Male Bias and Development

Running head: MALE BIAS AND DEVELOPMENT
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROBLEM OF MALE BIAS IN DEVELOPMENT: A
CASE STUDY OF PAKISTAN
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1MALE BIAS AND DEVELOPMENT
Introduction
As opined by Kabeer (2016), the notion of development, be it social, economic,
educational, environmental or others, had gained a significant amount of prominence within
the framework of the contemporary world. Bell and Adams (2016) are of the viewpoint that
the prominence held by the concept of development can be explained on the basis of the fact
that over the years not all the different nations of the world have been able to attain the same
level of development. This in turn is not only adversely affecting the growth or the
development of the concerned nations but at the same time the status quo of the entire world
because of the fact that by virtue of the higher amount of development that some of the
nations like USA, Canada, UK, Australia and others have been able to attain they are
wielding a substantial amount of influence on the other lesser developed nations (Bleidorn et
al. 2016). The resultant effect of this is that an unequal distribution of power had been
observed within the framework of the contemporary world which is greatly affecting its
stability and in turn had led to different wars, conflicts, terrorist activities and others over the
years (Benería, Berik and Floro 2015). In this regard, it needs to be said that there are various
factors which significantly affects the growth or the development level attained by the
different nations over the years. Some of the most important reasons or factors which had
contributed to the same are male bias, inadequate resources, lack of technical expertise, the
absence of industries or other sources of the economy growth, absence of a strong centralised
national government and others (Yargawa and Leonardi-Bee 2015). However, at the same
time it needs to be said that the factor of male bias is one of the most important ones which
not only adversely affects the societal and other forms of development of the modern nations
but as a matter of fact stunts it. This essay will analyse the significance of the problem of
male bias in the development of a nation in the particular context of the case study of
Pakistan.

2MALE BIAS AND DEVELOPMENT
Discussion
Freedman and Maine (2018) have articulated the viewpoint that the problem of male
bias is one of the most important wicked problems that the world is presently facing and this
in turn is slowing down the growth or the development rate of the different nations of the
world or for that matter of the entire world itself. As opined by Elson (1995), the evil of male
bias can be defined as prejudice or the bias that the male members of the human population
hold against the female individuals because of their sexual orientation or the unique social
position that they hold within the societal framework. In this regard, it needs to be said that
the wicked problem of male bias and the concept of gender bias are significantly related to
each other however the major difference between the two lies in the fact that whereas gender
bias is a bias which the opposite sexes share for each other and on the other hand the concept
of male bias is primarily directed at the female members of the society (Bell and Adams
2016). More importantly, it is seen that the emergence of the construct of male bias can be
traced back to the ancient times particularly in the nations of Egypt, India and others
(Fägerlind and Saha 2016). For example, even at that point of time it was seen that the male
members of the society held a higher position within the framework of the society on the
basis of their sex and the females had to depend on them not only for their very basic needs
like food, clothing, security and even identity. In this context, it needs to be said that the
societal position of the women or the females is greatly determined by their husband and
apart from that they have no sperate identity of their own (Carnes et al. 2015). In the present
times although the national governments of the different nations of the world have formulated
various kinds of stipulations and also the advancements in the field of knowledge, societal
developments and others have greatly improved the condition of women by reducing male
bias yet at the same time it is seen that the situation is far from ideal.

3MALE BIAS AND DEVELOPMENT
Hall, Hall and Perry (2016) are of the viewpoint that one of the most important
reasons for the predominance held by the concept of male bias is the idea that the male
individuals are superior in physicality, intelligence level, better in decision making and all
other attributes in comparison to the women. More importantly, over the years it had been
seen that different kinds of theories have been used to justify the superior position held by the
male individuals within the societal framework like emphasised feminism and others. In this
regard, it needs to be said that the primary precept of the theory of emphasised feminism is
the fact that the women or the females have been created for satisfying the needs of the male
individuals and also for giving the desired kind of pleasure and apart from these there are no
other purpose for the existence of women within the societal framework (Van Den Besselaar
and Sandström 2016). This and other theories have not only directly contributed towards the
problem of male bias but also towards the other problems that the women had commonly
faced over the years like suppression, discrimination, oppression, deprivation of basic human
rights and others within the societal framework at the hands of the male members of the
same.
As per CNN.com (2019), the nation of Pakistan stands at the 2nd position among all
the nations of the women in terms of the high amount of gender inequality as well as male
bias that the women of the concerned nation had to face within the societal framework. As a
matter of fact, it is seen that the nation of Pakistan is one of the most conservative Islamic
nations of the world and the individuals within the societal framework of the concerned had
to still live by the Islamic rules or regulations dictated by the Quran, which is the sacred book
of Islam (Malecki 2018). However, the major problem arises because of the fact that the
entire Quran had been written keeping the perspective of the male individuals and the
resultant effect of this is that the women within the societal framework of the concerned
nation had to live under various kinds of restrictions (Agarwal 2017). For example, even in