More Good Laws

The passage of the Women’s Protection Bill by the National Assembly is undoubtedly a major positive step forward in this country’s history and it is heartening to see the government make use of this momentum to push some other much-needed legislation to improve the lives of Pakistani women. Legislation is to be introduced in the next session of parliament targeting six particular areas of concern. These are related to ensuring that women get their rightful share at inheritance; ensuring that the abhorrent custom of ‘marrying’ girls off to the Holy Quran is stopped; that men are not allowed to divorce women merely by saying the word ‘talaq’ three times in quick succession; and that the cruel ‘traditions’ of swara and wani (child marriage and marrying off young girls into a rival clan as a way of settling tribal feuds), karo-kari and ‘watta satta’ (where young girls are married off in pairs to brothers) are outlawed.

It has to be said that for once one can unequivocally and without any qualification say that parliament will be passing some excellent legislation. The ruling party has said that it will take the views of all parties and stakeholders with regard to this new legislation. This is good though one can hardly understand why anyone would oppose any legislation that seeks to reverse or check the abhorrent misogynistic customs found in our society. That, though, does not necessarily rule out opposition from the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal given its behaviour during the passage of the Women’s Protection Bill and its consequent decision to resign from the National Assembly in early December. That said, the alliance of six religious parties will find it hard to not support this new legislation because it is more or less universally believed that no religion sanctions cruel customs like swara, watta satta and karo kari. As for the new laws, they should be passed sooner than later so that the momentum created by the passage of the Women’s Protection Bill can be used as a driving force to offer, finally, some hope and respite to the women of this country, who may now see themselves released from the shackles that have been holding them back since the days of General Zia’s infamous rule. Of course, one should bear in mind that while laws can change, the harder part sometimes is to change centuries-old attitudes and mindsets. Nevertheless, having the law on one’s side does help and that is why the proposed legislation is very welcome.

The next Step

ill to protect Pakistani women

Pakistani women demanding greater rights

The Pakistani government has submitted another bill in parliament to protect women's rights, officials say.

The bill seeks to make forced marriage a crime and safeguard women's right to property and inheritance.

It is likely to be tabled in the national assembly during its next session, due in December.

On Wednesday, the assembly overcame bitter opposition from a alliance of Islamic parties to pass amendments to the country's controversial rape laws.

President Pervez Musharraf's chief political ally, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, was quoted by Pakistan's official APP news agency as saying the new bill was one of a series of steps the government had planned to empower women.

The bill stipulates action against those who deprive women of their property rights, the minister for parliamentary affairs, Sher Afgan, said.

It seeks to outlaw some local customs that prevent women from marrying and hence bearing children who may claim her share in ancestral property.

It also criminalises forced marriages, including those in which young girls are given away in marriage to settle murder feuds, he said.

Pakistani Women’s Activist speaks at TIFF

Mukhtaran Mai (left, background) made a surprise visit at the screening Shame, a work in progress which documents her remarkable story as an illiterate rape victim who has become an international spokesperson for the empowerment of women.

A few years ago, while living in her home of Meerwala, Pakistan, Mai’s brother was accused of having an affair with a woman. As a so-called "honour for honour" punishment, Mukhtaran was sentenced to be raped and then paraded around the town. Mai filed a police report and eventually took her case to the Supreme Court, garnering international attention and reparation offer of 500,000 rupees from the Pakistani government, which she used to build a school for girls. This amazing story is told through the lens of talented young director Mohammed Naqvi (left) who is planning to show the film in Pakistan when it is finished. Showtime will air the film on television in the U.S. The film looks at Mai’s family and the families of the men charged with the rape; men who now have relatives enrolled in Mai’s school.

Mai was encouraged to the stage by a rousing standing ovation where she answered many questions about her struggles and her hopes for the future with interpretation from Naqvi. The crowd did not want to let her go, and Mai stayed in the lobby long after the Q & A to speak with many eager audience members.

Mukhtaran Bibi, Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year 2005

Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year
Mukhtaran Bibi (مختاران بی‌بی, born around 1972) is a Pakistani woman from the small and impoverished village of Meerwala, located in the rural tehsil (county) of Jatoi in the Muzaffargarh District of Pakistan. Also known as Mukhtar Mai, Mukhtiar or just Mukhtaran, she was gang-raped on the demands of tribesmen — or by some accounts, on the orders of a panchayat (tribal council) — of a local clan known as the Mastoi. The Mastoi clan reportedly had bitter disputes with Mukhtaran's clan, the Tatla.

