We just celebrated the International Women’s Day on 8 March, and I had the pleasure to attend the meaningful “Women March Forward” Conference in a local hotel two weeks ago.
2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, as well as that of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
Over the past three decades, countries that have introduced gender equality laws have surged from 12 to 193, secondary school enrollment for girls has risen from 69% to 89%, maternal mortality has dropped by 44%, and women’s representation in national parliaments has grown from 11.3% to 26.5%.
Nations have established social service systems to alleviate women’s unpaid care burdens, while gender gaps in education, technology, and other fields continue to narrow.
These achievements reflect the transformative power of global consensus and collective action catalyzed by the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.
At this pivotal moment, the Chinese government has decided to host a new World Conference on Women this year, aiming to inject a new momentum into the noble cause of women’s development worldwide.
However, despite the remarkable progress achieved thus far, gender equality still faces pressing challenges.
The 2024 Global Gender Gap Report released by World Economic Forum estimates that it will now take 134 years to close the gap, up from 99 years in 2019.
Critical issues persist: 65% of girls in developing countries lack access to basic education, women’s participation in labor market lags 25% behind that of men’s, yet they have to shoulder over 75% of unpaid care work, and women hold only 26% of political leadership roles worldwide, with fewer than 1 in 10 heads of state being female.
According to the UN reports, narrowing the digital gender gap can unlock $1.5 trillion in global economic growth.
It is evident that gender equality is not only a moral imperative, but a cornerstone of sustainable development.
Over the past 30 years, China has translated the spirit of the Fourth World Conference on Women into historic achievements for gender equality.
By integrating equality into national governance, China has built a three-dimensional model of incorporating legal safeguards and institutional frameworks with social mobilization for women’s empowerment.
The 2022 revision of the Law on the Protection of Women’s Rights strengthened the fight against gender discrimination, while the Anti-Domestic Violence Law has reduced annual domestic violence reports by 12.6%.
In terms of education, women have constituted over 50% of college students for nine consecutive years, representing 51% of postgraduate candidates and 45% of researchers, with female academicians now exceeding 100 nationwide.
In terms of employment, women hold 37.7% of the corporate board seats.
Digital economy has created 60 million jobs for women, and in 2023, seven of the world’s top ten female entrepreneurs were Chinese.
In the same vein, women’s representation in the National People’s Congress at various levels rose to 26.54%, an increase of 10 percentage points compared to that of 30 years ago, with a number of highly capable female officials even emerging in China’s central and provincial governments.
These milestones, achieved under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, exemplify the systemic strength behind women’s role as “half the sky”.
As Pakistan’s all-weather friend and strategic partner, China commends the government of Pakistan for its unwavering efforts to narrow the gender gaps, including the decline of the arranged marriages, cracking down on the organized child begging, an increase of literacy for girls, enhanced skills training for the rural women, and growing inclusive job creation for the urban professional females.
China is committed to uplifting the political, social and economic status of its female population, and contributing its due share to Pakistan’s gender equality and the inclusive growth for women.
In 2024, Chinese president Xi Jinping personally guided and oversaw the delivery of 20,000 “health packages” to women in Balochistan Province, and decided to provide another 50,000 packages to the province this year.
Chinese enterprises, such as the Orange Line Metro Project, and the Challenge Apparels Co.
in Lahore, adhere to equal employment principles, hiring local women for roles spanning administrative, technical and engineering, and managerial positions.
With inception of Uraan Pakistan and the high-quality development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, China-Pakistan cooperation in gender equality, women’s empowerment, and inclusive growth is poised to further deepen.
It will enable the Pakistani women to play greater roles in national politics and socioeconomic development, further accelerating progress toward the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Women indeed deserve the credit, and the power of women should be duly recognized and appreciated.
President Xi Jinping once said, “Without women’s liberation and progress, there can be no true liberation and progress of humanity”.
Standing at the new height of human civilization, China is leveraging the upcoming World Conference on Women to bridge the divides and to promote the global understanding of gender equality and women empowerment issues from “claiming rights” to “creating value”.
When the spirit of the Beijing Declaration converges with the Belt and Road Initiative and the CPEC, and when the Asian wisdom interacts with global practices, China and Pakistan will forge a culture of more inclusive growth and sustainable development for women.
