Gender the word is quite in vogue now a days. As far as the mushrooming NGOs are concerned, most of the organizations have adopted the agenda as a fashion rather than passion. There is a misconception regarding the use of the term ‘gender’. In the social context, gender is often the cause of bias. Gender bias is a thorn in the flesh of more or less every social system, in one way or the other. It has often been realized that women have been the victims of exploitation whether they get jobs or not. People generally believe that after getting a job most of the financial and social problems are solved. However, this has been exactly opposite in the case of women. When men get jobs,their problems are solved but, when women get jobs their problems can be multiplied.
The constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan gives equal rights to both men and women. However, in practice men are considered superior to women. The reality shows a situation where women rarely appear in positions of power. According to the UNDP Human Development Report (1999th) the gender Empowerment Measure the GEM quantitatively measure the empowerment of women on a country over earned economic resources, participation in political decision-making and economic decision-making.
The need of the hour is to define, interpret and apply ‘gender’ in a purely Pakistani context. Only then will we be able to reduce disparities and the losses in major areas of national development, such as education, economy and health. Converting the gaps into gains in such areas would take us as a nation on the path of development.