Unbanked and unseen

EDITORIAL: It should be unthinkable that in 2025, just 14 percent of women in Pakistan are financially included. Yet here we are — well into the third decade of the 21st century — still contending with the reality that half the population remains largely excluded from the financial system.

The data, drawn from the latest Karandaaz Financial Inclusion Survey, paints a grim picture. Financial inclusion among men has risen to 56 percent, but women lag far behind, stuck at 14 percent. No other indicator captures the scale of economic exclusion quite as clearly.

This is not a marginal development problem. It is a foundational crisis. Countries that aim to grow sustainably, distribute wealth more evenly, and improve human development outcomes cannot afford to operate financial systems that serve only one gender. Yet Pakistan’s formal economy continues to overlook and underestimate women.

The fact that mobile wallet use has expanded to 48 percent of men but only 11 percent of women confirms the depth of the divide. Even where digital solutions have made formal banking more accessible, women are still being left behind.

This isn’t about technology access alone. It is about structural neglect. From mobile ownership to SIM registration, from literacy to household permission, every link in the chain is broken for women. And the state does not appear in any hurry to fix it. It is stunning that even now, there is no serious national strategy to address the gender gap in financial access. Not even in the country’s digital finance policy documents is there a plan robust enough to deal with the fact that millions of women remain unbanked, under-resourced, and financially invisible.

The regional disparities are equally shocking. In Balochistan, just 4 percent of women are financially included. In Azad Jammu & Kashmir, only 1 percent. These are not statistics that reflect slow progress — they reflect active failure. Even in Islamabad, where infrastructure and access are significantly better, female inclusion stands at just 38 percent, far below any reasonable benchmark. There is no justification for this scale of exclusion, especially when mobile wallets and simplified banking services are available.

Technology is often cited as one of the great equalisers, but only when access is universal. And in Pakistan, it simply isn’t. Just 46 percent of women own mobile phones, compared to over 80 percent of men. Even fewer women have SIMs registered in their own names. Without secure access to personal digital tools, mobile-based financial solutions can’t reach their intended users. These are known barriers, and yet policy action has been slow, fragmented, and reactive at best.

There are ways forward, but they require seriousness. Government programmes like the Benazir Income Support Programme could be expanded to serve as on-ramps for broader financial inclusion. Mobile operators can be incentivised to register SIMs in women’s names more easily and securely. Banks can design simplified, low-cost accounts tailored for first-time female users. Civil society can support literacy and awareness campaigns, especially in rural districts. None of these ideas are new. What is missing is the political will to act on them at scale.

This is not a women’s issue — it is a national development issue. Countries that empower their women economically see gains in household savings, education, health outcomes, and GDP growth. Countries that exclude them face stagnation and widening inequality. Pakistan cannot afford to choose the latter path.

Financial inclusion is not charity. It is not a development project to tick off in reports. It is the foundation of economic participation and empowerment. And right now, too many Pakistani women are locked out of that foundation. If this continues, the cost won’t just be borne by them — it will be borne by the entire country.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025