Pakistan is ranked as the second-worst country in the world for women to live in. This shows how deep-rooted and serious the challenges faced by women here are. The dominance of patriarchy and widespread misogynistic beliefs across society remain major obstacles to gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Sadly, official statistics reveal that one rape occurs every two hours in Pakistan. Sexual violence is widespread, and the weak judicial system—with very low conviction rates—allows many perpetrators to commit such crimes without fear of punishment. But violence against women isn’t limited to rape. Domestic violence, verbal abuse, harassment, bullying, and acid attacks are also common.

These acts have become so normalized that society often accepts them without question. Religious political parties and conservative groups further reinforce these patriarchal ideas. Many religious clerics promote views that restrict women’s rights, often misrepresenting religion to support their biases. Disturbingly, these same harmful beliefs are also accepted and passed down by women........

© The Spine Times