Ongoing political and economic turmoil, including rising inflation and the fallout from former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrest in May 2023, has deepened existing gendered inequities and compounded rollback in Pakistan.
For the past two years, Pakistan has ranked 145th out of 146 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, reflecting its entrenched gender inequalities. Economic hardships have deepened social vulnerabilities. Pakistan’s substantial debt – 75 per cent of its gross domestic product, along with rising external debt – has severely constrained investment in social services, exacerbating poverty and inequality, and limiting initiatives for women’s empowerment. This brief explores the context of rollback, the landscape of anti-rollback actors, counter-rollback strategies, and gaps and areas for future research and work.