Timeline of her Story

The Lahore high court ruled on 6 June 2005 that the accused men could be released on payment of a 50,000 rupees ($840) bond. However, the men were unable to come up with the money, and remained in jail while the prosecution appealed their acquittal.[7] Just over two weeks later, the Supreme Court intervened and suspended the acquittals of the five men as well as the eight who were acquitted at the original 2002 trial. All 14 would be retried in the Supreme Court.[8]

Also on 10 June 2005, shortly before she was scheduled to fly to London on the invitation of Amnesty International, Mukhtaran was put on Pakistan's Exit-Control List (ECL) [9] , a list of people prohibited from traveling abroad, a move that prompted protest in Pakistan[10] and around the world. President Musharraf was out of the country in Australia and New Zealand, and it was not immediately apparent who had put Mukhtaran's name on the ECL.

On 12 June 2005 Muktharan was abruptly asked by the government to travel to Lahore to meet with provincial assemblywoman Shagufta Anwar, and then go to Islamabad to meet with Presidential advisor Nilofer Bakhtiar.[11]

On 13 June 2005, in Lahore, Mukhtaran was spotted by journalists at the Punjab Chief Minister's official mansion, where she had lunch, but they were unable to interview or contact her because her "cellular phone did not respond for hours." She left that afternoon for Islamabad.[12]

On 14 June 2005, at a press conference in Islamabad, Mukhtaran demanded removal of her name from the Exit Control List, and also complained that she was "virtually under house arrest" because of the large police contingent assigned to protect her.[13]

On the same day, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof claimed that she was "under house arrest" and that police had "cut off her land line" to "silence her".[14] However, local telephone service had been interrupted by a telephone workers union strike that week[15] ,and service was restored after the Army took control of the telephone exchange in Muzaffargarh district.[16] In the same article, Kristof claimed that Mukhtaran had been "led sobbing to detention at a secret location" and "barred from contacting anyone".[14] In her press conference that week in Islamabad, Mukhtaran clarified that she had not actually been placed under house arrest, but felt as she was because of the heavy police protection.

On 15 June 2005, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz ordered Mukhtaran's name removed from the ECL.[17]

On 17 June 2005, President Musharraf revealed during a press conference in Auckland, New Zealand that he had stopped Mukhtaran from travelling to New York because he wanted to protect Pakistan's image abroad.[18]

An Indian news website, Rediff, reported that Musharraf said Mukhtaran Mai was being taken to the United States by foreign non-government organisations ("NGOs") "to bad-mouth Pakistan" over the "terrible state" of the nation's women. He reportedly said that some NGOs were "Westernised fringe elements" which "are as bad as the Islamic extremists".[18]

Musharraf explained on his website that he had stopped Mukhtaran from travelling to the ANAA conference in New York because he believed the organisers' intent was "maligning Pakistan by vested interests, rather than sincerely helping Mai out."[19]

On 17 June 2005 BBC News characterized the international media reaction as a public-relations disaster.[20]

On 19 June 2005, by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof reported that as Mai returned from the US embassy in Islamabad, after getting her passport stamped with a US visa, it was "confiscated" once again, rendering her unable to travel outside the country.[21] A column by Khalid Hasan in Pakistan's Daily Times called the government's actions "folly" and "ham-fisted", and said that it had "failed abjectly" to support the liberal "convictions it claims to have" with actions.[22]

On 27 June 2005 Mukhtaran's passport was returned to her.[23]

On 29 June 2005, on his personal website Musharraf wrote that "Mukhtaran Mai is free to go wherever she pleases, meet whoever she wants and say whatever she pleases."

On 2 August 2005, the Pakistani government awarded Mukhtaran the Fatima Jinnah gold medal for bravery and courage.[24]

During a September 2005 visit to the United States, the Washington Post reported that President Musharraf, in the course of a long interview, said that claiming rape had become a "moneymaking concern" in Pakistan. Musharraf denied that these were his own views, prompting the Post to put part of Musharraf's interview online. On tape, Musharraf can be heard to say, "You must understand the environment in Pakistan also. There are some opposition people who don't keep national interests in view and therefore for their own political agendas er.. they want to undermine me through this.. and also this has become a money-mak.. money-making concern." [25]

On 2 November 2005, The US magazine Glamour named Mukhtaran as their Woman Of The Year.[26]

On 12 January 2006, Mukhtaran Mai published her memoir with the collaboration of Marie-Thérèse Cuny under the title "Déshonorée". The originating publisher of the book is OH ! Editions in France and her book is published simultaneously in German by Droemer Verlag under the title "Die Schuld, eine Frau zu sein".

