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Old Sunday, March 25, 2012
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Saudi women: Pampered or oppressed?

Rima Maktabi and Schams Elwazer

Samar Badawi, a 30-year-old mother of one, has served seven months in jail. Her crime? Disobeying her father.

Badawi, 30, fell foul of Saudi Arabia's guardianship laws, which require women to gain permission from their father, husband or even adult son for many daily activities.

In a case that was highlighted by Human Rights Watch, Badawi was physically abused by her father from the age of 14 after her mother died of cancer.
At the age of 25, she decided to "stand up for herself" and ran away to a women's shelter. She was jailed for seven months after her father brought a "disobedience" case against her and she refused to return to his home.
Badawi was released last year after an online campaign, and eventually got a ruling to transfer her guardianship to her uncle.

She also successfully filed a suit against her father's refusal to allow her to marry.

"I went in a broken woman," she said. "I was very hurt when I went to prison. But I came out victorious and was very proud of myself that I was able to handle those seven months. It wasn't easy."

Despite her own trauma, Badawi does not call for a change in the law, but rather for better awareness.

"Our laws are fair, very fair," she said. "If not for the law, I would not have been able to escape the difficult situation I was in. "The problem is that there is no legal culture here. Women here, from various backgrounds, aren't aware of their rights, there is no awareness.

"That's why I wish that law would be taught in schools from an early age."
Badawi was presented with an International Women of Courage award by US First Lady Michelle Obama and US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton on March 8. Presented annually, the award recognises women who have show exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for women's rights.

Women's rights is a hot issue in Saudi Arabia, and there is a surprising range of views, from both women and men.

Aside from the guardianship laws, women are not allowed to drive, an issue that grabbed headlines around the world last year when many women challenged the law by getting behind the wheel.

One of those was Najla Hariri, who drove her son to school one day after her driver failed to show up for work.

She continued to do so several times after that, but can no longer drive after she and her husband were both forced to sign legal pledges that she would not drive again.

"What is more upsetting to me than having to sign the pledge is that my 'guardian' was summoned," she said. "I reject the whole idea of his being my 'guardian' because I'm a 47-year-old woman, I should be my own guardian."
For Hariri, there is far more to campaign for than driving.

"Saudi women are facing many problems - divorced women, women in judicial limbo, women who have been abused, issues with inheritance distribution - we have many problems.

"So we started calling for the establishment of a 'personal status law' to protect these rights," she added.

Hariri said the rights she wants are those already given to women in the Quran and the Sunna, the teachings of Prophet Mohammed.

But not everyone agrees. Rawda Al Youssef runs a campaign called "My Guardian Knows What's Best For Me" in favour of the controversial system.
She argues that Saudi women are lucky to be looked after and that guardianship reinforces the family as a foundation of society.

"The relationship between men and women inside the family is a complementary relationship and not an equal relationship," said Al Youssef. "The man serves the woman and supervises her affairs inside the home and outside the home."

For Al Youssef, women who campaign for more rights are a pampered minority with no real problems.

"Saudi women - specifically those who are talking about women's rights - these come from a social class that is well-off and pampered.

"Bring me a poor woman who talks about these things and I'll say ok, maybe she needs this, but those who talk about women's rights ... these are women who have everything they need and all they're missing is to be able to take their passport and travel as they want, or to drive a car.
"They didn't think about the needs of the poorer class."

Source: WEEKLY CUTTING EDGE
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Old Tuesday, March 27, 2012
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Can Women be Equal in Pakistan?

It is a crime against humanity that our women are shut up within the four walls of the houses as prisoners.( Quaid-e-Azam)

July, 2010

Women in Pakistan, though facing tough challenges, can be equal due to their fast empowerment supported by effective media, progressive policies, and changing mind set. In practice, women are victims of financial discrimination, inhuman customs and laws such as Karo Kari, Qasas and marriage to the Quran and half witnesses according to the state law. In contrast, the recent political, legal, educational and social measures by the liberal forces are strengthening the ‘weaker sex.’

On March 10, 1944, Quaid-e-Azam addressed a meeting of the Muslim University Union (Aligarh): "It is a crime against humanity that our women are shut up within the four walls of the houses as prisoners. You should take your women along with you as comrades in every sphere of life."

Challenges to Women’ equality in Pakistan
The Pakistani state is heavily dependent on mullahs and feudal/tribal sardars for its ideological and political legitimacy, respectively.

In the presence of such feudal/tribal chiefs, no military dictator was afraid of holding of elections. In return, they are given a free hand in their constituencies. Besides, women are being prevented to participate in the electoral process both as voters and candidates.

In the rural areas, women are like slaves subject to labour, considered as foolish creatures according to the dominant social and cultural norms. Likewise, marriage is also a sort of trade between different families.

A woman's right to liberty is restricted in the name of modesty, protection and prevention of immoral activity. As for the Mullahs, though they played no role in the creation of Pakistan, they managed to assert themselves through the civil bureaucracy and conservative politicians. When Zia imposed his dictatorial rule, he fully used the mullahs against the secular parties. The jihadi groups intimidated democratic elements and suppression of women.

The tragedy with the women' movements is that women from the upper classes, have never had to suffer the same ordeals as the women of the oppressed classes. Our cultural system has made male as the earning hand and, thus, kept the women financially weak. In the near past, limited education increased their ignorance.

The Factors which will ensure Gender-Equality
Judicial activism should be observed strictly. Our constitution guarantees (under articles 25 & 34) equality of both sex.
True interpretation of religion should be by authentic scholars on TV channels.
Weak but flourishing democracy will maintain one man one vote, thus one male should be equal to one female.
Rising poverty will leave us with no choice but accepting women participation in national production. Now women’ freedom is not an option but a completion.
Awareness should be created by Media about their issues. It shows injustice done against them like Mukhtara Mai case. Such cases in the past should not go unnoticed and unjustified.
Spread of Education, especially for women and awareness about their rights and duties.
NGOs, though doing not so fair but at large they are serving the women against all sorts of injustice. Foreign aid is given to NGOs.
Global wake up about women’ importance.

Steps Taken by the Present Government
Liberal Leadership - Musharraf and the present PPP regime, role of Fozia Wahab, Fahmida Mirza and newly appointed Governor of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Women’ Protection bill to minimize the negative effects of Hadood ordinance.
33% Seats in the Parliament according to LFO of 2002 from 17%.
Recruitment of Women in Army.
Addition of 10% quota in CSS.
Awareness by workshop, seminars and newspaper.
Research, documentation and publication on violent issues related to women.
Crises and shelter centers.
Free education in rural area.
Voices and activities of NGOs at local and international levels.

