organizations have initiated a collective

campaign for women representation and training in local government. The initiative was

started by the Aurat Foundation and later joined by Muthida Labor Federation, SAP-PK,

SAVERA, PILER, Sungi Development Foundation, Khwendo Kor, HRMDC, SBRC,

Pakistan NGO Federation along with four provincial coalitions and lot of other

organizations. The campaign is called the Citizens Campaign for Womens

Representation in Local Government . This campaign has great potential to improve

the representation of women in local government. The first stage will be to mobilize

women to stand as candidates for the reserved seats at the union Council level and

ensure that there is local support for them. At the same time there will be a need to build

an environment in the constituency, which is not hostile but actually supportive for

women to play their role as candidates and representatives of the people. This will needto be combined with some political orientation for the candidates for them to participate

in the electoral process with some knowledge.


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CHAPTER - 4

ISSUESIn the light of above discussion it can be deduced that major associated with women in

public service are associated with contrasting and antagonistic tendencies compounded

with parochial thought of men and also of the women. The major issues in connection

with women in public services include parochial thought against women working in

public service, which are as under:

Lack of sufficient safety measures for women coming to public life.

Lack of jobs opportunities in public and private sector establishment.General gender sensitization.

General feelings of fear from the public behaviour.

Discouraging attitude of family members.

Fear of transfer to outside places other than hometown.

General trend of low salaries as compared to male.

Domestic responsibilities which leave no time for women to work.

Four important challenges confronted women in Pakistan in the early 1990s:

increasing practical literacy,

gaining access to employment opportunities at all levels in the economy,

promoting change in the perception of women's roles and status, and

gaining a public voice both within and outside of the political process.

.

The matter of fact is that most women in Pakistan brave into men-dominatedworkplaces out of economic necessity, rather than to fulfill career aspirations. The

position of women in workplace in Europe, North American and even South East Asia

has become entrenched; still it is not odd to come across a public service

announcement to press the message on the issue. Such public service announcements


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are even more necessary in a society like Pakistan where we lag behind even

comparable countries in accepting the role of women at work.

There have been various attempts at social and legal reform aimed at improving Muslim

women's lives in the subcontinent during the twentieth century. These attempts

generally have been related to two broader, intertwined movements: the social reform

movement in British India and the growing Muslim nationalist movement. Since partition,

the changing status of women in Pakistan largely has been linked with discourse about

the role of Islam in a modern state. This debate concerns the extent to which civil rights

common in most Western democracies are appropriate in an Islamic society and the

way these rights should be reconciled with Islamic family law.

Promoting the education of women was a first step in moving beyond the constraints

imposed by purdah . The nationalist struggle helped fray the threads in that socially

imposed curtain. Simultaneously, women's roles were questioned, and their

empowerment was linked to the larger issues of nationalism and independence. In 1937

the Muslim Personal Law restored rights (such as inheritance of property) that had been

lost by women under the Anglicization of certain civil laws. As independence neared, it

appeared that the state would give priority to empowering women. Pakistan's founding

father, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, said in a speech in 1944:

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.

Another of the challenges faced by Pakistani women concerns their integration into the

labor force. Because of economic pressures and the dissolution of extended families in

urban areas, many more women are working for wages than in the past. But by 1990

females officially made up only 13 percent of the labor force. Restrictions on their


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mobility limit their opportunities, and traditional notions of propriety lead families to

conceal the extent of work performed by women.

Usually, only the poorest women engage in work--often as midwives, sweepers, or

nannies--for compensation outside the home. More often, poor urban women remain at

home and sell manufactured goods to a middleman for compensation. More and more

urban women have engaged in such activities during the 1990s, although to avoid being

shamed few families willingly admit that women contribute to the family economically.

Hence, there is little information about the work, women do. On the basis of the

predominant fiction that most women do no work other than their domestic chores, the

government has been hesitant to adopt overt policies to increase women's employment

options and to provide legal support for women's labor force participation.

Principal Officer at U.S Consulate Peshawar, Lynne Tracy while encouraging female

varsity students to go for public service has said that they have to actively pursue their

professional dreams and to consider public service as a way to serve their communities

and their respective country. She expressed these views during a lecture on "A History

of Women in the U.S Foreign Service" delivered at Lincoln Corner in the Central Library

of the Peshawar University. The lecture was organized as part of the U.S Consulate's

celebration of Women's History Month and attended by around 100 students from

various departments of the university. "American women have made great strides in

many field over the past century, including diplomacy", stated Ms. Tracy. "Just thirty-

seven years ago, American women had to resign from the Foreign Service in order to

get married. Today, Secretaries Albright and Rice have proven that women can serve

effectively as America's top diplomats", she observed. She further informed that

America's first female diplomats joined the Diplomatic Service in the 1920s. Until 1970,

women Foreign Service Officer needed to resign their commission in order to get

married. Such restrictions no longer apply and in 1997, Secretary of State Madeleine

Albright became the first woman to lead the Department of State. Women have served

as U.S ambassadors throughout the world and two, Nancy Powell and Wendy

Chamberlain have served as U.S Ambassador to Pakistan, she went on to say.


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Speaking on the occasion Vice Chancellor University of Peshawar Professor Dr. Haroon

Rashid welcomed Ms. Lynne Tracy to the University and said that Pakistani women

have also contributed a lot in various fields of life and proved their mettle by serving the

nation in credible way. About the varsity education, the Vice Chancellor was of the view

that university does not mean walls and rooms but such institutions should inculcate

inquisitive minds. He added that Lincoln Corner at the University of Peshawar was a

window to the whole world and it was a place where one can look at things from all

sides and directions. One of the main objectives of the varsity, he said was to provide

skilled leadership to the society and the goal of this institution was to love and serve,

entire creation of the Creator, he further informed and concluded.