On January 16, 2006, to coincide with the publication of her memoir, Mukhtaran Mai travelled to Paris (France) and was received by Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy.[27]

In January 2006, Mukhtaran was originally slated to speak at the United Nations on 20 January 2006, but the UN postponed the visit at the last minute after Pakistan complained that her appearance was scheduled for the same day as a visit by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. The UN wanted to move it to sometime after 24 January, but since Mukhtaran was due to leave New York on 21 January, Islamabad's complaint effectively cancelled the visit. Aziz claimed he didn't know that Mukhtaran was due to appear while Mukhtaran told newspapers that "Prime Minister Aziz was always gracious and responsive to her and had encouraged her to speak out." [28]

On 2 May 2006, Mukhtaran spoke at the United Nations headquarters in New York. In an interview with United Nations TV, Mai said that "she wanted to get the message across to the world that one should fight for their rights and for the rights of the next generation."[29] She was welcomed by UN Under-Secretary General Shashi Tharoor, who said, “I think it is fair to say that anyone who has the moral courage and internal strength to turn such a brutal attack into a weapon to defend others in a similar position, is a hero indeed, and is worthy of our deepest respect and admiration”.[30]

On 31 October 2006, Mukhtaran's memoir will be released in the United States for the first time, titled "In the Name of Honor: A Memoir."


Link to Wiki

KARACHI: Workshop on feminism

KARACHI, April 26: A two-day national workshop on “What is feminism in our context” was held by the Women and Development Association (WADA) on Tuesday. The function, co-hosted by the Society for Academic Excellence, St Joseph’s Govt. College for Women and the GEP, was addressed among others by Dr Farzana Bari on its inaugural day.

In a lucid style, the learned professor who heads the gender studies department at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, explained six phases of feminism, from liberal feminism to the echo-feminism in present times. It started in the first quarter of the 19th century when women started talking about their basic human rights. Now when their equal status has been recognized universally and no where discriminatory laws against women can be enacted, women’s special role need to be recognized as the family unit is based on them.

She said that women by nature, as biologically proved, were soft, caring, loving and tolerant, while men were generally aggressive, war managers, although exception in both sexes were there. “Women in the industrial societies demand that they must be duly paid for their domestic work as they were doubly exploited by the capitalist system and the patriarchal system, both running side by side, and also by their male counterparts,” she added.

Dr Farzana Bari said that women being piece-loving were more nature-friendly and could manage the worldly affairs with greater care and compassion. She however, agreed that all women like all men were not equal, as a poor and deprived woman could not compete with a rich and privileged woman.

At the outset, Fatema Hasan welcomed the guests and the audience as most of them were students and teachers from different colleges.

Naveed Anjum briefly explained the topic to be discussed later and Fehmida Riaz outlined the issue of feminism in Pakistan’s perspective. She also introduced Dr Farzana Bari, a doctorate in sociology from England. She is working on the subject of gender studies for some other universities as well.

A discussion among four groups of participants was also held to understand the socially oriented term “gender” as according to them it was not related with the birth of a child.—H.A

Carla: Breaking Cultural Boundaries
It’s a long way from Australia to Pakistan as the crow flies. But in cultural terms, the difference is light years. An Australian woman can play any sport she damnwell pleases without raising an eyebrow. In Pakistan traditional values frown – a deep, furrowed frown – on a woman participating in any such masculine activities, such as squash.

Carla Khan knows all about those deep-routed prejudices, even though she is a second generation Brit. She was born in London, like her father Wasil. His father -Carla’s grandfather - is the great Azam Khan, brother of Hashim, the two legendary players who started the Khan dynasty in squash 50 years ago. While her father and mother provide unlimited encouragement in her dream to become world champion, granddad Azam does not approve. It is not something she can shrug off with a ‘to hell with you’ attitude. One of the Pakistan cultural values that she adheres to and enjoys is that of the family as the center of life. Read the complete story here >>

Personal Website

All-women crew pilots plane for 1st time

By Zulqernain Tahir
LAHORE, Jan 25: A unique record was set in the country’s aviation history on Wednesday when a woman pilot and her all-women crew flew a PIA Fokker plane without any assistance from men. Captain Ayesha Rabia Naveed was in command of the first all-women crew of the national air carrier which transported 40 passengers from the federal capital to Lahore in the afternoon.