Number of seats allocated for women:
N.A = 60 Sindh = 29
Punjab = 66 N.W.F.P = 22


Effects of gender discrimination:
Increased poverty due to non participation of 51% population. The rise of China and India is also due to the active participation of women.
Honor killing and Vani are against human rights and the principles of Islam but only supported by the egoistical minds.
Marriage with Quran is the outcome of diseased minds of the feudal lords.
Pessimism in women is snatching all their potential, abilities and hopes to excel in life.
Worldwide criticism of Pakistan as an ignorant country like Afghanistan.
Domestic violence is a routine practice due to low status of women.
Population growth as the female is not the decision makers about the family planning

Pragmatic Solutions

Easy and free Education will generate awareness about rights and duties. Technical education will provide job opportunities. Financial empowerment for the women should be enhanced. Media should play its role in creating awareness. Women must use their voting power as a tool for gender change. They should form alliances across social groups i.e. trade unions, peasant associations and artisans etc. The women councilors can provide leadership at local level.

Microfinance provides a stable and sustainable source of income that enables women to climb steadily out of poverty. Solution of all these problems did not require big budgets but all it needed was good governance and political will.

To sum up, Pakistani women still have to go a long way to achieve their birth right of ‘equality’. The optimistic side makes this task possible due to inevitable but positive changes.

“If Eve was the cause of Adam’s expulsion from Heaven, it is Eve now who has made the earth a heaven.” Goethe glorifies the woman status.

Source: JWT
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Women Rights
They sometime make abortive attempt to equate Islam with terrorism or fundamentalism and sometime they project Islam as anti women and male dominated in the garb of Equal Rights.
September, 2010

Certain known and hidden elements having vested interests within and outside the country have initiated a disgusting campaign for maligning Islam. They sometime make abortive attempt to equate Islam with terrorism or fundamentalism and sometime they project Islam as anti women and male dominated in the garb of Equal Rights.

Equal Rights is a phenomenon which is common to everyone in today’s world but its pros and cons are highly complicated. Especially in a country like ours where Islam is the foundation stone of our policies and the integral part of our constitution, the concept of Equal Rights should be used and utilized in a very sensible and prudent manner.

Our Holy religion Islam has granted a dignified and respectable role to the women folk in every sphere of society, but the men and women have not been termed equal. In verse 36 of Surah ‘Al Imran’ it has been stated that when the spouse of Imran gave birth to a female baby she said “Man and woman are not alike, I have named her Merry”. Like all the teachings of Islam, this philosophy of Islam is completely in conformity with natural and universal truths.

According to our holy religion, there are three kinds of relationship between men and women. As per the first aspect in some matters women have been bestowed with more privilege and respect than men. For example as a mother the status of women is more valuable than that of father. Similarly the family and the house where a female baby is born has been termed as more lucky and honored than the one where a male baby is born.

Unlike the men, the women have been exempted from Jehad and congregational prayers. In the same way, women have been relieved from performing certain religious obligations during particular days of their lives. In the second instance, there are some matters in which men and women enjoy equal rights.

Such matters include the reward and punishment on account of virtues and vices respectively. In this regard, Islam has not made any difference between them. It is not so that noble deed of a man would be having more reward than that of a woman and vice versa. Similarly the women are not likely to be punished more for nefarious deeds than those of men.

In the third instance there are certain matters in which the men have been given more powers and rights than women not owing to some discrimination but due to the physical and mental structure of both and certain ground realities. The rights and powers of husband are more than those of wife.

In respect of leadership too, the status and position of man is more important than that of woman as a woman is not allowed to lead a congregational prayer. Likewise the share of men in inheritance is double than that of the women and the testimony of women are considered half to that of the man. Islam also favors patriarchal family system. The Almighty God says in the Holy Quran, “Man are in charge of woman because Allah has made the one of them to excel the other and because they spend of their property”(Verse 34, Surah Nisa/Chapter The women).

Similarly (in verse 228 of Surah Baqara/Chapter The cow) the Almighty God says, “Women have the same rights against men as men have against them but men have a higher degree over them”. Biologically too, women have different instincts such as shyness, passiveness and frequently changing temperament etc. whereas man have different such as aggression, boldness and rudeness etc.

Similarly women have more loving, kind hearted and tender nature than that of the man. In this regard, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) has said, “Woman was created from the rib and the most crooked part of the rib is its top. If you attempt to straighten it you will break it, if you leave it then it will remain crooked; so act kindly towards them (Bukhari and Muslim)”.

Instead of having a sense of inferiority and deprivation, if we compare the rights and privileges enjoyed by women in our beloved country with the other so called developed countries of the world, we would find that the status of women in our beloved country is much more respectable than that in those countries. For instance in our country a woman has assumed the office of Prime Minister twice, whereas in the 218 years history of US Presidency, and amongst the 44 US presidents never a woman has assumed this office.

The same is the case with other European countries as in German history for the first time a woman has assumed the office of Chancellor and in France the first female presidential candidate has been defeated. The government of Pakistan has also undertaken marvelous and laudable reforms for the betterment of the status of women folk in our country.

These steps include the provision of 33% representation to the women in all spheres of legislature. Similarly women have been extended due representation in the federal and provincial cabinets and they have been given appropriate and concrete share in all kind of services including all the fields of Armed forces.

As misperceived by many; wearing a half naked dress, indecent inter mixing of male and female in certain obscene gatherings, not offering the obligatory five time daily prayers, blatant violation of other Islamic obligations and flouting Islamic code of ethics cannot be termed acquisition of women rights or enlightened moderation as the Islamic concept of enlightened moderation emphasis and concentrate on properly educating both the sexes about their original rights and responsibilities so that they could be enabled to play a stable and dignified role for the betterment of society while remaining within the limits prescribed for both the sexes as well as adhering to and implementing all the obligations of Islam in letter and spirit.

We cannot claim that no abuse of woman right exists in our motherland but in the same way we cannot held our holy religion Islam responsible for these vices and abuses. The causes for these vices should be traced in the inherent flaws of our administrative and judicial system as well as the in the un-Islamic and brutal customs and tribal traditions that are prevalent in our society which varies from region to region.

Source: JWT
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Rediscovering PAKISTANI WOMEN
Muslim reformers in the 19th century struggled to introduce female education, to ease some of the restrictions on women's activities, to limit polygamy, and to ensure women's rights under Islamic law.

December, 2010

Women in Pakistan have been confronted with four important challenges since the end of 20th century: increasing practical literacy, gaining access to employment opportunities at all levels in the economy, promoting change in the perception of women's roles and status, and gaining a public voice both within and outside of the political process.

Since partition, the changing status of women has been largely linked with discourse about the role of Islam in a modern state. This debate concerns the extent to which civil rights common in most Western democracies are appropriate in an Islamic society and the way these rights should be reconciled with Islamic family law.

Muslim reformers in the 19th century struggled to introduce female education, to ease some of the restrictions on women's activities, to limit polygamy, and to ensure women's rights under Islamic law. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was the first man who convened the Mohammedan Educational Conference in the 1870s to promote modern education for Muslims, and founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College. Among the predominantly male participants were many of the earliest proponents of education and improved social status for women. They advocated cooking and sewing classes conducted in a religious framework to improve and advance women's knowledge and skills and to reinforce Islamic values. But progress in women's literacy was slow: by 1921 only four out of every 1,000 Muslim females were literate.