While the government had, as outlined above, responded to the demands made by thePakistani womens movements and international commitments towards gender equality

through the National Plan for Women and other measures, the lack of importance given

to gender mainstreaming and to issues of governance as part of these strategies meant

that the severe pressures of the economy on gendered inequality were not mediated by

these plans. As the MDG Report of Pakistan notes, The objective of mainstreaming

gender concerns into the overall planning, implementation and sectoral programming

framework for improving womens status continues to be a major national challenge.

Women are more adversely affected by the incidence of poverty on account of their

weak position, weak educational background, low participation in economic activity and

inequitable access to productive resources. The situation of rural women in Pakistan is

worse than that of their urban counterparts15. Under pressure from international

financial institutions as well as from political unrest in the country, a wide-ranging

programme of economic reform was initiated at the start of the new millennium.

The Constraints Encountered by Women

In Pakistan, as in many other developing countries, women are handicapped in society.

Therefore they face many challenges, as they do not enjoy the same opportunities as


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men. The segregation of the sexes starts early and becomes a way of life. They are not

only deprived of financial resources but also lack access to basic needs such as

education, health, clean drinking water and proper sanitation. Limited access to the

essentials of life undermines their capabilities, limits their ability to secure gainful

employment, and results in income, poverty and social exclusion. Their ambitions and

aspirations are suppressed.

Nurturing an individual's, natural spirit of entrepreneurship is a powerful key to economic

development. Therefore realizing the vast potential that women entrepreneurs posses

and translating this potential into profits is imperative. Supporting businesses with

strong associations can strengthen the structural adjustment reforms that are part of the

current international wave of decentralization, which is grounded in the belief thatpromoting private businesses is key to growth.


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CHAPTER - 5

RECOMMENDATIONS

In the backdrop of the deliberations and ground realities and impediments which have

been discussed in the previous pages that hinder women in coming forward to join the

Public Service, following recommendations are suggested:

There should be coordinated efforts for improvement of literacy ratio among the

masses, particularly in the rural areas.

There should be a general, compressive and wide spread campaign to enlighten

the people about benefits of working ladies.

The government should make serious efforts for improvement and growth of cottage industry in the rural areas.

Special technical centers, with multiple choice of skills, trades and arts should be

established in the urban and particularly in the rural areas so that ladies in the

villages may really go to actual jobs.

The cottage industry and other small industry units should be designed on the

basics of every specific area developed area to study so that local sources may

be explored and utilized.Ladies should not only be given better protection measures.

The government efforts should made in a way that the ladies feel a real sense of

protection.

With respect to the male dominated society, special attention should be made to get the

dominant segment of the society to widen their vision and change their attitude so that

they permit their ladies to go for work in the public sector. The tendency of presenting

women as a showpiece, just in order to get better clientage and business should be

stopped. The ladies should be given real jobs instead of putting them on receptions or

appointing them as telephone operators / attendants. The curriculum should not

reinforce womens domestic role only. Politics, economics, Physics, chemistry etc, may

not be considered unnecessary for the women. Womens importance may not be


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confined to the lower of employment e.g. teachers, LHVs, Office secretaries etc. When

we look at the different development process, it comes out from that women are given

less preference in professional and technical trainings. This aspect must be covered in

the policy by providing technical education institutions especially for women in

Balochistan.

In brief, educational policy may not banned women to the restrictions of a wife or a

mother only. Formal education not only enable a person to bring about economic

changes in the society, but it also positively effects his / her values, norms, attitudes,

ideas and aspirations which ultimately pave the road to development. Education policies

should not be taken to economic objectives but should also be taken into consideration

of social development. The gainful employment must be provided to women in theprovince once they have been educated. When the employment is not going to

available, their education trend is depressed. However, when hopes of employment are

high for the women, then she will also gain the support of her parents. Merit must be

followed strictly in the selection of jobs against various vacancies reserved for women.

Last, but not the least, performance and only performance must be the criteria for

transfers and postings of female teachers and lectures.

CONCLUSION

The primary objective of this paper is to examine the overall position of women in

decision-making roles. The aim is to provide an in depth analysis of the way society

regards and values the contribution of women who choose to be Public servants. Most

importantly, the barriers that women encounter were examined as well as ways to

remove them suggested. Women comprise half of our population and are active

participants in the public sector and the statistics indicate that, women in the country are

not seen as effective decision-makers. Thus it is critical that men realize their moral

obligation to open up the institutions of the state and encourage more women to

become active participants in the development process.


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It is imperative that women be appointed to positions in government where they are

noticed and appear in numbers beyond what may be regarded as tokenistic. That is,

when only one or two women are appointed to Key posts and who have the customary

duty of taking on womens affairs such as education and welfare issues. Although the

importance of these issues must not be undermined, it is important that women start to

appear more frequently discussing issues such as the economy, our current financial

deficit, national defense and foreign affairs issues. Society must be sensitized to realize

the barriers that women face, not only in politics, but also in every day life. Education

material are an important factor here and we must ensure that such material promote an

appropriate image of men / women. Our children must also made to realize that gender

doe not determine a persons capability to take on a specific job.

Where it is appropriate, Government must also consider institutional and legal reform to

facilitate the more equal representation of women in public sector. These is a need to

consider changes to the layout of Public service to reduce confrontational politics and to

facilitate a more detailed technical and non-adversarial legislation. Women entering

services should be assured that they will not have to encounter discrimination from

society and from within their own society. Also, without spousal support, women will not

pursue their own individual interests and time consuming, many women will sacrifice

their own personal fulfillment for the good of the family.


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Documents

IRP- Complete (Final)