Who Is Responsible for Women's Dis-empowerment in Pakistan? I ...

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Abstract

Pakistan's disempowerment of women and neglect of women's rights is not just a social injustice but represents a security risk in an education system which fails to build the resilience required for women to stand up to intimidation from radical religious and terrorist groups. Women in Pakistan are educated to be disempowered by the cultural norms of the society. The ordinary women of Pakistan have no rights to make either political or family decisions. Their only duty is to follow the will of the male members of the family. According to the Madrasah education system of Pakistan, women lack reason and, therefore, they cannot take an active part in the political and family decision-making processes. This paper will use the Feminist Securitization Theory to explore the causes of women's disempowerment in Pakistan. This study draws on semi-structured interviews conducted with women in the three Pakistani cities in Islamabad, Swat, and Peshawar to examine the reasons for the disempowerment of women. The sample population was drawn from the Madrasah education system, including university students and teachers. This paper discusses the status of women in Islam under civil and military rule and finds that the failure of the Government of Pakistan to address women's disempowerment has implications for society and security.