Promoting women education was a first step in moving beyond the constraints imposed by purdah. The nationalist struggle helped fray the threads in that socially imposed curtain. Simultaneously, women's roles were questioned, and their empowerment was linked to the larger issues of nationalism and independence. In 1937 the Muslim Personal Law restored rights (such as inheritance of property) that had been lost by women under the Anglicization of certain civil laws. As independence neared, it appeared that the state would give priority to empowering women. Pakistan's founding father, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, said in a speech in 1944:
“No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you; we are victims of evil customs. It is a crime against humanity that our women are shut up within the four walls of the houses as prisoners. There is no sanction anywhere for the deplorable condition in which our women have to live.”
After independence, elite Muslim women continued to advocate women's political empowerment through legal reforms. They mobilized support that led to passage of the Muslim Personal Law of Sharia in 1948, which recognized a woman's right to inherit all forms of property. They were also behind the futile attempt to have the government include a Charter of Women's Rights in the 1956 constitution. The 1961 Muslim Family Laws Ordinance covering marriage and divorce, the most important socio-legal reform that they supported, is still widely regarded as empowering women.

Two issues — promotion of women's political representation and accommodation between Muslim family law and democratic civil rights — came to dominate discourse about women and socio-legal reform.

The second issue gained considerable attention during Zia-ul-Haq regime (1977-88). Women living in urban areas formed groups to protect their rights against apparent discrimination under Zia's Islamization programme. It was in the highly visible realm of law that women were able to articulate their objections to the Islamization programme initiated by the then government in 1979. Protests against the 1979 Enforcement of Hudood Ordinances focused on the failure of Hudood ordinances to distinguish between adultery (zina) and rape (zina-bil-jabr). A man could be convicted in a zina only if he were actually observed committing the offense by other men, but a woman could be given sentence simply because she became pregnant.

The Women's Action Forum (WAF) was formed in 1981 to respond to the implementation of the penal code and to strengthen women's position in society. The women in the forum perceived that many laws proposed by the Zia government were discriminatory and would compromise their civil status. In Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad the group agreed on collective leadership and formulated policy statements and engaged in political action to protect women's legal position. The WAF has played a central role in exposing the controversy regarding various interpretations of Islamic law and its role in a modern state, and in publicizing ways in which women can play a more active role in politics. Its members led public protests in the mid-1980s against the promulgation of the Law of Evidence. Although the final version was substantially modified, the WAF objected to the legislation because it gave unequal and unjust weight to testimony by men and women in financial cases. Fundamentally, they objected to the assertion that women and men cannot participate as legal equals in economic affairs.

Beginning in August 1986, the WAF members and their supporters led a debate over passage of the Shariat Bill, which decreed that all laws in Pakistan should conform to Islamic law. They argued that the law would undermine the principles of justice, democracy, and fundamental rights of citizens, and they pointed out that Islamic law would become identified solely with the conservative interpretation supported by the Zia's government. Most activists felt that the Shariat Bill had the potential to negate many rights women had won. In May 1991, a compromised version of the Shariat Bill was adopted, but the debate over whether civil law or Islamic law should prevail in the country continued in the early 1990s.

Discourse about the position of women in Islam and women's role in a modern Islamic state was sparked by the government's attempts to formalize a specific interpretation of Islamic law. Although the issue of evidence became central to the concern for women's legal status, more mundane matters such as mandatory dress codes for women and whether females could compete in international sports competitions were also being argued.

Another challenge faced by the Pakistani women concerns their integration into the labour force. Because of economic pressures and the dissolution of extended families in urban areas, many more women are working for wages than in the past. But by 1990 females officially made up only 13 percent of the labour force. Restrictions on their mobility limit their opportunities, and traditional notions of propriety lead families to conceal the extent of work performed by women. Usually, only the poorest women engage in work — often as midwives, sweepers, or nannies — for compensation outside the home. More often, poor urban women remain at home and sell manufactured goods to a middleman for compensation. More and more urban women have engaged in such activities during the 1990s, although to avoid being shamed few families willingly admit that women contribute to the family economically. Hence, there is little information about the work women do. On the basis of the predominant fiction that most women do no work other than their domestic chores, the government has been hesitant to adopt overt policies to increase women's employment options and to provide legal support for women's labour force participation.


The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) commissioned a national study in 1992 on women's economic activity to enable policy planners and donor agencies to cut through the existing myths on female labour force participation. The study addresses the specific reasons that the assessment of women's work in Pakistan is filled with discrepancies and under enumeration and provides a comprehensive discussion of the range of informal sector work performed by women throughout the country. Information from this study was also incorporated into the Eighth Five-Year Plan (1993-98).

A melding of the traditional social welfare activities of the women's movement and its newly revised political activism appears to have occurred. Diverse groups, including the Women's Action Forum, the All-Pakistan Women's Association, the Pakistan Women Lawyers' Association, and the Business and Professional Women's Association, are supporting small-scale projects throughout the country that focus on empowering women. They have been involved in such activities as instituting legal aid for indigent women, opposing the gendered segregation of universities, and publicizing and condemning the growing incidents of violence against women. The Pakistan Women Lawyers' Association has released a series of films educating women about their legal rights; the Business and Professional Women's Association is supporting a comprehensive project in Yakki Gate, a locality of the poor inside the Walled City of Lahore; and the Orangi Pilot Project in Karachi has promoted networks among women who work at home so they need not be dependent on middlemen to acquire raw materials and market the clothes they produce.

The women's movement has shifted from reacting to government legislation to focusing on three primary goals: securing women's political representation in the National Assembly; working to raise women's consciousness, particularly about family planning; and countering suppression of women's rights by defining and articulating positions on events as they occur in order to create more public awareness.

Though in 2006, the Pakistani parliament passed the Women's Protection Bill, repealing some of the Hudood Ordinances, besides approving reservation of 10 percent quota for women in the Central Superior Services (CSS) examination and establishing women welfare ministry yet there was a long way to go. Now during the present PPP regime, President Asif Ali Zardari signed the 'Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Bill 2009' and 'Protection against Domestic Violence Bill 2009' which the parliament adopted in 2010. Still hundreds of thousands women are deprived of their basic rights and a long way to go in emancipation of women in Pakistan. Some of these recommendations can be fruitful in changing and improving women lives.

Without progress of women our country cannot be developed. We must realize that women constitute half of the population and keeping 50 percent population backward how can the entire community progress. Thus they should be given full rights and complete freedom.

Women have a great potential, talent and intelligence which can be used in right direction by giving them equal opportunities in jobs. This talent and intelligence has to be nurtured to improve the status of women in the world.

Men and women have different strengths and weakness, so playing off one another can make for a better workplace.

