Women have historically played important roles in development but were often overlooked. In many societies, women were primarily viewed as mothers and housewives, though women in Islam have long worked in various fields. Today, women worldwide perform most of the agricultural work but own very little land. In Pakistan, women have made progress in many areas like education, healthcare, and politics. Rural women are major contributors to the economy through farming, livestock, crafts and household duties. Urban Pakistani women now work in diverse fields including engineering, IT, sports and banking. Women play key roles in economic development through food production and small businesses. Some influential Pakistani women include Fatima Jinnah and Benazir Bhutto. Women also contribute to defense through roles in

1. Role of
women
in
development’
Role of women in development:
Background:
In the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, women were only viewed as mothers and housewives, within
development policies and programmes. Their economic activities and contributions were ignored
and not valued. Development theorists and planners saw men as the agents and actors of

2. development. Men were seen to be the breadwinners of their families. Women were
invisible.Women were an under-utilized resource for development.
Women in Islam:
Islamic law makes no demand that women should confine themselves to household duties. In
fact the early Muslim women were found in all walks of life. The first wife of the Prophet, was a
business woman. Women traded in the marketplace, and the Khalifah Umar, not normally noted
for his liberal attitude to women, appointed a woman, Shaff'a Bint Abdullah, to supervise the
market. Other women, like Laila al-Ghifaria, took part in battles, carrying water and nursing the
wounded.
Status of women in world:
women perform two thirds of the world’s work. women earn one tenth of the world’s
incomewomen are two thirds of the world’s illiterate. women own less than one hundredth of the
world’s property
Working Women in Pakistan:
Women in Pakistan have progressed in various fields of life such as politics, education,
economy, services, health and many more. 16% of Pakistani women were "economically active"
(either employed, or unemployed but available to furnish labor).
Female workers are more likely to be full-time workers in all farm sizes in NWFP (89.54%) and
Sindh (74,36%). Punjab shows an almost equal division between full-time workers (55.6%) and
part-time workers, while in Balochistan 82.84 percent of female family workers are part-time.
Role of rural women:
Rural -women are major contributors in four sub-sectors of the rural economy, crop production,
livestock production, cottage industry, household and family maintenance activities, such as
transporting water, fuel and fodder to and from the home, food preparation and preservation and
caring for children, the elderly and the disabled women make up 76 percent of all part-time
workers and only 25 percent of those acknowledged as full-time workers.
Role of urban women:
In urban areas, females find their way to schools, colleges, universities or scholarships abroad.
Other than the medicine, which was once considered to be the only profession which women
joined, Now even the most technical spheres like engineering, architecture, communications and
IT. Women can now be seen encouraging cricket teams and participating all kinds of sports from
cricket to athletics and even marathon recently held in Lahore.

3. Today, women in Pakistan hold high ranking positions as the CEOs and executives. Recently the
president has appointed Dr Shamshad Akhtar as the first female governor of the State Bank of
Pakistan. Two lady doctors of the Pakistan Army have also risen to the rank of major general.
The female doctors joined hands with the male doctors in the most inaccessible earth quake hit
areas in the northern part of Pakistan to treat the sick and wounded.
Role of women in economic development:
Women's development is intrinsic to the development of the developing world. Women produce
more than 80 percent of the food in the Sub-Saharan Africa and 50-60 percent in Asia. Women
also contribute substantially to the family budget through income-generating activities such as
food processing, trading of agricultural products and handicraft production.
Women in history of Pakistan;
Fatima Jinnah, sister of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, was an instrumental figure in the Pakistan
movement. She was the first Muslim woman to contest the presidency in 1965, as a candidate of
the Combined Opposition Party. Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was the first female prime minister
of Pakistan (1988)(1991) and the first woman elected to head a Muslim country.
Role of women defense system
A total defence system aims at ensuring the physical. civil economic social and psychological
security. Women role in defence system covers many fields e.g. role of women in medical,
armed forces,millitary,navy and submarines etc.
Role of women in medical
In medical field women are working well as compared to males,Women works as a gynecologist
preventing lives of thousands of women and with their proper cure preventing them from fatal
disease. In surgery they also perform a notable contribution. Women working as a midwife and
nurse and also a lady doctor serves to save the lives of people nurses receive silver star award
previously.
Role of women in military
Department of Defense (DOD) women played a vital role in the theater of operations. By late
February, more than 37,000 military women were in the Persian Gulf, making up approximately
6.8 percent of US forces. 3,700 Navy, 2,200 Marine, and 5,300 Air Force (USAF) women
deployed. Women served in almost all of the hundreds of occupations open to them; as a matter
of law and policy, women were excluded from certain specific combat military occupational
specialties.

