A new report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has highlighted the alarming increase in domestic violence, including physical assault, against women in Pakistan, shedding light on the gendered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Central and West Asia. The 64-page report, titled “Gendered Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Central and West Asia,” explores the effects of the pandemic on women in various countries, including Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
The report draws attention to a recent survey revealing a shocking rise in instances of domestic violence in Punjab and Sindh provinces in Pakistan. According to the survey, 40% of women in Pakistan experienced physical violence, with 46% facing physical assault from their spouses. The report also noted that 14% of surveyed women knew someone in their community threatened with physical harm by their husband, 19% knew someone physically assaulted by her husband, and 27% were aware of cases where children were beaten by their parents.
Human rights activists in Pakistan have labeled domestic violence instances as endemic in the country. The report also cited the Gender Inequality Index, indicating that Kazakhstan and Armenia ranked higher on the index, while Afghanistan and Pakistan displayed the most gender inequality.
Furthermore, the report highlighted a high maternal mortality ratio of 140 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in Pakistan in 2017. It emphasized the significant gap in economic participation between men and women in Pakistan, where only 20.6% of employment-age women participate in the labor market compared to 77.7% of men. In addition, the economic participation of women is low in all nine countries in the Central and West Asia region. In Pakistan, only 27.6% of girls attend secondary school compared to 45.7% of boys. The report aims to explore lessons learned and opportunities for gender-responsive public investment in the region.
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