LAHORE: A recent survey by research company IPSOS Pakistan Wednesday revealed that at least 29 percent of citizens preferred being a woman while 21 percent find it more advantageous to be a man.
This was not the first time when people around the world discriminate between genders but amazingly the survey carried out by global market research and consulting firm in Pakistan stated otherwise as 49 percent, almost half of the respondents, believe it did not matter whether one is a man or a woman in Pakistan.
As half of the respondents choose to be gender free in a recent survey conducted in March comprising 1,000 individuals, 29 percent Pakistanis – 35 percent women and 26 percent men – thought that it is better to be a woman.
Meanwhile, 35 percent women respondents preferred to be a woman while only 13 percent thought otherwise while among the men, 26 percent thought that it is good to be a woman and same amount of individuals nod for being a man in Pakistani society.
The breakdown of the study on provincial level suggests, 33 percent in Punjab, the most populous province, choose to be a woman, while 21 percent thought it’s good to be a man.
If we go in the southeast part of the country, Sindh, 25 percent Pakistanis find it more advantageous to be good as a woman while 20 percent choose to be a man.
Following the patriarchal norms, 26 percent Pakhtoons believe it’s good to be a man while 23 percent choose to be a woman.
In Balochistan, the southwestern part of Pakistan, 17 percent thought it is good to be a woman, while 23 percent said it’s good to be a man.
The study also includes a breakdown of rural and urban areas. 31 percent urban population thought that it is better to be a woman, while 18 percent rural population thought it is good to be woman.
Another categorization is of social class where 41 percent of upper class, socially and economically strong segment, said it is good to be a woman, and 21 percent said it is good to be a man while, 29 percent of, lower or middle class, weaker segment, thought that it is good to be a man and 24 percent said it is good to be a woman.
