Gender Disparity - Pakistan
- Women form 48 per cent of the total population.
- Seventy percent of the population without basic education are girls.
- The country's sex ratio of 108 men to 100 women is a reflection of high female infant mortality on the one hand and privileged treatment of boys on the other.
See http://www.cfr.org/pub7217/isobel_coleman/gender_disparities_economic_gr... - Social indicators for women in Pakistan are among the worst in the world. The United Nations’ Human Development (UNDP) (2004) report figures are: life expectancy at birth 60.7; adult literacy rate 61; estimated earned income (PPP US $) 915; maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births) 500, infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) 81 and seats in parliament held by women (as percent of total) 20.6.
See UNDP Human Development Report (2004), Cultural Liberty in Today’s Diverse World, UNDP, Oxford University Press, New Delhi or http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2004/ - Of the total population of 153 million, nearly 40 percent live below the poverty line. Approximately 60 percent of them are women. This situation reduces women’s bargaining space to alleviate suffering caused due to violence while increasing their vulnerabilities and risks.
- Pakistan's female formal labour force participation rate hovers around 15 percent.
See Country Profiles for Population and Reproductive Health: Policy Developments and Indicators, United Nations Population Fund / Population Reference Bureau, p.147. - The Five Year Plans have yet to integrate women into the national development.