S.Asian women vulnerable to gender discrimination

Women in South Asia are more vulnerable to discrimination, social injustice, gender equity and equality as compared to those living in western countries.

This consensus was reached at the meeting of the SAARC Gender Database convened in Pakistan to discuss prioritised indicators on violence against women in the South Asian region.

The participants were of the view that South Asia was a home of nearly one-thirds of humanity, half of which were represented by women, however opportunities provided for their progress and development were very limited.

The South Asian women are usually considered amongst those having the least access to development while men with strong basis in culture and traditions continue to constrain women in every face of their lives.

Women are less likely to have access to health services, enjoy civil, political and legal equality with men and benefits from economic and social security, they observed. Chief Census Commissioner Khizar Hayat Khan on the occasion said that Population Census Organization of Pakistan would make all out efforts to involve about 50 percent female enumerators in the upcoming population and housing census to encourage respondent women provide correct information about their livelihood.

This would help the PCO collect accurate data to analyse the situation of the women in the country. The SAARC Gender Database meeting discussed and reviewed several prioritised indicators, which are to be utilized in data collection on Violence Against Women in South Asian Countries.

The indicators were categorized in several types including, sexual violence, trafficking, domestic violence, violence at workplace, abortions, custodial violence, acid throwing and suicide.