Ambassador of Pakistan to Vietnam Samina Mehtab. (Photo: Minh Quan)

Partner to glory

How do you evaluate the role of women in modern society?

There is a traditional Chinese saying that “Women hold half the sky”. Well, this might have been true for the traditional society where women were restricted to homes and their job was only to look after household and children. However, in today’s modern society, I believe that women hold more than half the sky. The role of a women in modern society has changed drastically and very dramatically. Women now have the acceptability and tenability to play versatile roles in the society. Today’s woman not only performs her traditional role but also proactively participates in all the social institutions be it politics, economy, or education.

Currently, women are performing extra-ordinarily in all professions and shattering glass ceilings left and right. For instance, in Pakistan, women have become a fundamental part of our workforce in all social strata.

This uplift in women’s status has imparted a very positive effect on the modern society. As woman is the nurturer of any society’s next generation, an empowered woman produces an empowered young generation. Hence, it is safe to say that mainstreaming of fair gender has made our society more just, enlightened, and progressive.

Could you share experiences of Pakistan in promoting women’s rights?

Father of our Nation, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah said that “No nation can rise to the height of glory unless its women are side by side with men.”

Since the independence of Pakistan, it has been a very progressive country. Pakistani women have been guaranteed all fundamental rights and freedoms in our constitution. Our ưomen have enjoyed suffrage and all basic rights since 1947. Pakistan is also a signatory to Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and is fully committed to its goal of achieving gender equality under Millennium Development Goals.

As a result, Pakistani women play a very active role in the society. Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007), our ex-Prime Minister is the first female Muslim Prime Minister ever. We have reserved 60 seats for women in our National Assembly and all other seats are also open to be contested by women. All our major political parties have women politicians playing a very active role. On the economic front, women are excelling in all fields both in public and private sectors.

In education, specifically private schools, almost 90-95% of teachers are women, because we consider that the nature of a mother would contribute greatly to teaching. Women also play important roles in our health care and medicine sectors in Pakistan.

In diplomacy, Ambassador Tehmina Janjua had become the first Foreign Secretary of Pakistan in 2017, while Mrs. Hina Rabbani Khar has twice become the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. Currently, there are 10 – 11 female Pakistani Ambassadors in different countries. Notably, three over four of our Ambassadors in Southeast Asia, including me, are women.

Interestingly, I believe that the Pakistani tradition of respecting women is heavily influenced by Islam. Islam is the first divine religion to give women the rights to property, as well the rights to divorce equally to men.

Nevertheless, Pakistani women still face gender-discrimination on certain levels. Hence, Government of Pakistan as well as non-government organisations remain committed to the cause of women empowerment. This is reflected in the medium and long-term strategic vision documents, the pro-women laws enacted, and the policies of various institutions and ministries to mainstream gender into their planning and service delivery. Government provides economic initiatives like Benazir Income Support programme to promote financial independence of Pakistani women. Legislations countering gender barriers are also formulated by our lawmakers from time to time such as National Gender Policy Framework (2022), Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Ordinance (2020) and he Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Amendment) Bill, 2022. I am confident that all such steps will abet Pakistani women in realizing their enormous potential.

One of the most difficult objectives for modern women is finding the balance between work and family. As a female Ambassador, how have you been able to achieve this?

Pakistani values family traditions. As an ambassador with a great amount of work, I feel very lucky that my husband is always there to help me. As for my daughter, when she is busy with her career, we always try to help her. This is a positive trend. More families are planning to assist their women, female children to pursue their own careers. Men are becoming more open to the idea of stepping back, playing more supportive roles so their women, female children could working and attending to their families at the same time, striking a balance between work and life.

Pivotal role in Vietnam

How do you feel about Vietnamese women and their role?

During my two years stay in Viet Nam, I have observed that Vietnamese women play a very pivotal role in Viet Nam’s progress and development. They make up nearly 50 per cent of the total work force and are present in all fields. They truly are women of substance and are performing extraordinarily in whichever profession they are. It is worthwhile to note here that Viet Nam has made commendable strides in gender equality in recent years and has been recognized as one of the top 10 performers worldwide in implementing the United Nations’ goal No.5 on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.

Vietnamese women have an edge due to Viet Nam’s matriarchal heritage. And on top of that the gender mainstreaming policies of Vietnamese government have made today’s Vietnamese woman truly resilient, indomitable and a role model for women all over the globe. Due to the government’s support, Vietnamese women are very successful in striking the delicate balance between their traditional as well as modern roles. All the Vietnamese women that I have encountered are very talented and passionate for betterment of their family life as well as career progress. In my opinion, this empowerment of Vietnamese women is one of the main reasons for the commendable pace of Viet Nam’s development.

Ambassador Samina Mehtab exchanged with delegates at the contemporary Contemporary Art Exhibition “Maya” of female Pakistani Artist, Ms. Masooma Syed, at the University of Industrial Fine Art on June 2022. (Nguồn: Quochoi)

What are your plans to promote exchanges between women of the two countries?

I believe that in any society and polity, women are the true custodians of cultural identity and ethos. Therefore, exchanges and interactions between the women of any two countries is crucial for promotion of people-to people exchange. Hence, I always make a conscious effort to engage the Women leaders in Vietnam in all fields of interest such as politics, trade, investment, tourism, arts and the list goes on.

In September last year, I participated in the “ASEAN ++ Bridge: Connecting for Sustainability" organized by Ho Chi Minh City Association for Women Executives & Entrepreneurs (HAWEE) on the sidelines of the 16th International Travel Expo. The Embassy also organized a three-day Contemporary Art Exhibition “Maya” by a female Pakistani Artist, Ms. Masooma Syed, at the University of Industrial Fine Art in June last year to celebrate the golden jubilee of Pakistan-Vietnam bilateral relationship.

Currently, I am devising a work plan to connect Vietnam’s Women Union to an eminent Pakistani Non-Government Organisation named All Pakistan Women's Association (APWA). APWA has been working for women’s rights in Pakistan since 1949. It is an internationally recognized organization and has won UNESCO Adult Literacy Prize in 1974. It also enjoys consultative status with Government of Pakistan and Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). I hope that once connected, both the organizations will be able to learn from each other’s experiences and implement those lessons for women empowerment.