Interpreting The Potency of Constitutional Contours Concerning Equality of Citizens: A Comparative Analysis of Pakistan and The United States
Author: Rizwan Azhar, Muhammad Zulqarnain, Muhammad Ali Siddiqui
Abstract
The shifting sands in the political landscape and stagnant economic growth are the causative agents of burgeoning polarization in Pakistan. Nonetheless, the prosperity of a society is a quid pro quo of the provision of equality to its citizens that is lagging due to burgeoning discrimination. There exist potential constitutional contours that inform the provision of equal rights to its citizen like that of Article 25 of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, yet the footprints of discrimination are increasing. Thus, the researcher conducted secondary research using qualitative research design to compare the prospect of equality in Pakistan with that of the longest-surviving written constitution of the United States of America (USA) to interpret the loopholes in the context of Pakistan. Based on the case analysis of both Pakistan and the USA at the societal and organizational levels, a plethora of literature examined the prevalence of stratification and instigating rhetoric of glass-ceiling metaphor in practice. Furthermore, different initiatives taken by national and international bodies like the Ministry of Human Rights of Pakistan and the Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) 1979 which was ratified by Pakistan in 1996 are examined. The study identified, inter alia, implementation of the legislative contours, as a lagging factor in the case of Pakistan to assure equality of citizens. For Instance, Pakistan and the US both have ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) treaty that seeks to protect a range of civil and political rights of humans. Yet, the efficacy of the US in implementing the grounds of equality is more noteworthy than that of Pakistan. The prime reason lies in the Supremacy Clause of its constitution which renders the status of federal law to the ratified treaties. Thus, all government institutes, agents and private entities are bound to ensure implications on the treaty. Additionally, factors like discrimination, unawareness, social stereotypes, stigmas and circumlocution in attaining justice make the impact of inequality difficult to reverse. Thus, the widening polarization is envisaged in many forms like populism and gender discrimination. Henceforth, the researcher emphasized on promotion of social justice and information disclosure about the identified pay gap. Whilst, the study also referred to the lagging efficacy in providing compulsory education to children which is the essential constituent of Article 25 of the constitution of Pakistan. Therefore, the researcher emphasized the adoption of transformational practices as per regional demand like that of the learning mechanisms developed by Jack Mezirow. Thereby, such measures of assistance for the vulnerable segment cannot only help in reducing the parity gap but assist Pakistan in achieving its International commitment to achieving sustainable development goals.
Keywords
Equality, Rights, Constitutional contours, Discrimination, Glass-ceiling hypothesis, Stereotypical influence, Sustainable development.
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