Women should also be treated as human beings and they should be granted equal rights like men. Thus if democratic and human rights culture develops in the country, intra-religious differences can also be minimized and peaceful coexistence can become possible. This can be further ensured with modern education particularly for women and rational outlook.
To provide an encouraging environment for women development we have to ensure economic empowerment, security, equal rights, opportunities, implementation of current legislation and initiating further legislations, soft loans and skill development of women.
There is a great need to provide liberty, individuality and dignity to women given them by the Holy Quran and our rhetoric should match our practice.



To provide an encouraging environment for women development we have to ensure economic empowerment, security, equal rights, opportunities, implementation of current legislation and initiating further legislations, soft loans and skill development of women.

The participation of women in economic activities should be improved because it can help companies diversify and enhance corporate performance,

Women should be treated equally and should have same job opportunities as that of men.

Women should get higher reservations in government offices and parliament so that their problems can be heard at central level.

There should be very strict norms that should be taken against those people who commit discrimination against women.

Media should come up with significant strategy to create awareness regarding women's rights.

Policies of the government and laws should protect the rights of women.

These recommendations can bring positive and constructive change in the plight of women from individual to structural level.

Source: JWT
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Status of Women in Islam
The western media is projecting a very gruesome and poor plight of the women in Muslim countries with the intention of distorting the true image of Islam.


January, 2011

There is a lot of talk about women’s rights in Pakistan and other Muslim countries these days. The western media is projecting a very gruesome and poor plight of the women in Muslim countries with the intention of distorting the section image of Islam. Unfortunately, this propaganda is proving quite effective and the entire west and a small section of females in our society have misinterpreted Islam as being the cause of their troubles instead of the Aryan culture that we have inherited.

Family, society and ultimately the whole mankind are treated by Islam on an ethical basis. Differentiation in gender is neither a credit nor a drawback to anyone. Therefore, when we talk about status of woman in Islam we should not think that Islam has no specific guidelines, limitations, responsibilities and obligations for men. What makes one valuable and respectable in the eyes of Allah, the Creator of mankind and the universe, is neither one's prosperity, position, intelligence, physical strength nor beauty, but only one Allah-consciousness and awareness (taqwa).

Islam was revealed at a time when people denied the humanity of the woman; some were skeptical about it; and still others admitted it, yet considered the woman a thing created for the humble service of the man.

With the advent of Islam, circumstances improved for the woman. The woman's dignity and humanity were acknowledged for the first time. Islam confirmed woman’s capacity to carry out Allah's commands, her responsibilities and observation of the commands that lead to heaven.

Islam considers woman as a worthy human being, with an equal share in humanity to that of the man. Both are two branches of a single tree and two children from the same father, Adam, and mother, Eve. Their single origin, their general human traits, their responsibility for the observation of religious duties with the consequent reward or punishment, and the unity of their destiny all bear witness to their equality from the Islamic point of view.

The status of women in Islam is something unique that has no parallel in any other religion. In the midst of the darkness that engulfed the world, the divine revelation echoed in the wide desert of Arabia with a fresh, noble, and universal message to humanity:
"O Mankind, keep your duty to your Lord who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate (of same kind) and from them twain has spread a multitude of men and women".

A scholar who pondered about this verse states:
"It is believed that there is no text, old or new, that deals with the humanity of the woman from all aspects with such amazing brevity, eloquence, depth, and originality as this divine decree."

Stressing this noble and natural conception, then the Quran states:
“He (God) it is who did create you from a single soul and there from did create his mate, that he might dwell with her (in love)”.

In the early days of Islam when a girl was born, she was buried alive. This custom is still observed in Hinduism. However, the Holy Quran forbade this custom and considered it a crime like any other murder. The Quran says: -
"And when the female (infant) buried alive - is questioned, for what crime she was killed."

Far from saving the girl's life so that she may later suffer injustice and inequality, Islam requires kind and just treatment to her. The sayings of Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW), in this regard, are following:
“Whosoever has a daughter and he does not bury her alive, does not insult her, and does not favor his son over her, God will enter him into Paradise”.

The Holy Quran provides us a clear-cut proof that woman is equal in all respects with man before God in terms of her rights and responsibilities. The Holy Quran states:
"Every soul will be (held) in pledge for its deeds"
(Quran 74:38)

In terms of religious obligations, such as offering daily prayers, fasting and pilgrimage, woman is no different from man. In some cases indeed, woman has certain advantages over man. For example women can and did go into the mosque during the days of the Holy Prophet (SAW) and thereafter attend the Friday prayers is optional for them while it is mandatory for men.

This is clearly a tender touch of the Islamic teachings because of the fact that a woman may be nursing her baby and thus may be unable to offer prayers in mosque. They also take into account the physiological and psychological changes associated with her natural female functions.

The right of females to seek knowledge is not different from that of males. When Islam enjoins the seeking of knowledge upon Muslims, it makes no distinction between man and woman. Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said:
"Seeking knowledge is mandatory for every Muslim".

This declaration was very clear and was implemented by Muslims throughout history.
According to a hadith attributed to Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), he praised the women of Medina because of their desire for religious knowledge.
"How splendid were the women of the Ansar; shame did not prevent them from becoming learned in the faith."

Under Islamic law, marriage was no longer viewed as a "status" but rather as a "contract", in which the woman's consent was imperative. The dowry, previously regarded as a bride-price paid to the father, became a nuptial gift retained by the wife as part of her personal property.

The Holy Quran clearly indicates that marriage is sharing between the two halves of the society and that its objectives, besides perpetuating human life, are emotional well-being and spiritual harmony. Its bases are love and mercy.

The rules for married life in Islam are clear and in harmony with upright human nature. In consideration of the physiological and psychological make-up of man and woman, both have equal rights and claims on each other, except for one responsibility, that of leadership. This is a matter which is natural in any collective life and which is consistent with the nature of man. The Holy Quran thus states:
"And they (women) have rights similar to those (of men) over them, and men are a degree above them."

Such degree is Quiwama (maintenance and protection). This refers to that natural difference between the genders which entitles the weaker gender to protection. It implies no superiority or advantage before law. Yet, man's role of leadership in relation to his family does not mean the husband's dictatorship over his wife. Islam emphasizes the importance of taking counsel and mutual agreement in family decisions. The Holy Quran gives us an example:
"...If they (husband wife) desire to wean the child by mutual consent and (after) consultation, there is no blame on them..."

Islam also gives the option of divorce to the women and educated men to make a gracious end to the relationship is it cannot be continued. The Holy Quran states about such cases:
“When you divorce women, and they reach their prescribed term, then retain them in kindness and retain them not for injury so that you transgress (the limits)”.

Woman is entitled to freedom of expression equal to man. Her sound opinions are taken into consideration and cannot be disregarded just because she belongs to the female sex. It is mentioned in the Holy Quran and history that woman can not only expressed her opinion freely but also argued and participated in serious discussions with the Holy Prophet (SAW) himself as well as with other Muslim leaders.


