The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor – a Possible “Game-changer” for Empowering Women

Authors: Aisha Mukhtar and Fareeha Ummar

Islamabad, Pakistan – The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a USD 46 billion joint project to enhance connectivity and industrial cooperation. It is China’s biggest-ever overseas investment, and for Pakistan, it provides an unprecedented opportunity to promote the economic potential and rights of the country’s women.

Sangeeta Thapa, Deputy Country Director of UN Women Pakistan, speaks at the at the discussion on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Photo: UN Women/Atif Khan

As co-chairs of Pakistan’s Inter-Agency Gender and Development Group, UN Women and the Australian High Commission organized a discussion on 21 September to identify the opportunities the CPEC offers for women and the challenges that must be overcome to realize its full potential. About 60 people attended, including government officials, United Nations specialists, representatives of donor countries, and journalists.

Panelists highlighted the barriers Pakistani women face in accessing economic opportunities and the need to give priority to their needs in the implementation of the CPEC. The structural barriers that make women’s participation in the labor force the lowest in South Asia must be removed if the CPEC is create equal opportunities, they said.

“Through the CPEC, we envision an open economic and logistics system that will be inclusive, benefitting all men and women equally,” said Zahir Shah, Project Manager and Coordinator CPEC at Pakistan’s Planning Commission. He said the project will promote domestic stability and create jobs in the construction and roads sectors because it will focus on the country’s least-developed regions. Women will be able to significantly contribute to resources development, aquaculture, education, health, textiles, and information technology, he said.

Naeem Zafar, former member, Social Sector, at the Planning Commission, said the CPEC zones will provide jobs to the sizeable number of women in Pakistan graduating in mathematics and computers. He said that it’s also possible for China to outsource to Pakistan industries that require line assembly work, such as toys manufacturing.

Syed Nawab, Advisor for the Women’s Empowerment project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said the CPEC will be routed mostly through rural areas, enabling those areas to access markets. Women can contribute mainly in three sectors -- transport and logistics, hospitality and health, he said. The five industrial parks to be developed in Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces can create opportunities for women -- but patriarchal mindsets pose challenges, he said.

The panelists recommended enhancing women’s access to services in priority sectors such as transport and energy, promoting employment through gender quotas, and focusing not just on creating more jobs but also ensuring decent working conditions including the prevention of sexual harassment. They also recommended the establishment of a gender unit for the CPEC, making gender needs analysis a prerequisite for all projects, and creating a mechanism for engaging donors, women and minorities.

Sangeeta Thapa, Deputy Country Representative of UN Women Pakistan, said: “CPEC presents a huge economic opportunity to improve gender parity and accelerate Pakistan’s economic growth. To capitalize on this opportunity, structural barriers within Pakistan that limit women’s economic potential will need to be addressed.” Ms. Thapa highlighted the importance of cross-sector linkages and broader political commitment. She urged that the CPEC planning be linked to Pakistan’s overall economic and social planning including Vision 2025, and the country’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Margaret Adamson, Australian High Commissioner said Pakistan’s future was tied to the future of its women. “The lives of Pakistani women are changing rapidly,” she said. “It will be vital for a prosperous Pakistan to facilitate an environment which provides enough economic opportunities to engage women.” She said the Australian Government is exploring ways to promote entrepreneurship among women in Pakistan, particularly in education, agribusiness and the broader agriculture sector.

In Pakistan, among people 15-64 years old, females comprise only 22 per cent of the labor force, compared to 86 per cent for males, according to UN Women’s Progress of the World’s Women 2015-2016 report. Higher participation in non-agriculture, wage employment is considered an indicator of improved economic circumstances of women. But 73 per cent of Pakistan’s female workers are in the agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing sectors. Of the female workers in non-agricultural work, 78 per cent are in the informal sector and 22 per cent in the formal sector.