“No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you. We are victims of evil
customs. It is a crime against humanity that our women are shut up within the four walls of the houses as
prisoners. There is no sanction anywhere for the deplorable condition in which our women have to live.”
–Muhammad Ali Jinnah
This was the ideology of Pakistan, of Quaid-e-Azam himself that some religious leaders, that call themselves patriotic, out rightly reject even 65 years later. It is unfortunate and perhaps the biggest wrongdoing that has been carried out against the women of Pakistan that there were no laws to protect them and their rights. It is only now that the government has taken the initiative to pass the Women protection bill. This also signifies lawmakers’ alertness to the fact that most laws enacted to enhance women’s rights and their protection are not effectively implemented and hence there is a long road ahead to actually see these laws in practice before we can call the women of Pakistan truly free to express themselves in this repressive society.