Apart from recognition of woman as an independent human being acknowledged as equally essential for the survival of humanity, Islam has given her a share in inheritance. Before Islam, she was not only deprived of that share but was considered as inherited property to man.

Out of the transferable property, Islam has made her an heir, acknowledging the inherent human qualities in woman. Whether she is a wife, mother, a sister or daughter, she receives a certain share from the deceased kin's property, a share which depends on her degree of relationship to the deceased and the number of heirs. This share is hers, and no one can take it away or disinherit her.

Woman enjoys certain privileges which man do not have. She is exempted from all financial liabilities. As a mother, she enjoys more recognition and higher honour in the eyes of God. The Holy Prophet (SAW) acknowledged this honour when he declared that Paradise lies under the feet of mothers.

She is entitled to three-fourths of the son's love and kindness with one-fourth left for their father. As a wife she is entitled to demand of her prospective husband a suitable dowry that will be hers. She is entitled to complete provision and total maintenance by the husband. She does not have to work or share with her husband the family expenses. She is free to retain, after marriage, whatever she possessed before it, and the husband has no right whatsoever to any of her belongings.

As a daughter or sister she is entitled to security and provision by the father and brother respectively. That is her privilege. If she wishes to work or be self-supporting and share family responsibilities, she is quite free to do so, provided her integrity and honour are safeguarded.

By now it is clear that the status of woman in Islam is unprecedentedly high and realistically suitable to her nature. Her rights and duties are equal to those of man but not necessarily or absolutely identical with them. If she is deprived of one thing in some aspect, she is fully compensated for it with more things in many other aspects.

The fact that she belongs to the female sex has no bearing on her status or personality, and it is no basis for justification of prejudice or injustice against her.

It is also worthwhile to state that the status which women reached today in the west was not achieved due to the kindness of men or natural progress. It was rather achieved through her long struggle and sacrifices and only when society needed her contribution and work, more especially during the Two World Wars and due to the escalation of technological change.

In the case of Islam such compassionate and dignified status was decreed, neither because it reflects the environment of the seventh century, nor under the threat or pressure of women and their organisations, but rather its intrinsic truthfulness of Islam.

Source: JWT
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Women Empowerment in Pakistan
The lives of Pakistani women have changed during the past 30 years and they are more empowered and emancipated than they were ever before.
August, 2011

Quaid-e-Azam said in a speech in 1944, “No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you; we are victims of evil customs. It is a crime against humanity that our women are shut up within the four walls of the houses as prisoners.” The lives of Pakistani women have changed during the past 30 years and they are more empowered and emancipated then they were ever before. More and more women are entering the workforce today as their predecessors, who made the first time at the work place and also made life easier for other women, lent them the encouragement to do so.

The supporting and opposing views with regard to working women can be analysed by taking into account various aspects of the society regarding the subject namely the social, legal, religious and the political.

Sociological aspect

Technological advancement has added to the urbanisation of society, yet the old customs and norms often act as impediments to the progress of a modern society. While many advocate women empowerment, others oppose the very idea. There are various reasons of the above stated attitude towards working women. Firstly, a woman who remains at home and can, therefore, look after her children in a much better and productive way. She keeps a check on their studies, is more aware about their everyday activities and is capable of bringing them up in a healthy way. On the contrary, a working woman is always busy in her work schedule leading to neglected children. A change of priorities from children to work makes her negligent towards her children.


Secondly, a woman when remains at home is sheltered from the callous attitude of other elements of the society. She is safe at all times and does not face any kind of depression as a result of such unhealthy behaviour towards her. On the other hand, a working woman has to withstand the teasing behaviour of men all the times—from starting her journey to work to the workplace itself. Gender discrimination and harassment at workplaces is common in almost every sector perceived as achievement activity. This leads to high depression levels amongst women shattering their personality and their productivity at work.

The advocates of working women believe that that they can contribute to the financial matters of the family. With ever rising prices and inflation, two earning people would surely help run the financial affairs of the family. Apart from the material gains, working women are self-actualised entities. They are confident as they know how to utilise their abilities best. This inculcates in them a sense of satisfaction and contentment, while the housewife often has a low self-esteem as she is financially dependent on her husband and is mostly considered good-for-nothing.

Legal aspect
Let's take a look at various laws or bill passed regarding women in Pakistan.

The Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act (2010)

The objective of this Act is to create a safe working environment for women, which is free of harassment, abuse and intimidation with a view to fulfilling their right to work with dignity. Harassment is one of the biggest hurdles faced by the working women preventing others who want to work to bring themselves and their families out of poverty. This Act will pave the way for women to participate more fully in the development of the country. This Act builds on the principles of equal opportunity to women and their right to earn a livelihood without any fear of discrimination as stipulated in the Constitution. This Act complies with the government's commitment to high international labour standards and empowerment of women. It also adheres to the Human Rights Declaration, the United Nations Convention for Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women and ILO's Convention 100 and 111 on workers' rights. It adheres to the principles of Islam and all other religions which assure women's dignity.

This Act requires all public and private organisations to adopt an internal code of conduct and a complain/appeals mechanism aimed at establishing a safe working environment for all working women.

Prevention of Domestic Violence Act (2008)

The Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill was passed unanimously by the National Assembly on August 4, 2009, but the bill lapsed after the Senate failed to pass it within the three months period required under the Constitution.

Legislators from both opposition and government parties told Human Rights Watch (HRW) that even though President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani supported the bill, it was delayed by unofficial opposition from some ministers.

The Domestic Violence bill seeks to prevent violence against women and children with a network of protection committees and protection officers and prompt trials of suspected abusers.

The measure makes sexual harassment or intimidation punishable by three years in prison, a 500,000 rupee fine, or both. The bill includes protection in public places such as markets, public transport, streets or parks, and more private places, such as workplaces, private gatherings, and homes.

Hudood Ordinance (1979)
The Hudood Ordinance was enacted in 1979 as part of General Muhammad Ziaul Haq's Islamisation and replaced or revised in 2006 by the Women's Protection Bill. The Hudood Law was intended to implement Sharia law, by enforcing punishments mentioned in the Holy Quran and Sunnah for zina, qazf, offence against property, and drinking. As for zina, a woman alleging rape is required to provide four adult male eyewitnesses. The ordinance has been criticised as leading to hundreds of incidents where a woman subjected to rape, or even gang rape, was eventually accused of zina and imprisoned becoming a victim of extremely unjust propaganda.

In 2006, then President Pervez Musharraf again proposed reforms in the ordinance. On November 15, 2006, the Women's Protection Bill was passed by the NA, allowing rape to be prosecutable under civil law. The bill was ratified by the Senate on November 23, 2006, and became law after President Musharraf signed it on December 1, 2006.

