The Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected on Friday the World Economic Forum (WEF) report on gender parity in Pakistan and has taken notice of its findings.

“We have taken note of the WEF Gender Gap Report 2022 and do not agree with its finding regarding Pakistan,” the ministry said in a statement.

According to the report, Pakistan is the second worst country in the world regarding gender parity. The only worse performer than Pakistan is Afghanistan.

The WEF Gender Gap Report placed Pakistan on 145th place in a survey of 146 countries.

The Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran and Chad were the three other countries to figure among the five worst performers.

The MoFA in its statement said that the report had flaws with respect to its reporting methodology including data collection, data interpretation, indicator selection, definitions, and standards.

“Pakistan has previously highlighted the gaps in the Report to WEF, to make it better reflective of the ground realities and factual position. To serve the women rights’ agenda better, WEF must engage with States from different regions to understand and showcase diversity of religious, historical, developmental and cultural backgrounds, and improve its reporting methodology on the basis of the feedback.”

The ministry clarified that Pakistan had made steady progress in strengthening the legal and administrative mechanisms for the promotion and protection of rights of women and girls.

It said that efforts were being made for social, economic and political empowerment of women and gender equality in line with SDG 5.

“Some of the measures include passage of laws; gender responsive policies and budgeting; gender-sensitive social protection social safety-net (BISP); introduction of 30% reserved seats for women representatives at all three tiers of local government; reservation of 60 seats in the National Assembly as well as in Senate and Provincial Assemblies; and 10% reserved quota for employment for women in the Central Superior Services.”

The ministry said that a brief overview of various data collection mechanisms, including the Economic Survey would demonstrate that women’s equal participation had been steadily increasing in all sectors.

“Women play an active role in the Pakistani society and polity. We are well cognizant of the challenges and are making constant efforts to further improve the legislative framework and affirmative measures in that regard. Moreover, at the UN and other international forums, Pakistan is one of the leading voices in support of the women rights’ agenda,” said the statement.

The statement said that the country would continue to work for women empowerment and gender equality in line with domestic legal framework, national ethos and international obligations.