Pakistan’s Gender Gap: A Public Health Reckoning

Pakistan’s Gender Gap: A Public Health Reckoning

by Fizza Javed and Noor Ul-Ain Shah

Introduction: Inequality as Illness

Pakistan’s fall to the very bottom of the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index (2025) is not just a disturbing statistic but a public health emergency. Women’s participation in the economy is stagnating, and education and healthcare are chronically underfunded. All while systemic violence is being left unchecked. Gender inequality in Pakistan is more than a social injustice; it is a health crisis. Exclusion from education, work, and decision-making translates into higher maternal deaths, chronic undernutrition, and untreated illness. This means worsening mental health for millions of women and girls. Pakistan’s consistently low performance in global gender rankings reflects structural inequities that demand urgent, multisectoral intervention (Ali et al., 2017). Without it, women remain trapped in cycles of poverty, violence, and ill health, and the nation loses half of its human capital.

The Global Gender Gap Report: A Harsh Mirror

The Global Gender Gap Report, first published in 2006 by the World Economic Forum (WEF), assesses gender equality across four dimensions:

  •  Economic Participation and Opportunity

  •  Educational Attainment

  •  Health and Survival

  •  Political Empowerment

Globally, by 2025, countries had closed 68.5% of the gap (WEF, 2025). Pakistan, however, had closed only 56.7%, ranking 148 out of 148 countries (Shabbir, 2025). This stark position shows that while some nations are progressing, Algeria is progressing in health and education, or Rwanda in political representation. Pakistan remains stalled across multiple domains (Koengkan et al., 2022; Jose & Sivaraman, 2023).

Pakistan’s Numbers, Laid Bare

Indicator

Value

Source

Female labor force participation

22.8%

World Bank, cited in WEF (2025); Shabbir (2025)

Female labor force participation

23%

ADB baseline (FY2021), reported in Mettis Global (2025)

Female literacy

48.5% (rise 2024 → 2025)

Shabbir (2025)

Economic participation sub-index change

−1.3 percentage points

WEF (2025)

Education spending

~1.7% of GDP

Quitério de Gois et al. (2025)

Health spending

~1.0% of GDP

Quitério de Gois et al. (2025)

What it means:

  •  Low participation: Only ~23% of women work formally, far below regional peers.

  •   Mismatch: Literacy is rising, but jobs are not leading to wasted potential.

  • Sectoral trap: Women remain confined to informal or unpaid care work.

  • Fiscal squeeze: Defense and debt dominate budgets, leaving crumbs for education and healthcare.

Public Health Implications of Gender Inequality

Public Health Area

Implication of Gender Inequality

Source(s)

Maternal & Child Health

Delayed antenatal care, higher maternal mortality, poor neonatal outcomes

WHO (2023); UNFPA (2024)

Nutrition & Food Security

Women’s exclusion weakens household nutrition, causes child stunting

UNICEF (2024); Quitério de Gois et al. (2025)

Healthcare Access

Chronic underfunding (~1% of GDP) restricts reproductive and general care

Quitério de Gois et al. (2025)

Mental Health

Systemic exclusion fosters anxiety, depression, trauma

WHO (2022); Shabbir (2025)

Violence & Exploitation

“Honour” killings, harassment, and abuse remain endemic, damaging health and dignity

Al Jazeera (2025); Reuters (2025)

 

A Case That Haunts Us All

In June 2025, Bano Bibi and Ehsanullah Samalani were killed in Balochistan after marrying without consent. Bano’s haunting plea, “Walk seven steps with me, then you can shoot me,” was captured on video and went viral. Authorities arrested over a dozen suspects only after national and international outrage (Al Jazeera, 2025). In 2024 alone, Pakistan recorded 405 “honour” killings (Reuters, 2025). This is not just a cultural tragedy; it is a public health disaster, where systemic violence perpetuates trauma, fear, and intergenerational harm.

A police surgeon’s post-mortem report confirms the horrifying brutality of the killing: the woman was shot seven times, the man nine times, mostly in the chest and abdomen. The woman’s body had severely decomposed before exhumation, complicating the examination, highlighting both the violence and the forensic challenges in seeking justice (Aaj TV, 2025).



Figure 1: Aaj English TV. (2025, July 21). Honour killing: Balochistan woman shot seven times, reveals post-mortem. 

Conclusion:

Gender equality is Pakistan’s most urgent prescription not just for women’s rights, but for the nation’s health and survival.

References

  Al Jazeera. (2025, July 21). Pakistan arrests over a dozen suspects as honour killing video goes viral. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/21/pakistan-arrests-over-a-dozen-suspects-as-honour-killing-video-goes-viral

Mettis Global. (2025, April 9). Women's labor force participation in Pakistan at 23%, ADB reports. https://mettisglobal.news/womens-labor-force-participation-in-pakistan-at-23-adb-reports

 Quitério de Gois, A., et al. (2025, July 24). Gender responsive budgeting in Pakistan: Analyzing the 2025–26 federal budget for equity and inclusion. DataPop Alliance. https://datapopalliance.org/gender-responsive-budgeting-pakistan-2025-26-federal-budget-for-equity-and-inclusion

 Reuters. (2025, February 5). Hundreds killed in Pakistan 'honour' killings in 2024, rights body says. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/hundreds-killed-pakistan-honour-killings-2024-rights-body-says-2025-02-05

 Shabbir, S. (2025, June 12). Pakistan ranks last among 148 nations in WEF global gender gap index. Arab News. https://www.arabnews.com/node/2604282/pakistan

UNICEF. (2024). The State of the World’s Children 2024: For every child, health. UNICEF.

 UNFPA. (2024). Pakistan maternal health and family planning factsheet. UNFPA Pakistan.

World Health Organization. (2022). Mental health and gender disparities: Global perspectives. WHO.

World Health Organization. (2023). Trends in maternal mortality 2000 to 2023. WHO.

  World Economic Forum. (2025). Global Gender Gap Report 2025. https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2025

https://english.aaj.tv/news/330425639/honour-killing-balochistan-woman-shot-seven-times-reveals-post-mortemAaj English TV. (2025, July 21). Honour killing: Balochistan woman shot seven times, reveals post-mortem. https://english.aaj.tv/news/330425639/honour-killing-balochistan-woman-shot-seven-times-reveals-post-mortem Aaj English TV 

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