Women and their Consumer Rights

By Ahmed Naseer

Although Pakistan is a democracy these days but it is difficult to shake off legacy of various kind of dictatorships for Pakistani society. These dictatorships had been based on human rights violations. Therefore, perpetuation of human rights violations had been their survival mechanism. Disruption of democratic process by these dictatorships has wounded Pakistani people too bad. One horrible consequence of tyrannies, theocracies and fascism is that people lose their self respect and dignity. Losing self respect and dignity damages decision making capabilities big time. When a people lose self respect and dignity on a larger scale, it means economic disaster, national decline, poverty and social catastrophes.

Another consequence of dictatorship is corruption of cultural ideals of success. The law breaker, the abuser, the gangster, the moral failure, the tyrant becomes a cultural aspiration for majority of people because being such a horrible persons means access to power, wealth and fame. Absence of legitimate routes to all these wonderful things convinces people to follow this illegitimate, illegal and immoral path to success. Thus, a society engages collectively damaging consent, law and democracy. They begin to use violence to avoid uncomfortable questions. They avoid discussions while they adopt dictations. They use love, morality, beauty and democracy itself as weapons to make money unfairly and to have power illegally. This might be profitable for powerful and wealthy but it means poverty, disgrace, alienation and all other possible facets of bad life for disadvantaged groups of a country. For these disadvantaged groups it means loss on all possible social level. Thus, a country discontinues its journey to progress and welfare.

Pakistani women have been victim of these undemocratic ideals of an undemocratic culture imposed upon Pakistanis by its dictators alongside many other historic factors. Violation of their rights have been the way of most powerful and the most wealthy gangs of Pakistani society while other sections of society follow these powerful and wealthy groups when it comes to violation of women rights. As a result Pakistani women cannot come out of this vicious circle of poverty as one of the most important and disadvantaged group of Pakistani society.

We could see this gender discrimination in education quite clearly. As we all know progress without education is a worker without tools. And if you have no tools, it means no work but just excuses. You could cast a spell of progress with lovely speeches but magic is not science. Facts and figure break all such spells. A good worker with tools and skills brings truth out, the truth a society tries to deny by running for cover of egotistic piety. According to one report of women literacy rate in Pakistan is 16% person while men literacy rate is 35%  in Pakistan. ‘According to UNESCO figures, primary school enrolment for girls stands at 60 per cent as compared to 84 percent for boys. The secondary school enrolment rate stands at a lower rate of 32 percent for females and 46 per cent males. Regular school attendance for female students is estimated at 41 per cent while that for male students is 50 per cent”. Furthermore ‘The gender disparity is affected by the Taliban enforcement of a complete ban on female education in the Swat district, as reported in a January 21, 2009 issue of the Pakistan daily newspaper The News. Some 400 private schools enrolling 40,000 girls have been shut down”.

This discrimination against women in education violates their equal right to information and education which in turn denies them their consumer rights of information and education about products and services. This is highly lamentable waste of human potential. This discrimination darkens the world of violation of their rights. This cruelty and stupidity leads Pakistan downwards when it comes to Human Development Index (146).This backwardness of our country proves itself that gender discrimination does not make you rich, good and progressive at all in spite of all those lovely pious speeches about exalted status of women in heavens. This poverty of our country also proves there is no real moral and justification of gender discrimination. The speeches which preach gender discrimination only make life uglier for people of Pakistan in spite of lovely similies and exotic metaphors. It also proves that ugliness in human existence is connected with poverty in spite of all those so called virtues of modesty and poverty.

When it comes to participation in legislation on consumer rights and production processes, it is no different from education scenerio.According to one 90% of Pakistani households are headed by Pakistani men. That Roman and Spartan system of two kings with equal power is not a Pakistani thing. The leadership of household depends on who pays the piper in majority of cases. The leadership of household is also connected with cultural ideals, social prejudices and political system. You could it see clearly in world of business too. The gender gap index shows zero percentage in terms of women in top management positions in Pakistani firms. Similarly, there is zero per cent share of women on boards of listed companies.

I did not see you in the world of treasure and pleasure. Says He.

I am a poor stranger in my own town. Says I. Hafez Shirazi.

Yet SMS jokes in Pakistan are full of oppressive women and oppressed men.

This absence of women at top jobs shows it clearly that Pakistanis do not value their women properly. It also show men are a great deal richer than women in Pakistan. The above mentioned survey also shows only 3% of women have an account in a financial institution whereas 17% men have accounts in these financial institution. There are only two women in federal cabinet. Supreme Court has no women judges and a woman general is a thing we never heard apart from that famous general Rani who was no general but was blamed for Military dictator Yahiya khan’s worst failures. Another clear example of cultural prejudices. There are some good examples of women representation in national assembly, Punjab Consumer Council and many other institutions but when it comes to population of women in Pakistan, it is nothing but isolated good practices. No representation in corridors of power and top jobs in companies mean no effective reduction in rights violations. For companies and organizations, it means no improvement in quality of products and services.

Pakistan refuses to utilize the potential of their women at the expense of perpetuation of bad products and services and this egotistic piety makes Pakistani nation poor. Pakistan could come out of this poverty by giving their women equal opportunities. Progress of a country is not possible without eradication of gender discrimination. The evidence of denial of women rights is closed schools, violence, bad roads, faulty products, poor service, bad health and increased problems. Alas, this evidence is not evidence a democracy would like to present to their people and other nations. In addition, this kind of evidence makes progress itself a meaningless word. Here is a good advice, the meanings of a better life lie in eradicating discrimination and strengthening democracy.

The end of all sorts of discrimination has a beginning in education and information. Government must take steps to increase enrollment of girls in schools in rural areas. Girls in these areas must not drop out of school before finishing their education. The training of human right must be part and parcel of curriculam.Companies and organizations must be encouraged to increase women representations in jobs. There must be more women ministers’ in federal cabinet. There must be more women in every government organization.

Perhaps, it is time to align cultural ideals with democracy. The macho man who does not respect law and democracy, instills fear in mind of men and beasts and looks down upon women calling them weaker sex has not given us anything but poverty and violence. Perhaps, it is time to get rid of this extreme form of violence. Perhaps, it is time to protect human rights. Have we not enough consequences of human rights violation?

Pakistan started as a democratic hope. We must keep this hope alive. We have no other option. We could keep this hope alive by eradicating discrimination. Discrimination is a bunch of those thorns that hurt us too much. Perhaps, it is time to drop this bag on the way to flowers. We have our flowers of democracy in Fatimah, Benazir and Asma. Perhaps, it is time to follow their path. What do you think?

(From Ibteda Archive. First Published: 22 June 2014)