Pakistan second-worst country in terms of gender equality: World Economic Forum report

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 14 : Revealing a grim picture of the state of women in Pakistan, a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) has ranked Pakistan as the second-worst country in terms of gender parity, a media report said.
In the Global Gender Gap Report which was released by WEF on Wednesday, Pakistan is placed in the 145th spot in a survey of 146 countries, Dawn reported.
As per the statistics, Pakistan has 107 million women and the country closed at 56.4 per cent in the report's gender gap index. The report observed, "this is the highest overall level of parity Pakistan has posted" since the launch of the global gender gap report by WEF in 2006.
Pakistan was among five countries with a gender gap greater than five per cent. The others were Qatar, Azerbaijan, China and India. Moreover, women's participation in the workforce has declined by 1.9 per cent points.
Pakistan's ranking in other parameters also exposes the country's sorry state of affairs. The country ranked 145th in terms of economic participation and opportunity; 135th in educational attainment; 143rd in health and survival; and 95th in political empowerment.
The country was ranked as the second-worst country in South Asia, too. According to the report, Bangladesh is the best country in the region for women. On the other hand, the share of women in professional and technical roles fell in Pakistan and the Maldives.
The best country in respect of gender parity is Iceland followed by Finland, Norway, New Zealand, and Sweden, in that order. Although no country has yet achieved full gender parity, the top ten economies have closed at least 80 per cent of their gaps, with Iceland (90.8 per cent) leading the way.
The worst performers are the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran and Chad.
Additionally, Pakistan reported the maximum number of cases of kidnapping of women, rape, and violence against women in the month of May this year, The News International reported citing a research report by Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO) and the Centre for Research, Development, and Communication (CRDC).
As per the report data, the maximum number of cases amongst all the indicators of women and child abuse were reported from Punjab province, followed by Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Regarding the data, the Executive Director of SSDO, Syed Kausar Abbas said, "The aim of regularly publishing this data is to bring attention to the rapid increase in violence against women and children. Just this month, over 300 different cases of this nature occurred. We hope that with increased media attention and reporting, the government, police, and judiciary dedicate their attention to speedy processing, resolution, and punishment."
As per the report, out of the total 131 reported cases of kidnapping in the country, 96 were from Punjab province. Sindh reported 23 cases, followed by 11 cases from KP and one from Islamabad, while no cases of kidnapping were reported from Balochistan.
Rape cases were the second most reported in the media. Out of the total of 57 cases, Punjab reported the highest of 38 cases, while Sindh reported 13 cases followed by 3 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 2 cases from Islamabad. Only one case was reported from Balochistan, The News International reported citing the report.
Similarly, 49 cases of violence against women were reported. Punjab again reported the maximum number of 38 cases and 9 cases were reported from Sindh. KP reported 2 cases while no cases were reported in Balochistan and Islamabad.
Pakistan reported 23 cases of domestic violence where Punjab province reported 15 cases, 6 cases were reported in Sindh, while KP and Islamabad reported 1 case respectively.