WOMEN can play a vital role in the development and overall increase in the GDP of the country.

This needs no confirmation that gender equality can bring an economic change and make a self-reliant society.

But the way women’s contributions in our society are neglected is deplorable. Many factors are proactive in this regard.

Religious orthodoxy seems to top the list when we look at the problem more meticulously.

A religious Mufti on being asked as to what was a woman’s place in the modern era, replied that a woman’s place was her home.

So the result deduced is that the first resistance women face today is religious orthodoxy.

We live in a male-dominated feudal society where a male doesn’t allow his mother, sister, wife and daughter to go out to earn a living. We lack tolerance and trust.

Government policies to empower women are scanty and somewhat non-serious. Legislation takes place, new laws and regulations are formulated every now and then, but when it comes to the implementation of these laws, it is regrettably argued that no one seems serious about enabling women to legally share the burden which the country’s male population cannot bear alone.

Every year women’s day is celebrated with a view to strengthening them and bringing them at par with men.

However, this is never done. Where does the hypocrisy lie? Nobody knows or, perhaps, everybody knows.

ASHFAQUE SOOMRO Khairpur Mir’s