According to the 1973 constitution, all Pakistani citizens are equal, with no distinction based on gender. The state may however, make special provisions for the protection of women and children, which show up especially in labour legislation. It ensures the full participation of women in all spheres of national life; women are granted the right to vote and to hold office, with a quota of seats reserved for women in national and provincial legislative bodies. But constitutional guarantees of equality have been superseded in many instances by discriminatory legislation or have been left without enforcement in actual practice. Also the force of custom most often prevails over even the most enlightened official laws, making it difficult for women to claim the legal rights they are supposedly guaranteed.³²

In most of the social groupings men hold a monopoly of power in the public arena. In the political domain, local level chiefs and tribal authorities are always men, as are the members of local councils of elders or Jirgas. It is rare to find examples of parallel women’s groups from which women leaders may emerge and collective action be planned. Men also set the terms of moral and cultural values. Religious authorities are without exception men and local cultural codes of honour stem from a male value system, often entailing components based on the subordination of women. These may include denial of women’s rights in matters of property and inheritance that are recognized in Islam, and exclusion of women from consideration as equals in creating the social order.³³

Although the tribal system in the district is not so strong in making repercussions on all aspects of life, the general characteristics of tribal and male dominated society are prevalent as in other parts of the province. The society in the district is patriarchal and male dominated. The decision making is in the hands of men. The women have no say, although in Loralai district it is not as intense as in some other parts of the province. Women also have no role in community and political life, although some elderly women, through their genius and experiences, do take part in community affairs and sometimes in politics. The role of women in the local bodies of the district is relatively encouraging. Often the educated women are not forced to marry, but the majority of the women accept whatever their parents decide about their marriage partners, although their role is only advisory. This trend is changing and women are playing an active role in the selection of marriage partners.

The economic participation of women is different from that of men, with most of the household work being done by women. The society works according to the gender dased division of labour, with most of the outdoor work done by the men (whether economic or social), while the indoor tasks are performed by women. Women are involved in economic activities like fetching water and wood, looking after animals, collecting fodder, process milk into butter, sour milk, and cheese and work with wool. They are also responsible for cooking, cleaning, care of children and other dependent members, producing handicraft items etc. The women have a low social status and the tradition of polygamy and vulvar keeps them under social pressure to remain illiterate and to bear the negative burden of the society³⁴. Because of the tribal social set up favouring more (male) children, the reproductive burden falls squarely on women. The women have a high fertility rate and the bulk of their married life is spent on child bearing and raising³⁵. The positive impact of this is that when women have more male children her social authority is recognized by the family, otherwise the position of the new bride is often precarious as she is both young and an outsider in the family. The women without children remain perpetual outsiders and the fear of a second marriage of her husband haunts her.

Although the literacy rate in the district is very low among women, the trend in urban areas is encouraging. There is also a positive trend of casting female votes as each successive election indicates that more female votes are being cast. However, they do not have a decision making role in the political process, their votes being exploited to win elections.

Although Islam guarantees the daughter’s share in the inheritance of parental property, custom does not allow this. Women in the district are allowed no share in inheritance, but sometimes a person in his lifetime bestows on his wife, daughter or sister a portion of his movables or real estate.

 Go back to Loralai