Gender Roles In Pakistan

Society in Pakistan is one that is by tradition male-dominated. Men are the breadwinners for their family, they are the ones with jobs, and they have say in the government. Women, meanwhile, are limited to a domestic lifestyle in which they are the caretakers for children and rarely are seen alone in public. Because of these roles, the education of girls is much less of a concern, leading to many women going to school for little, if any, time.

In a society, gender roles are the roles that are restricted to males or females on the basis of their sexism. Conventionally, in numerous societies including the western society, it is supposed that females are more encouraged at any platform than the males. It is believed that for the development of a society, females should be treated in an encouraged way because encouragement of the females help in the betterment of society. Earlier, it was considered that females should remain at home and they should maintain the household things rather than working outside because outside work is only for the males, but it was a traditional way of treating women, which has been changed now.

Gender discrimination is a very big issue in Pakistan, more specifically Malala’s village of Swat, as shown through the book I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai. For example, Rohul Amin, Malala’s grandfather, showed discrimination to his own daughters! The discrimination was shown on page 29 when Malala states, “School wasn’t the only thing my aunts missed out on. In the morning when my father was given a bowl of cream with his tea, his sisters were given only tea. If there were eggs, they would only be for the boys. When a chicken was slaughtered for dinner, the girls would get the wings and the neck while the luscious breast meat was enjoyed by my father, his brother and my grandfather” (Yousafzai 29), Amin has his own daughters grow up knowing that they’re seen as lesser than which is crazy on so many levels. Therefore, gender discrimination is a social issue and shown through Rohul Amin’s treatment of his daughters. In addition, the murder of a dancer and singer, Shabana, was

“When a boy is born in Pakistan, it’s a cause for celebration. Guns are fired in the air. Gifts are placed in the baby’s cot. And the boy’s name is inscribed on the family tree. But when a girl is born, no one visits the parents, and women have only sympathy for the mother” (Yousafzai, 18). A power yet true statement from Malala Yousafzai in her memoir, I am Malala, shows the gap between males and females in Pakistan. That gap has led to many issues in that region, one being girl’s educational rights. The historical significance of this issue is shown through the past of Pakistan and the shocking statistics that go along with it, as well as the long term effects and what is being done today.

In this University article I found how women in the Middle East are starting to gain more rights and respect which is what they deserve. There’s this new law about how family is the biggest priority for everyone there, but we also see the changes that happen with women. Some women in the Middle East are allowed to not cover their face or body, but there’s some that still do because they want to follow the traditions from their ancestors. The gender role I saw on this article is that, men are less dominant now days on the Middle East compared to back in the 1940s, the same way that it was in the US. It look longer for women in the Middle East to receive more freedom, because of all the wars that are going on, and because of the masculinity of

Throughout the readings and the films it is clear that women play important roles in Middle Eastern society. In the readings and films there are many traditions for how women are supposed to act and how men are supposed to treat women. These customs and traditions regarding women are contradictory and ironic. One reading that is especially enlightening on traditions in some parts of the Middle East is “Unwritten Laws Affecting the Arab Woman of Palestine” by T. Canaan.

What do you think of when you hear gender roles? You probably think of men and women having the same opportunities. Or you think of how there isn’t gender equality in most places in the world. Most people are against others saying that males and females should have gender roles, or that one thing should be identified into a gender role. There are very different norms in different societies around the world. Not all are agreed with, but some are completely supported. Gender roles have changed throughout evolution. Gender roles can even be created from humans portraying something a certain way. Life for those who have their life controlled by one human struggle with gender roles and how they should be. But how did gender roles even become a topic? How are gender roles for people who have almost no rights? The Middle East has different tendencies than in other places in the world, due to the fact of the religion they practice and the way they live. Islam is the second most popular religion in the world. There were about 1.6 billion Muslims in the world in 2010, according to Pew Research. Muslims constituted about 23% of all people on Earth. The religion is currently in a period of rapid growth, and is expected to reach 2.8 billion by 2050, when the number of Muslims will probably approximately equal the number of Christians in the world. Estimates of the number of Muslim adults in the U.S. have ranged from 1 to 7 million. The former estimate is based on public opinion polls

Throughout time, Afghan women have dealt with rights inferior to those of men; although tragic, it is actually accepted by the majority of women living in Afghanistan due to the fact that traditions in the Afghan culture significantly contribute to the formation of women's values (Text 3). The reason regarding this is the fact that Afghan women are identified by their roles as mothers and wives (Text 4). Women feel as though men are

