World Big NEWS: 649 million women get inadequate maternity protection ! MAK NEWS-21

3 out of every 10 women (or 649 million women) of childbearing age worldwide have inadequate maternity protection that does not meet the key...

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3 out of every 10 women (or 649 million women) of childbearing age worldwide have inadequate maternity protection that does not meet the key requirements of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Maternity Protection Convention 2000. 

 

The report states that where maternity leave is a concept, its duration is shorter. File photo: Dawn

According to the Dawn newspaper, the ILO report published on the occasion of International Women's Day, 'Care at Work: Investing in Care for Life and Services for More Gender Equals World of Work', highlights the importance of family responsibilities. Permanent and significant gaps in care services and policies have deprived millions of workers of adequate protection and assistance.

However, by meeting these requirements, about 300 million jobs could be created by 2031.

The report says that more than 1.2 billion adult men live in countries where there is no maternity leave, although this will help balance the work and family responsibilities of both parents.

 

Read also: Consideration to extend maternity leave to 6 months in Pakistan

The report further states that where there is a concept of father's vacation, their duration is shorter, covering an average of 9 days with a large gender gap.

Meanwhile, a World Bank report released yesterday called on Pakistan to bring about further reforms to improve legal equality for women.

However, the report, entitled "Women, Business and Law 2022", states that Pakistan has the best score when it comes to laws that affect women's work decisions.

Citing recent reforms, the report said that from October 2020 to October 2021, Pakistan lifted restrictions on women working at night.

Read more: PCB announces policy for male and female cricketers on childbirth

The report said that women in Pakistan are not allowed to register businesses like men.

The report, compiled with a ranking of 190 countries according to the Life Cycle of Working Women, ranked Pakistan's score at 55.6 out of 100, which is lower than the regional average for the whole of South Asia.

Citing an example, the report said that the lowest score for Pakistan was in a law review indicator that affects women's work after childbirth.

Also read: The rights that Pakistani working mothers should have

The report said that in order to improve this score, the government of Pakistan should make 100% use of maternity leave, give paid leave to the fathers of newborns and give paid leave to parents after the birth of a child. And may consider banning the dismissal of pregnant women.

Nepal's highest score in the South Asian region was 80.6 out of 100.

Entitled 'Women, Business and Law', the index examines law, legitimate rights, the provision of certain benefits and explicit discrimination in areas where reforms can be made to strengthen women's participation in the workforce.

Read more: 'Becoming a mother will get 6 months paid leave'

In South Asia, women have only two-thirds of the legal rights of men, and only one economy in the region has been reformed.

Identifying areas for improvement, the report said restrictions on freedom of movement, laws affecting women's pay, barriers to marriage, and laws affecting women's work after childbirth. Pakistan can make reforms to improve legal equality for women in terms of barriers to women starting and running businesses, gender differences in property and inheritance, and laws affecting the size of women's pensions.

The World Bank estimates that the global life expectancy gap between men and women is estimated at 17 17.23 trillion, equivalent to twice the global GDP.

According to the report, the adoption of such laws is the first necessary step towards a more supportive and inclusive world that strengthens opportunities and rights for women.