Gender inequality in Southeast Asia (Pakistan)

Pakistan is a prominently agricultural country, with only 39% urban population and a good control of extreme poverty, which in total is less than 8%, although there are important differences by place of residence and gender. Agriculture is still the main source of employment, with some tasks (reaping) carried out mainly or exclusively by men.

In Pakistan, the Gender Inequality Index (GII) is 0.546, similar to other large Asian countries like India (0.530) and Bangladesh (0.520). The values of the indicators for the three dimensions of the GII in Pakistan for the period 2005- 2015 were: for reproductive health, the rate of maternal death was 178 per 100,000, and the rate of adolescent fecundity was 38.7 per 1,000; for empowerment, the proportion of parliamentary seats occupied by women was 20%, the rate of completed secondary education by women was 26.5% and by men 82.2 % (adults over 25 years); for participation in the workforce, women 24.3% and men 82.2%.