Department of Gender Studies at University of Management and Technology is going to hold its First National Conference on Debates in Contemporary Gender Issues on April 25, 2019 in Conference Hall, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan
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Pakistan is challenged with gender inequalities, and despite efforts there is a wide gap between males and females in terms of education, employment opportunities, paid work, access to health services and health outcomes in Pakistan. The gender inequality has deep roots in Pakistani society. Culturally, women are at a disadvantage from birth and are subject to discrimination during their entire life-course in Pakistan, while men are perceived to have economic and social utility. This gender preference can be assessed by unbalanced gender ratio (91 women for every 100 men) in Pakistan, when compared with industrialized countries. Male infants enjoy more family resources and care in terms of better nutrition and healthcare access than females of the same age. Female children are, therefore, susceptible to face more neglect and live in poor health compared to male children. This neglect of girls continues in their childhood and adolescence, with only 25% of women able to complete their primary education as compared to 49% of men in Pakistan. Female literacy is only two third that for men in urban Punjab, and is beyond doubt much worst in rural areas of Pakistan. The situation is even worse for transgender. It is high time to take such issues seriously and discuss them on various academic forums to seek viable solutions.
The Department of Gender Studies at University of Management and Technology, Lahore invites research papers pertaining to methodological and theoretical debates in Gender Studies with regard to cultural, psychological, economical, historical and political aspects, shaping gender identity, roles and their diverse contribution in human development. The conference aims to address the issues and prospects hindering empowerment of women and other minorities, and to provide solutions through empirical evidences.