As the world races toward the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Pakistan stands at a crossroads. The question is not just how far it has come, but who has actually benefitted. On paper, the country has progressive laws, social protection schemes, and decentralization reforms. In reality, nearly half the population – women – remain locked out of progress.

The result? Pakistan ranks last, 148 out of 148 countries, according to the Global Gender Gap Index 2025. At this pace, gender equality is not just decades away – it is centuries.

The Cost of Exclusion

Pakistan cannot achieve the SDGs while leaving women behind. Research shows that closing gender gaps directly advances dozens of SDG targets: girls’ education reduces child mortality, women’s economic participation raises household incomes, and female leaders strengthen climate resilience. Yet Pakistan lags across these fronts. 

Only 22 percent of women work, compared to 80 percent of men. Of those who do, most are engaged in agriculture, with three-quarters unpaid. The gender wage gap remains deep: for every PKR 1,000 earned by men, women earn PKR 818. 

Exclusion extends into public life. Women hold just 20 percent of parliamentary seats, occupy one ministerial post, and represent only 0.3 percent of corporate leaders. While quotas have helped, systemic barriers – such as unpaid care responsibilities, safety concerns, and entrenched cultural norms – continue to push women out of public life. 

Financial exclusion compounds these challenges. Only 13 percent of women have a bank account, excluding them from credit, savings, and digital transfers. Only 30 percent of women own smartphones compared to 58 percent of men, and more than 80 percent need permission to use a phone. 

This exclusion is not just unjust – it is expensive. Closing the mobile gender gap alone could unlock vast opportunities for women in jobs, education, and finance – while generating an estimated US$130 million in additional industry revenues. 

Decentralization: Bringing the SDGs Closer to Communities 

Decentralization has the potential to bring decision-making closer to communities and respond to women’s needs more effectively. Evidence shows that when women hold office, they are more likely to allocate resources toward services that benefit women and families. The 7th National Finance Commission Award and the 18th Constitutional Amendment were milestones in devolving power, increasing provincial shares of federal revenues from 47 to 57.5 percent. The aim was to make health, education, and social welfare programmes more responsive, accountable, and inclusive – especially for women.

But outcomes vary widely across provinces, shaped by institutional capacity and resources. Without stronger redistribution and capacity-building, decentralization risks widening inequalities rather than bridging them.

Laws and Enforcement

Pakistan has no shortage of laws promising women equality: inheritance rights, workplace protections, safeguards against harassment, even child marriage bans setting the minimum age at 18 in Sindh and, more recently, in the federal capital. On paper, it looks progressive. 

But in practice, women are often denied their rightful property shares. Survivors of gender-based violence face stigma, low conviction rates, and patriarchal attitudes within institutions. Workplace protections are often ignored. Gender focal units inside government remain underfunded and ineffective. Closing the gender gap between policy and practice requires stronger accountability mechanisms, investment in institutional capacity, and political will at all levels.