BALOCHISTAN: A woman bureaucrat in the Balochistan province was transferred four times within 36 days, a media report said. Farida Tareen was posted at four different positions between 11 February and 16 March. The Pakistan government official was first appointed as Assistant Commissioner Quetta on 11 February. Her appointment was cancelled on the very next day, and on 16 February, she was posted as Section Officer Three in the administration department. Subsequently, on 25 February, she was posted as Section Officer One in the Services and General Administration Department. Thereafter, on 16 March she was appointed as Section Officer Commerce and Industries.
While dismissing the notion of discrimination against the woman officer, Balochistan government’s spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said transfers are a “part of the job”, Geo News reported.
Although the government’s spokesperson denied the case of discrimination against the officer, widespread evidence shows how women in Pakistan continue to face a host of problems in everyday life.
Pakistan was ranked by the Global Gender Gap Index 2018 as the sixth most dangerous country in the world for women and the second-worst in the world (ranked 148th) in terms of gender equality, said Pakistani human rights activist Anila Gulzar in an article titled ‘Life of women in Pakistan and China’. Women in Pakistan also face sexual harassment at the workplace, on the street and in the family by male family members, said Gulzar. The gap between male and female employees is the widest in the world, as per the data by the International Labour Organization. On average, women in Pakistan earn 34 per cent less than men.