Oppression of women, especially in the thirds world countries like Afghanistan have been an ongoing struggle. An Afghani woman’s roles and identity is strictly associated with her family and tribe, the woman is a part of society, but her identity does not belong to her it belongs to her family at large. Afghanistan is a traditional and religious countries, therefore Gender roles is clearly market in the Afghan society. Afghani women had a difficult road toward getting their liberty in society where male are superior to women in status. In the past four decades, Afghanistan has been under the rule of different political ideologies, the Soviet communism from 1979-1989 and the Taliban regime from 1996-2011. Both the Soviet Union and the Taliban oppressed women in one way or another, the systematic oppression of Afghani women portrayed them as passive members of the society.

Chapter six, ‘Women, Gender Roles, Media and Journalism’ by Lily Farhadpour argues that increasing Iranian women journalist since the mid 1990s would suggest that women journalists in the Iranian media reflects the dynamism of the democracy movement (p105). The increase in female journalists suggest that Iranian women’s issues are moving to mainstream media, and in most popular media women are have an active voice (p105). Farhadpour tries to show that women are not just able to enter more spaces in Iranian society, but are also being given a voice and this voice is being listened to.

According to Limoncelli in his article entitled International Women’s Issues: Girls’ Education in Pakistan “Out of 163,000 primary schools, only 40,000 cater to girls. At the secondary level, there are 14,000 lower secondary schools, with 5,000 for girls, and 10,000 upper secondary schools, with only 3,000 for girls” If there are so little amount of schools that girls are allowed to attend then they can not learn about the dangers of life or how to defend their rights or opinions because they simply do not know how. According to Robert Cross in his article entitled Improving education for women in the middle east he said “The statistics were shocking with 39 percent in favor of the son going on to higher education and only 8 percent in favor of the daughters.” There are certain jobs and responsibilities that should be held by women but since they can’t get a proper education then they can not hold the jobs instead they are given to men because of higher education

Men and women of Iran are segregated in society, such as restaurants, buses, and schools. The whole aspect of defined gender roles relates to the subject of maintaining patriarchy. Islam fundamentals focus on traditional values of Arab society. In this case, men have always been in control throughout time. Historical context before and after the Islamic revolution provides a realization of how Iranian society and ideology was beginning to favor women compared to their traditional role. A society in the aspect of the patriarchy can “survive only by creating institutions that foster male dominance through sexual segregation” (Mernissi 32). Having established gender roles is the epitome of these created institutions, where women are seen as less and oppressed by society. They are seen to have fitna, inducing chaos and disorder amongst men and

Gender role goes beyond biological sex, it is more based to identify leadership as masculine and feminine gender stereotypes. In the middle east, women viewed as housewives, they can not be open with men, and they are not freely to wear what they want. That is because of the tradition, the culture, and the religion that everyone takes very serious. The patriarchy is well known in the Arab World It is getting better over time, but very slowly. Leadership, the final dissections, and all the power belongs to men. They have the freedom to do anything at any time. In the books of Season of Migration to the North and Miramar, genders play an important role in both of the novels.

Religion goes hand in hand with culture, and in the Muslim countries this is very apparent. The cultural importance of men over women may have stemmed from religion, however it was further recognized when imperialist countries introduced capitalism and class divides. “Islam must combat the wrenching impact of alien forces whose influence in economic, political, and cultural permutations continues to prevail” (Stowasser 1994, 5). Now, instead of an agrarian state where both men and women had their place, difficulties have formed due to the rise in education and awareness that women can and do have a place in society beyond domestic living Though women are not equal to men anywhere around the

The diversities within North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia (cultural, religious, political, etc.) play a crucial part in the status of women and the key features of gender roles in these particular geographic regions. The Middle East and North Africa share commonalities through Arabic and Islamic culture. Establishing equalities for women amongst the current social and political changes of Middle Eastern and North African societies stands as a difficult obstacle to overcome, but in spite of this, women’s rights efforts are still being made. While Islamic culture is dominant in Southeast Asia, the culture of Southeast Asian nations is diverse. Islam and gender in Southeast Asia have contributed to the continuing debate over Islam, feminism, and gender rights in the region. The cultures of North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia are male dominated, but this cultural dominance might not sustain in the future. This essay will compare and contrast the current status of women and the key features of gender roles in North Africa and the Middle East with those of Southwest Asia. Examples will also be provided to justify any arguments that are made.