PAKISTAN ranks only above Iraq and Yemen in the Global Gender Report 2020. Yet the long-discriminated-against Pakistani woman has made much overlooked progress. Conditions are terrible for her but trends, especially for those between 15 and 24 (the future and present), are hopeful. In Karachi, literacy of this group of women increased from 53.34 per cent to 70.91pc between 1972 and 1998 (figures in larger towns are not dissimilar) and in smaller towns such as Larkana and Chiniot it increased by 14.48pc and 10.45pc respectively. In the same period, female marriages in this age group declined in Larkana by 16.06pc and in Chiniot by 14.6pc. Karachi has seen a decline in female marriages from 61pc in 1960 to 27.68pc in 1998 in the 15-24 age group. Except for Balochistan and Fata (now the tribal districts), the figures are similar for the rest of Pakistan. So, for the first time in our history, in this age group we have an overwhelming majority of unmarried adolescents. Research and statistics show this has changed gender relations and family structures.