Flight PK-623 created a unique aviation record for the national air carrier as both the pilot and co-pilot were women. In the past, flights have either had a male pilot or co-pilot.

The PIA captain, allowed to fly only Fokker flights, was accompanied by three crew members. The co-pilot was Ms Sadia.

The passengers aboard the plane did not know about all-female crew flight until it had made a landing. It was a surprise for some of them when they saw the PIA station master garlanding the crew members on their successful flight in the lounge of Lahore’s Allama Iqbal airport.

Some of the female passengers also approached the crew and congratulated them.

“Our women have proved they are capable of even flying aircraft. During the flight there was no difference at all and it was quite interesting to know at landing,” said Mr Khan, one of the passengers.

“I think PIA should have made this occasion a special one by boarding all female passengers as well. I must tell my family in Islamabad that women no more look after the kitchen only. This is indeed encouraging for our girls,” a housewife said.

At present, Capt Ayesha is the sole woman pilot of PIA who is licenced to fly Fokker plane only. She remained co-pilot or first officer for 15 years and has 6,000 flying hours behind her.

Capt Ayesha told this reporter that the all-women crew flight was a great experience for her and other crew members. They were all ecstatic about the successful flight.

“It was such a nice feeling to fly with a female co-pilot and crew members. The flight was smooth and we enjoyed it. It is also a great achievement for me and PIA as well,” she added.

“I have dreams of flying Airbus and Boeing aircraft,” said Ayesha, who was promoted as a captain in April 2005.

Breaking barriers: Pak women pilots take to the sky

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Saturday, July 31, 2004 (Lahore):

Forty-year-old Rifaat Haye is one of the only three women to fly for Pakistan International Airlines.

Fourteen years back she did the unthinkable in Pakistani society.

She began flying lessons and made it as one of only three women to fly for Pakistan International Airlines

"My family was quite supportive of me except my husband never wanted a professional wife, so it was a little difficult. But I want to be a role model and encourage younger women to join the profession. I consider it to be like any other profession, so why should it be singled out?" says Rifaat.

It was former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto who gave women like Rifaat a break. Since then she's had to make it on her own, battling gender bias and long hours away from home.

"It is more tough to be a professional woman. It is a big ego thing for the men colleagues. I'm now flying the aircraft that I consider ultimate--the 747," she says.

Rifaat's three children are all adults. So she enjoys the luxury of flying prestigious international long haul flights to the United States and Europe. A pilot, wife and mother, she has proved to be quite a trendsetter, inspiring three more women to join the airline.

Direct Link

Bilquis Edhi

Bilquis Edhi

Bilquis Edhi, wife of Abdul Sattar Edhi, is one of the most active philanthropists in Pakistan. She was born on August 14, 1947 in Karachi. She heads the Bilquis Edhi Foundation. She is a professional nurse who reputedly proposed to him. They both received the 1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service. She is also the recipient of the Lenin Peace Prize. Her charity runs many services in Pakistan including a hospital and emergency service in Karachi.

More here

Merella Fernandez

Merella Fernandez is a Canadian reporter and anchor for CityNews in Toronto.

Born in Karachi to Goan parents Eulogio and Maura, she is the youngest of six children. She moved to Canada with her family at the age of one.

She is a graduate of Carleton University's Journalism program and began her career in television at CTV answering phone calls. She moved on to writing for CTV News and Canada AM before moving to City TV in 1998 where she was began working as a writer. Currently she is working as a weekend anchor for CityNews and CablePulse 24.

Pakistani Jet Pilots

Women will soon be flying fighter jets in Pakistan's air force, changing the face of the 55-year-old all-male institution.

Women are now allowed to enroll in the aerospace engineering and fighter pilot programs of the nation's air force academy, the BBC reported Tuesday.

There are 10 women in two groups in the flying wing of the academy.

Many more compete with men in the engineering and aerospace wing.

Although women march shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts during early-morning parade, some parts of the training, particularly physical exercises, are carried out separately.

"It's quite important that we maintain this level of segregation, mainly because we are a Muslim society," said squadron leader Shazia Ahmed.

