QUETTA

INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH PAPER

ON

WOMEN IN PUBLIC SERVICE:

ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

by:

Naushad Ahmad
Participant
1st MID CAREER MANAGEMENT COURSE
3rd March 2008 –10th May 2008
 Advisor: MR MAQBOOL ALI Zafar
Acknowledgement

The term paper is an important component of the 1st Mid Career Management Course in
Public 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
 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
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 and
education 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.
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This paper titled "Women in Public Service-Issues and Recommendation" provides an

in-depth and thought provoking information about the importance of role of women in
economic development of Pakistan. It contains information about the state of education
and employment of women in Pakistan. A detailed review about discrimination and
social prejudices based on sex has been presented and educational status and service
opportunities for females in Pakistan have been discussed. The purpose of the research
was to examine the role and status of women with in the strategies and instrumentality
of development in Pakistan. The four central questions underlying this study are:- a)
What is the present condition of women regarding education and employment. . b) To
what extent and at what level did women participate in Public Service accruing in
Economic Development efforts in Pakistan and c) How did this participation of women
contribute to the relative success of economic development efforts in the country?

In reality. women are an integral part of the economic process of the country within and
outside their homes, in the formal and informal sectors in urban and rural areas.
Besides women's participation in Public Service is minimal, they are almost negligible in
contributing to the national economy. Rural women are major contributors in four sub-
sectors of the rural economy, crop production, livestock production, cottage industry,
household and family maintenance activities, such as transporting water, fuel and
fodder to and from the home, food preparation and preservation and caring for children,
the elderly and the disabled women make up 76% of all part-time workers and only 25%
of those are acknowledged as full-time workers. Female workers are more likely to be
full-time workers in all farm sizes in NWFP (89.54%) and Sindh (74,36%). Punjab shows
an almost equal division between full-time workers (55.6%) and part-time workers, while
in Balochistan 82.84 percent of female family workers are part-time. An estimated two
million women are part of the informal urban labour force as home-based workers
(piece-rate workers, family business, self-employed entrepreneurs) and these working
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.
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 women
as 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,
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 19th and
20th centuries. However, through the twentieth century, public perceptions of paid work
shifted 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
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.

Women’s 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.
 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, Pakistan’s 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 Pakistan’s 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 witnessing
changes 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.
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 tribal
value 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.

Pakistan’s 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

Population Level of Urbanization GNP per capita US $

Female Male (As percent of
totalpopulation)

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
 Table 2: Participation of Women in the Labour Force

Labour Force Percentage of Women in Share of Income of

Labour Force Women
Urban : 12.5 million 8.4 26 percent (U/R)
Rural: 26.9 16.3
Source: 1. Economic Survey 1900-2000
2. 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 the
labour 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
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, women’s wage work is considered a threat to the male ego and
identity and women’s 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 worked
at 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 Increase
1990-91 29.14 20.66 8.48 ---
1991-92 30.19 21.82 8.37 1.05
1992-93 31.06 22.38 8.68 0.87
1993-94 31.83 23.42 8.41 0.77
1994-95 31.96 23.34 8.62 0.13
1996-97 34.75 24.24 10.51 2.79
1997-98 36.44 25.50 10.94 1.69
1999-00 36.72 26.08 10.64 0.28

2001-02 38.88 26.66 12.22 2.16

2003-04 41.75 28.64 13.11 2.87
Source: 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, the
trends 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

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, Sex ratio by

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

(EIU, 1997). The total fertility rate was 5.4% in 1990-91. (males/100 women)

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 ratio Source: ESCAP, 1997
in 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).

Education
In Pakistan, educational attainment shows poor results. Particularly the educational
status of Pakistani women is among the lowest
Literacy rate in different
in the world. According to the 1981 census, the
residence
literacy rate for the population of 10 years and
by gender (%)
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
Source: ESCAP, 1997
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
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
families, otherwise ready to send their female person at public life, discourage their
women to go in the field of nursing.
 CHAPTER - 2

WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION IN PUBLIC SERVICE

In order to increase women’s 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 Women’s Development has taken on a more policy
oriented and advocacy role, a shift away from being project focused. A National Policy
for Development and Empowerment of Women has been in place since 2002, which
aims at gender equality and social, political and economic empowerment of women.

Women’s 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 women’s 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.
 (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;
  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 the
foundations 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.
Gender Reform Action Plan
The only policy on gender equality in public office is the Gender Reform Action Plan
(GRAP), which was perceived as a project and still is. It is housed in the Women
Development Department and was funded by the Asian Development Bank. Gender
Reform Action Plan is a part of Decentralization Support Programme (DSP) and targets
to reverse gender gaps in policy and power at a structural level. It is a comprehensive
and radical policy reform that seeks to remove distortions in public life. GRAP promotes
four central policy reform areas in gender and governance:
 Improved women's representation and participation in political and
administrative structures.
 A policy shift from social welfare to social development, and from women's
development to gender equality.
 Restructuring of institutions and procedures dealing with gender and social
development issues including the MOWD, NCSW and WDDs.
 Planning and budgetary processes that narrow the gender gap in public
expenditure and service provision
 There are four independent GRAPs in each of the provinces, and a National
GRAP that oversees the working of the rest.

Amendment in government’s rules of business at all levels incorporating quota regimes.

Strengthening of Ministry of women’s Development, gender focal points in key
ministries.

Policy And Fiscal Reforms

While the aspirations of the Plan are laudable, its implementation depends on
stakeholders taking ‘ownership’ of the Plan. In our fieldwork we noted that Local
Government Secretaries had a vague knowledge of the plan, but Additional Secretaries
were ignorant on the issue. Some of the issues raised in our interviews about GRAP are
as follows: GRAP was a huge and ambitious project. Asian Development people gave
the technical assistance but now it may run into implementation problems. The capital
cost was to be borne by the donors but the government had to do the recurrent costs,
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 women’s
participation in Public Service. By examining women’s representation in public offices
we 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 women’s representation
through both direct –quotas – and indirect – supporting shifts in public
discourse – measures.
 The impact of greater women’s 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 Executive’s 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.
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 Commission’s 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 government’s
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 little
progress 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 women’s
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
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
‘women’s 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 employees

All 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 do
not 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.
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 women’s university, the Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s
University 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.
 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 women’s presence in large numbers in public offices so that a
transformation of public space can take place. This inaccessibility affects their work, and
their 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.
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 women’s 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 doesn’t 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 Zia’s 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
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, women’s presence in the
public spaces and offices will not be a reality.

Equal Opportunity Policies

Recruitment and Promotion of women Increasing women’s employment must be the key
element in the government’s approach to achieving gender equality in public life. As we
have seen, there is particular need to address the issue of women’s 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 in
promotion. 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 Women’s Empowerment

“The division of a family's joint benefits is likely to be less unfavorable to women if:
 ⇒ 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 housework—no matter how demanding—can 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
women’s issues as add-ons and restricts the remit of gender mainstreaming.

Women’s 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
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 the
help 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 and
economic 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.
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 Women’s
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 need
to be combined with some political orientation for the candidates for them to participate
in the electoral process with some knowledge.
 CHAPTER - 4

ISSUES
In 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-dominated
workplaces 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
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
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.
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 the
Pakistani women’s 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 women’s 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 counterparts”15. 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
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 that
promoting private businesses is key to growth.
 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 women’s domestic role only. Politics, economics, Physics, chemistry etc, may
not be considered unnecessary for the women. Women’s importance may not be
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 the
province 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.
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 ‘women’s 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 person’s 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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