Congress hears testimony that political repression in Pakistan exacerbates women's rights gaps and rolls back protections for gender-diverse people

“The way they are behaving abroad, the way they are behaving internally, it's all correlated,” Sadiq Amini said when describing how political decisions and alignment with the Taliban affected women and gender equality in Pakistan and the region.

Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici opened a line of questioning noting that Pakistan ranks 145 out of 146 countries on the global gender gap index and that female labor-force participation stands at about 22 percent versus roughly 81 percent for men, figures she cited to frame the hearing's gender discussion. Witnesses linked the broader democratic rollback to worsening economic and civic opportunities for women.

Ben Linden highlighted legal reversals and implementation gaps affecting gender diverse people. He told the commission that the Transgender Persons (Protection) Act of 2018, which provided legal recognition and certain protections, had been rolled back by the federal Shariah court and was being challenged in the Supreme Court. Linden also said Pakistan had failed to pass and implement a domestic violence prevention and protection bill despite international commitments.

Witnesses gave statistics and examples they said demonstrate the scope of gender-based violence and impunity. Linden cited reporting of 531 "honor killings" recorded between January and November of the previous year and said there is a culture of impunity that discourages reporting.

Panelists recommended that the commission hold future hearings that bring testimony from Pakistani women, gender-diverse people, and refugees to provide direct accounts of how political and legal shifts affect rights on the ground.

The hearing record contains no formal U.S. policy decision on these issues; witnesses called for further oversight and attention from Congress.