RECENTLY, a classmate mentioned, almost in passing, that her cousin had been pulled out of university because the family had decided it was time for her to get married. She said it the way people say things they have accepted quietly; without anger. That quiet acceptance is what the core problem is about the state of women’s rights in Pakistan today.

We have laws. And, yet, for most women in the country, especially those outside major cities, these protections exist only on paper. Girls are still married off young. Women are still turned away from work-places or paid less for the same work. Survivors of violence are still pressured into silence to preserve family honour.

For instance, our institutions need to enforce the laws we already have rather than waiting for pressure from civil society. Schools need to teach students about consent, equality and respect from an early age. Local government offices, police stations and hospitals need trained staff who take women’s complaints seriously instead of sending them home.

Perhaps most importantly, women themselves need to be in the rooms where critical decisions are made — in parlia- ment, in the judiciary and in boardrooms.

Zaran Haider
Karachi

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2026