Inclusion and Exclusion of Women in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan; A Feminist Approach

Abstract

This research focuses on ‘gender’ in relation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan. The why of women’s potential diminutive role is explored via the application of the feminist approach, which examines the inclusivity/exclusivity of women. This research made use of purposive interviews with curated persons in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The collated data was thematically analysed, using a descriptive method. The study examined if the application of feminist theory is possible on an Eastern society, while looking at potential underlying causes for the exclusion of women in the Ministry, which were discovered to be mainly sociocultural. The research determined that women do not have equal representation vis a vis their male counterparts in all the ranks of the Ministry due to social stereotyping and sociocultural discrimination, amongst other reasons. Moreover, the need for the inclusion of women was established by examining how social disenfranchisement may make women better empathisers and how their experiences allow for a thorough examination and solution of relevant problems. The study is significant because it identifies a lack of Pakistani feminist scholarship pertaining to the bureacratic sector and examines if western feminist ideologies are actually applicable on a South Asian country. Finally, this research concluded that women are indeed excluded from the Ministry via social and institutional constraints.