Violence against women (VAW) is a result of many factors but inequality can be considered as the root cause of this brutal act. We are talking about gender inequality which means men and women are not considered equal and the differences arise from distinctions in experience, exposure, and cultural norms etc. From the feminist perspective, some of the differences are empirically grounded but others are socially constructed by those who wanted to hold the power and control the whole system. Feminists believe that male supremacy and dominance is an illusion created by the sexist minds of male anthropologists.
Abusing women physically or psychologically was not the reason to create gender inequality but it becomes the main cause of gender-based violence.
Violence against women is not limited to Pakistan or underdeveloped countries, it is a global phenomenon having no boundaries of age, education, socioeconomic status and geography. According to the World Health Organization, about 35 per cent of women worldwide have faced physical and/or sexual violence in their lives either from intimate partner or non-partner.
Discrimination and social norms undermine women to get education, income and independence. The dependency of a woman on man is the core reason that she is considered unequal to man and treated like a slave or commodity.
It is considered that the lack of women’s empowerment is a critical form of inequality. Woman empowerment is one the solution to VAW. Empowering them by providing equal opportunities and access to education, decent jobs, health care, knowledge, awareness, representation in economic and political decision-making process and support is very crucial. Because it has been proved by researches that women who hold the degree, job (Economic independency) and awareness are less likely to be hurt by their spouse and even from other men. Gender equality is a necessity for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
Supporting those girls who encounter violence is vital by making sure that they are getting justice, protection, shelter, counselling, treatment and whatever they need to get out of the trauma and live a better life.
In the past few decades, for women empowerment, the enormous Progress has been made on many important fronts. The situation is far better than the past but there is still much work to be done in this field. In this era even having a major share in global work women face disadvantages in both paid and unpaid jobs. Even after getting the higher education they don’t have a high-rank job. They are not excelling in the business a few of them get a chance to become a senior politician and hold judicial positions.
To put an end to this curse we must focus on changing discriminatory social norms, closing gender gaps on all levels (educational, economic, social). The first and most important step is to collect data. Then we need more energy, struggle and determination to reduce the violence that cut deep into our society so that it is not continued to the next generations.