4. Role of women in armed forces
Permit women to fill active combat roles, including New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Finland,
France, Germany, Norway, Israel, Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland. Other nations allow female
soldiers to serve in certain Combat Arms positions, such as the United Kingdom, which allows
women to serve in Artillery roles, while still excluding them from units with a dedicated Infantry
role. By Service, there were approximately 26,000 Army.
Women on submarines
The Royal Norwegian Navy became the first navy in the world to permit female personnel to
serve in submarines, appointing a female submarine captain in 1995, followed by the Royal
Australian Navy (RAN) in 1998 and thereafter Canada and Spain, all operators of conventional
submarines. By Service, there were approximately 3700 navy and 2200 in submarines.
Role of women in navy
It was noted that women now represented 15% of the Active Duty Navy and that women today
earn about half of all science and engineering bachelor’s degrees.In the late 20th century and
early 21st century, there have been a significant representations of "women warriors" in popular
culture, occasionally including women in the military.
Role of women in physics and engineering.
Women played also a role in physics and engineering for making weapons for country survival
in all over the world. About 20%women are working in the fields of physics but the ratio is now
increasing.
Women’s role in technology
Women in the history of technology :
Women historically have been under-represented in scientific and technical fields. There are
multiple reasons for this, Being the cultural stereotypes and definitions of women and men,
which, in the Western world, are grounded in the religious and political culture and have been
institutionalized through our education and socialization over the centuries.
Women have been given limited educational opportunities, have been restricted by law from
many activities, and have been excluded from professional societies and publications Today we
are seeing far more participation by women in the technical fields But in reality, there have
always been women who applied their common sense and natural abilities to contribute to their
world through scientific and technical innovations.Autumn Stanley, in her book Mothers and
Daughters of Invention, proposes that many of the anonymous inventions which mark human

5. prehistory were developed by women. Since women were responsible for gathering food, they
probably identified potential food crops such as grains, tubers, fruits and herbs, and transplanted
or sowed them near early tribal settlements. This would qualify as the invention of agriculture
Women’s role in processing of food
The processing of foods also falls to women in most primitive societies. Grinding roots and
grains requires technological development in the form of tools, and storage of perishable food
items requires the invention of processes such as drying, jerking, smoking, and pickling. Many
foods which we take for granted, such as tapioca and olives, must be chemically processed just
in order to be edible
Clothing preparation:
Another field of prehistoric technology which probably fell to women was clothing. Preparation
of hides, weaving, and sewing are all activities generally done by women in primitive cultures.
The development of preserving, softening, bleaching and dyeing methods for animal skins, the
invention of weaving techniques and equipment including carding and sewing implements such
as hooks, needles, scissors, and sinew or fiber threads may all be credited to our unknown fore-
mothers.
Mechanical inventions:
A variety of medical instruments and devices were invented and patented by women during the
nineteenth century, including sterilization techniques and devices, medical beds and chairs, field
ambulances and stretchers, splints, and an improved speculum. The modern intravenous drip was
developed by a team which included Justine Wagner, who worked during the first
half of this century. She also helped develop resuscitation techniques for victims of electric
shock, and cryogenic therapy to destroy cancer cells.
Industrial revolution:
From the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, we know that women invented and improved
machinery and industrial designs. One of our country's earliest successful industries the straw
bonnet business was built on several related inventions, all by women. It began in 1798, with
Betsey Metcalf's development of an improved method of braiding straw to make straw bonnets.
Her invention formed the basis of a flourishing cottage industry. Mary Dixon Kies helped the
industry expand in 1809 by developing a process for weaving the straw for bonnets.
Impact of women development in society.
Positive impact:

6. People who speaks more of women’s freedom try to prove that a woman is a fitting member of a
society to perform any sort of work as a man.They also justify with the reference to the advanced
and progressed societies on earth that women can render better services outdoor in comparison
with those rendered indoor.They lay much emphasis on the equality of men and women; they
want to see women, enjoying an equal status to men.Development increase at a high rate.
Negative impact:
All positive impacts are opposed by those who say that the best services of a woman is to look
after man’s generation. They declare it to be the most sacred profession for a woman, justifying
that she is already doing it by nature. According to them the contrary role of the Western women
by working in offices, factories and other fields of men, might give them desired freedom but not
the deserved respect.
In this way women are exploited by loading with double duty of home and job. She cannot give
her duties properly and generations are being affected.

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