Guarded and Gated Women-Only Parks Being Built in Pakistan

The Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) is developing six parks for women only so they can exercise out of sight of male oglers.

The parks will have walls and grills up to seven feet high and employ women for security and maintenance, PHA Director General Muhammad Mehmood said. “They are being especially designed for women who are uncomfortable using public parks,” he said.

The parks in Johar Town, Mustafa Town, Tajpura, Sabzazar, Gulberg and Gujjarpura will be completed in three months, he said. They will also have allied sports and exercise facilities such as a basketball or badminton court, a jogging track and a gym.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif inaugurated the women’s-only Fatima Jinnah Park in Green Town on March 25 and it has proved very popular. The park has walls seven feet high and though there is a male guard at the gate, the six guards inside are women.

“It’s a great gift for women sick of eve teasers,” (men who engage in sexual harassment at dusk) said Mrs Aleem, a Township resident who was visiting Fatima Jinnah Park. “I had stopped going to parks because, whoever I was with and however carefully I was dressed, I was harassed.”

She said that she felt comfortable exercising at the women’s-only park. “My five-year-old also plays here with the other kids, so it is a good outing for both of us,” she said.

Mehmood, the PHA director general, said that the new parks had been designed by architect Rizwan Beg and would have modern architecture, landscaped lawns, canteens, sitting areas, walkways and jogging tracks. Each would include a basketball court or a badminton court and a gym equipped with exercise machines. The park in Gulberg would also have a play-area for children.

Five solar-powered lights would be installed at each park for times without power, he said. All the park employees would be women, except perhaps the gatekeeper. Entrance to the parks and use of the facilities would be free, said Mehmood.

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