Religious aspect

In Islam the importance of women and their success as human beings, is measured with completely different criteria: their fear of Allah and obedience to Him, and fulfillment of the duties He has entrusted them with, particularly that of bearing, rearing and teaching children.

Nevertheless, Islam is a practical religion, and responds to human needs and life situations. Many women need, or wish, to work for various reasons. For example, they may possess a needed skill, such as a teacher or a doctor. While Islam does not prohibit women working outside her home, it does stipulate that the following restrictions be followed to protect the dignity and honour of women and the purity and stability of the Islamic society, the conduct of women, after all, is the backbone of any society:

1. Outside employment should not come before, or seriously interfere with her responsibilities as wife and mother.

2. Her work should not be a source of friction within the family, and the husband's consent is required to avoid later disagreements. If she is not married, she must have her guardian's consent.

3. Her appearance, manner and tone of speech and overall behaviour should follow Islamic guidelines.

4. Her job should not be one which causes moral corruption in society, or involve any prohibited trade or activity, affect her religion, morals, dignity and good behaviour, or subject her to temptations.

The above guidelines clearly show that a woman is not prohibited to go out of her home for the purpose of a job if she has the right intentions.

Political aspect

The political representation of women in Pakistan is higher than India, Sri Lanka and Iran. Pakistan is listed as 45th in the Inter-Parliamentary Union's (IPU) list of women in national parliaments and stood ahead of several developed democracies, including Canada, the UK and the US. The only positive development thus far has remained the relatively large representation of women in the National Assembly, the Senate and provincial assemblies in comparison to other countries. Of the 342 seats in the NA, women now comprise 22.2 per cent of those seats. In the Senate, women make up 17 per cent of the parliamentary seats. This indeed is significant departure from the past considering that women are often discouraged from entering politics. Pakistan is also one of the 30 countries which have a woman as Speaker of the National Assembly.

The political growth of a country requires both male and female participation in the government affairs. Women representation in the government ensures that work is done for the overall good of the woman folk. However, the woman participation in the state structure calls for responsibility on the part of women and requires them with intellect taking up the posts instead of women who have been selected by their male counterparts.

Source: JWT
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Women Protection Bill: its Never Too Late

The aim of the bill is to reduce social injustice against women by discouraging several practices and customs in vogue in the country which are not only against human dignity, but also in contrast with Islamic injunctions.

December, 2011

Whenever came to power Pakistan Peoples Party has been striving, through a number of ways to protect the rights of minorities, children and women. Be it the first regime of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto two terms of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed and the present dispensation lead by President Asif Ali Zardar and Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, the history of PPP has been enviable so far as the betterment and welfare of the weaker segments of the society are concerned. The Prevention of Anti-Women Practices (Criminal Law Amendment) Act 2011, is another milestone achieved by Pakistan Peoples party on its way to empower and enlighten women.

The struggle of women for emancipation and against discrimination has a long history throughout the world. Even in Pakistan, it is the high time to introduce a legal redress to ensure basic rights of women in society and to protect them against discriminatory traditions. The long awaited bill has given a conspicuous form by Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid MNA Dr Donya Aziz, was unanimously passed by the lower house headed by a woman Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza on November 16. The bill is focused mainly upon marriage with the holy Quran, forced wedlock, and depriving women from inheritance.

The aim of the bill is to reduce social injustice against women by discouraging several practices and customs in vogue in the country which are not only against human dignity, but also in contrast with Islamic injunctions.

It is, therefore, necessary that such inhumane practices and customs are done away forthwith and those who found guilty should be dealt severely by providing penal and financial liabilities.

The Pakistan Peoples Party's government has always played a vital role in the empowerment of Pakistani women. Ms Benazir Bhutto has always given priority to legislation that protects the rights of women. A good example to cite in this regard is the creation of a new ministry for Women Development during her regime. The credit of establishing the First Women Bank in 1989 also goes to her government in late 80's. The Bank is run and managed by female staff throughout the country. Hence, Pakistan Peoples Party has a history as far as uplifting of the status of women is concerned. To support the vision of Benazir Bhutto, socio-economic empowerment of women is imperative. Hence the bill seeks social justice for women by introducing a strict ad rigorous punishment structure for all the excesses done in various shapes and manifestations to almost half of the country population.

Following the traditions and manifesto of Pakistan Peoples Party, the present government has shown a reasonable performance in the given context. Earlier a bill for the Protection of Harassment of women at working places was approved by the legislature. And now 'The Prevention of Anti-Women Practices' Bill has passed which can rightly be regarded as a watershed move in the direction of women emancipation freedom in the country, which aims at granting them their due status in the society by blocking ways to cause them unjust and unfair treatment.

The bill can be regarded as a historic piece of legislation. Though the bill was initiated by a private member but all the legislators of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party lent their full support to this bill and got it passed unanimously, which is really commendable. It reflects the government's commitment to the vision of Benazir Bhutto. Moreover, the unanimous approval of the bill indicates that the political culture in the country is getting matured with every passing day. The members of the lower house rose above the party politics to support the bill. It is a demonstration of collective resolve by political parties to fight social taboos against women.

The bill is widely hailed by the members of the parliament, civil society and intelligentsia. It is no doubt an enormous achievement in the history of parliament in the country. Legislation according to the demands and aspiration of public is the hallmark of democracy. Present government lead by Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani is not only committed to cater the needs of people but also devoted to strengthen the institution of democracy in Pakistan. It wouldn't be wrong to regard the bill as another milestone achieved for the success of democracy in the country.

Pakistan has yet to develop into a modern welfare state that guaranties the basic fundamental rights to women in there true letter and spirit. The legislation will not only improve the condition of women lot within Pakistan but would also be very helpful in presenting a better image of Pakistan abroad.

Although the legislation is hailed as a step towards giving women their due status in the society, there is lot more to be done in this regard. Particularly changing the centuries old mind set of powerful social group largely influenced by male chauvinism. Moreover, the government should also ensure that the legislation must be followed by a concrete and effective mechanism of implementation of the law.

Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani not only congrats the members of the Lower House for passing the bill unanimously but also ensure full support of Pakistan Peoples Party to its implementation. One should remain optimist that the present government will continue its efforts in making the parliament more affective by undertaking legislative business aimed at the overall betterment and welfare of society.

Source: JWT
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Exceptional in death

Afiya Shehrbano
Tuesday, April 03, 2012

The dead body of ‘dancing girl’ Shabana, mocked with currency notes strewn across it at Khooni Chowk in Swat, the dog-ravaged limbs of Taslima Solangi in Khairpur, the alleged live burial of five women in Naseerabad, the acid-burn scars of Fakhra, have all caught the nation’s sympathetic imagination in recent years.

Unlike the routine violations of domestic violence, acid-throwing, honour crimes and murder, cases such as those listed above, have somehow become exceptionally symbolic. It is true that the media has some role in influencing and shaping our outrage on select cases over others. This deflects our attention from analysing the deeper systems and nodes of power and social relations that motivate and sustain such expressions of violence against women. We seem to be stuck in the voyeurism of the spectacle such that it is the horrific nature and brutality of the crime that commands our attention, rather than the cause and sustenance of the social order that allow for the continuation of such crimes.

One can offer several reasons for this. The first, as mentioned, is the attraction of the spectacle. The visuals that distinguish some cases from others means that less horrific violations, which may be equally damaging as the more high-profile cases, are relegated lesser attention. This creates a hierarchy of violations which compete for media space and our attention.

Second, violations resulting in death seem to carry more ‘value’ than cases of survivors. Acid survivor Fakhra’s case had vanished from the consciences of Pakistanis but there was renewed moral outrage after she committed suicide recently. The sympathy for victims outweighs that of survivors.

Third, the pragmatic approach to violence against women concentrates on the criminal justice system and a demand for punishment, with a focus over forensics and improved legal procedures. This may or may not mitigate the nature of crimes against women because the whole purpose of many such crimes is to use women’s bodies as a message board for posting warnings of what happens to women who defy, or deny, male social codes. Perpetrators do not deny the crime; they own it and claim the reparations for damages to their self-defined honour.

Lastly, as always, the potential of using women victims as pawns in the larger game of male politics and using it as leverage, is a determining factor of male interest in violations against women.

Thus, over the years we see the many cases, particularly of sexual violence against women, being hijacked by male leadership of political parties and communities to contest out their ideological agendas. Such male leaders deliberately attribute the violation to be a politically motivated act, rather than an act of patriarchal regularity. The rhetoric of ‘feudalism’ or ‘tribalism’ as the root cause of the deaths of Fakhra, Solangi, and the Baloch women, and the charge that the slaughter of Shabana was a result of extremist ‘mind-sets’, renders invisible the regular, routine sexual violations and killings of women in urban settings and ‘liberal’ households. It also deflects from the central issue common to nearly all the cases, which is that of marital arrangements, women’s free-will and exercise of choice (including over their own sexualities and reproductive rights).

The temptation to give into voyeurism attracts us to accept cultural atavism, lack of education, lack of rule of law, feudalism, and even the influence of western, secular ideologies or, permissiveness of the media, as causes of violations and hence, masks the actual, very utilitarian purpose of violence. The central commonality, in all the cases cited has been, not so much the issue of honour, culture, feudal powers, or corrupt policing. Yes, these are players on the staging of such cases but the seed of contention lies in the women’s expression of their choice and will, particularly those that concern their sexuality.

Exercising the option to refuse a marriage proposal often motivates acid-throwing as an act of vengeance and purportedly to placate the injury to male egos. The decision to choose her own spouse may spark off serial murders between families in order to restore male control over a community and particularly, to send a warning to other women in the community to prevent future thoughts about female autonomy. The decision to end a marriage or re-marry, threatens male prerogative and control and often results in persecution of the woman, or forces her to surrender custody of children, forfeiting property or even, in death. The choice to terminate a pregnancy or indeed, proceed with an illicit one, all make women vulnerable to violence and death, usually brutal.

The final solution that many outraged citizens insist must be found, maybe simpler than the current grand propositions that call for abolishing supposed feudalism, extremism, corruption or which calls for mass education. One radical suggestion would be to simply, abolish marriage. But given the unlikelihood of ridding us of this patriarchal institution, it could be proposed that a concerted revamping of marital laws, reproductive rights and bargains brokered by male-dominated parallel systems such as jirgas and panchayats, be undertaken.

Even as activists propose the complete abolition of such extra-legal institutions, it may be expedient to take emergency measures to de-fang them in their role in decision-making in marital relations. This would mean a law that not only bans jirgas but which simultaneously, actively challenges the notion of the wali and concept of male guardians and indeed, the unequal laws of child custody, the removal of refuge given to perpetrators under the Qisas and Diyat laws, the reinforcement of protection for divorced women and prevention of child/early marriages, not just in rural but also urban contexts.

All those men who are outraged and speak on behalf of women victims and survivors of violence may contribute too, by giving up their own roles in controlling and making decisions for their wives, daughter and sisters in their choices – in marital relations and over their own bodies, including how many children and of which gender they produce. All of us know how many ‘liberal’, educated women produce that one extra child in the hope for a male prodigy.

Instead of being swayed by the fascination of the spectacle, of being horrified while equally admiring the bravery, the oscillation between regarding the violated woman as victim or sovereign agent, it may be time to re-adjust our corrective efforts towards the systems that benefit from such violations, and radically dismantle them.

The writer is a sociologist based in Karachi. She has a background in women’s studies and has authored and edited several books on women’s issues Email: afiyazia@ yahoo.com
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Giving women their due
By Farrukh Khan Pitafi
Published: April 10, 2012

On March 8, almost a month before the parliamentary ruckus over the domestic violence bill, scholar and activist Dr Fouzia Saeed, also MNA PPP and the mover of the bill, Yasmeen Rehman and another woman lawmaker from PML-N sat in my studio. It was a special for International Women’s Day and the discussion was on women’s rights. It was my unfortunate duty to disabuse the participants of any complacent views. Yet, their euphoria and optimism were contagious. I was finding it particularly difficult to convince them that a lot still needed to be done and whatever was achieved could easily be undone by the right wing. Faced by the possibility of annoying them all, I finally threw in the towel.

But my fears were soon proven right. After a few days, Fakhra Younus committed suicide and otherwise quite sane intellectuals were found rationalising the act of acid-throwing. A prime time host, a woman no less, even invited Bilal Khar, the man accused of throwing acid on Fakhra, to her show and allowed him to bad-mouth the deceased. The parliament, too, did not allow the name of Mr Khar to be included in the resolution demanding justice for Fakhra.

As if that was not enough, when the bill against domestic violence was presented in the senate, all hell broke loose and the parliament that we have so lovingly empowered was inundated by rants. A religious politician lost control and demanded that the bill which had already been cleared by the National Assembly be sent to the Council for Islamic Ideology, an unrepresentative body headed by Maulana Sherani, a member of Fazlur Rehman’s party. Later, President Asif Ali Zardari was to call Fazl and sympathise with him.

Why would anybody, not totally deranged, condone domestic violence and sabotage such an important bill? This question has been haunting me ever since. And yet, there they are. The children, brothers, fathers of women and yet, they want them to be beaten black and blue. And they use their religion to justify such barbaric acts.

Has it occurred to us that every time a woman is disfigured, hurt or killed we always manage to blame the victim? From Mukhtaran Mai to Fakhra Younus, why is it always the fault of women? In a country where men can get away with whatever they want, regardless of what their faith commands them or society demands of them, why should women always pay the price?

The time has come for the well-intentioned and conscientious men of this society to answer one question. Do they or do they not want women in their lives? If they don’t, the issue is settled and we can ask all women to leave the country en masse. But if they do want women to remain in their lives, they will have to end their silence and speak up now. The only parent who bore you for nine months, sirs, is a woman. The sibling who was always most affectionate towards you is a woman. The child who loves you blindly above anyone else will one day grow up to be a woman. Women in our lives have always been givers. Is it not time we give them something in return by ensuring that they are protected and no one can hurt them? Let us show them that we are not threatened by their happiness but rather we welcome it.

Published in The Express Tribune,
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Acid throwing and crimes against women
April 12, 2012
By: Atle Hetland

I like to make films that are controversial,” Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy said at a large panel discussion organised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) on Tuesday this week. She was honoured for her Oscar-winning film, Saving Face, by the research and intellectual community gathered in the elegant auditorium at HEC in Islamabad. The room was packed with hundreds of senior academics, students, NGO leaders, diplomats and others. HEC had also connected about 70 of the country’s universities through modern video conferencing. It was an important way for Pakistan’s intellectual community to say that acid throwing is unacceptable; it is madness and intolerable. HEC’s Chairman Dr Javaid Laghari, Executive Director Dr Sohail Naqvi, Deputy Director Dr Noor Amna, and others addressed the audience. HEC has again shown great leadership in organising such a conference. One of the fields HEC is encouraging universities to focus on is the building of better university-community linkages, and that is indeed important in the field of crimes against women.

The conference I attended this week was moderated by Dr Marilyn Wyatt from USAID. She did it very well. Generally, though, I do not like that foreigners’ take on such tasks, remembering, too, that she is the American Ambassador’s wife. When she – and I – express opinions on issues like acid throwing, we can easily be seen as ‘Besserwissers’, persons who think we know better, and have the right to point a finger. Yet, when it comes to acid throwing, maybe I will surrender my principle. I think anybody, foreigners and locals, men and women, should speak up about such a barbaric, un-Islamic, un-Christian and horrendous tradition.

The physical scars and the psychological trauma caused to the victims of acid throwing are horrendous. Normally, it takes at least two years to treat a patient after the tragedy, restoring her physical scars to the extent possible through numerous operations, and helping her psychologically to come back to life. A psychiatrist at the mentioned conference, who is a specialist in burns and acid medicine, explained that when she first began working in the field, she had to go for psychiatric treatment herself. The patient herself suffers much more, we should remember, than the doctor.

Although we need to change our mindset about acid throwing, the suffering of the victim, we should also give attention to the psychology of the perpetrator. In order to make society change, it is important to “name and shame”. Acid throwing is a cowardly act, overwhelmingly carried out by men against women. Once this terrible tradition is made socially unacceptable, then we will see a reduced prevalence and eventually an end to it.

Similarly, with the numerous forms of sexual crimes against women and children, society must make them unacceptable. We still allow many crimes to take place. We may simply say that it is “normal” that women and children are abused. Take, for example, wife battering, which is so widespread in all cultures, and rape within marriage. We may turn away, not wanting to see that these crimes are frequent. When sexual abuse of children takes place, and keeps going on, family members, neighbours, teachers and others in the local community, are usually aware of it, or suspecting it. But they let it pass quietly, almost as “normal”. But it isn’t. They are terrible crimes.

There is a need for applying “critical anthropology”. We should never condone such practices as acid throwing and other crimes against women. We must not excuse them, pretend that they are based on cultural traditions, and therefore it is all right only to be half-heartedly against them. The same goes for female circumcision, or female genital mutilation to use the correct term, which is practiced in many African countries until this very day. It is a cruel and terrible tradition. That, too, like acid throwing has to do with men’s dominance over women. It has to do with power. Hence, it is only somebody who feels superior who can do it to somebody he and society consider inferior. Or, in rare cases, a woman can throw acid on her father-in-law, if he has abused and maltreated her for years and decades. Then, in despair, it may be done against somebody who enjoys higher rank.

There are about 200 registered acid crime cases in Pakistan every year, with women constituting more than two-thirds, while the other cases are against men and boys, usually related to refusal of forced sexual favours or marriage arrangements. Almost all perpetrators of the crimes are men. Acid throwing is more common in southern Punjab and northern Sindh, but it also happens elsewhere in the country.

Once the registering of cases becomes better, we will discover the true number and locations of the crimes. At the same time, it is likely that the number of cases decreases with more information in society. In Bangladesh, a country with similar cultural and religious settings to Pakistan, the number first rose with better registration. But then as awareness rose, over a couple of decades, the government and activists could document success: the number of known cases has gone down from 500 to 100 per year.

Advocacy through civil society organisations is important to create awareness. NGOs do a good job in this field, as well as in providing advice and organising direct support programmes for victims. Over time, though, it is very important that NGOs realise that in the long run it is the government that must be in charge. It is actually only the government, through its presence at all levels, that the malady of acid throwing and other crimes against women can be eradicated.

The police are at all levels of a society, but there is a need to improve the training of policemen and women about gender-based violence in general, including acid throwing. The new Acid Prevention Act 2011 is an amendment to the existing laws, redefining the acid crime and increasing the punishment. The next steps would be to develop a more comprehensive legislation. Today, many cases are not pursued in the court, as it is costly for the victims, who also face huge medical expenses. The government and NGOs should find ways of assisting victims financially.

Many speakers in the interactive conference I attended this week about Sharmeen’s award-winning film were students, teachers and researchers. The students should be encouraged to follow up the issues because they would be the main persons to implement the future changes and developing a society without acid cases and other serious crimes against women. At the conference, which inspired me to write this article, one of the speakers suggested that students should ask for meetings with MNAs and MPAs to keep up the pressure on them and to create greater awareness among them and pass better laws. I think that was a good suggestion.

As always when we want change to take place, we turn to the media, especially radio and TV. Yet, since advertisements are necessary to make programmes, and give the owners of stations profit, serious and sad programmes about acid victims may not attract the required advertising. But I believe that simple call-in programmes on the radio could be popular, taking up acid throwing and other crimes against women, and incidentally, some men.

Educational and research institutions, from school level to university must be involved in improving the situation. At the recent conference, I was very pleased to hear that the Chair of the Vice Chancellors’ Committee, Prof Imtiaz Gilani, University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Peshawar, outright invited NGOs and other experts to contact the academics to develop educational courses and projects together.

Sharmeen’s Saving Face will soon be screened in Pakistan, with subtitles in Urdu and regional languages. Although the stories of acid throwing find their way into the media, we often fail to see the suffering of the victims who survive the attacks. Storytelling through film is a powerful tool to create awareness and help change attitudes. The most basic change is simply to realise that the victim was never responsible for what happened to her. Acid throwing is a crime against women, and it is also a crime against God, as we should protect and cherish his creation.

n The writer is a senior Norwegian social scientist based in Islamabad. He has served as United Nations specialist in the United States, as well as various countries in Africa and Asia. He has also spent a decade dealing with the Afghan refugee crisis and university education in Pakistan.

Email: atlehetland@yahoo.com
-The Nation
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