The women must achieve the same levels of performance as the men or face being dropped from the program. For the moment, it seems the few who have joined the ranks are doing extremely well.When the current class graduates in a year, these cadets will become the first women fighter pilots in Pakistan's history.

More on BBC News here.

Fighting Forced Marriages

A Pakistani legislator fights unspeakable women’s rights abuses—with surprising success.

The acid burns the hair off their heads, fuses lips, melts breasts, and leaves the victims blind, in agony, unrecognizable, and scarred for life. According to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), at least 211 women were killed in 2002 and countless others maimed when their husbands threw acid in their faces to punish them for disobedience. In Urdu, the acid is called tez ab—sharp water. Some victims say that it is worse than dying.

Humaira Awais Shahid, 32, a former investigative journalist turned legislator at the Punjab Assembly, is lobbying to treat this “ruthless tribal custom” as attempted murder. On Aug. 5, 2003, the Assembly passed her resolution to treat it as a crime and prosecute the men who commit it.

Complete article here >>

Tags: Forced Marriages, Legislator

• Forced
• Marriages

An IFAD-supported project in Mexico helps a women’s group set up a sheep farm. One participant tells her story.

Watch video: QuickTime RealPlayer Windows Media Player

Pakistani woman is 'Funniest Mom in America'

Post / Cyrus McCrimmon

As a comedian, Rubi Nicholas - in her Castle Rock home with daughter Yasmin, 3 - draws from growing up a Pakistani-American in a white Pennsylvania neighborhood. Last week, she won Nick at Nite's "Search for the Funniest Mom in America."

Read the story here.

A short film on the everyday lives of women and children in Pakistan, documenting the adverse living conditions and the difficulties encountered in their struggle for a better future.




The documentary also examines the work undertaken by local and international NGOs working in the field of human rights for the protection of these two vulnerable social groups. NGOnet for Women and Children's Rights documentary on women in Pakistan.

Pakistani women race peacefully

Police escorted athletes taking part in the mixed-sex race in Lahore

A mixed-sex marathon passed off peacefully in Pakistan after thousands of police were deployed to stop disruption by Islamic activists.

Some 500 women took part in three races in Lahore, although 2,000 due to run had backed out over fears of violence.

Islamic protesters had demanded women be barred from taking part, arguing their presence ran counter to Islam.

But correspondents say such events are important to Pakistan's government, keen to seem a moderate Islamic state.

A total of three races were held: an exclusively male, professional run, a mixed-sex marathon and a family event which involved women and children running for 5km. Some 10,000 people took part, including 60 foreign athletes.

This is the second time Lahore has held an international marathon.

Organisers say the races have helped raise funds for the victims of the earthquake which devastated parts of northern Pakistan and Kashmir in October.

'Fun marathons'

The first race, a 42km marathon, was flagged off with much fanfare and music. People cheered on the professional athletes.

There are ways of following religion and this is not the way to follow religion, by telling women to stay off roads or not be able to participate in what they feel they want to do Amina Sheikh, a participant

Although the race did not include any women, dozens of police trucks kept moving with the athletes as they came out of the stadium.

A much bigger police force was deployed in the second race, a 10km mixed-sex race, in which hundreds of women participated.

The third race was a family event which saw women and children running for 5km .

The races were flagged off by the chief minister of the Punjab province, who described the races as "fun marathons".

"It was better than our expectations. Security was adequate and there was no incident... I am glad, the women's participation was very encouraging," Lahore Mayor Aamir Mahood told the AFP news agency.

The six-party Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) alliance had opposed the mixing of men and women in such public events and had urged protesters to disrupt the race.

They insisted that women runners should race separately, and indoors.

On Friday police fired tear gas shells and resorted to a baton charge in and around the premises of the Islamiya College in Lahore. At least 160 people were arrested during clashes.

"There are ways of following religion and this is not the way to follow religion, by telling women to stay off roads or not be able to participate in what they feel they want to do," a participant, Amina Sheikh, told the BBC.

Attacks on runners

Last year's marathon in Lahore was the first time Pakistan had staged such an international event. It passed off peacefully even though women took part.

Women and men staged a "symbolic mini-marathon" last May

But last April a ban on mixed gender races was enforced after Islamic hardliners attacked runners in a race in the city of Gujranwala, about 100km (60 miles) north of Lahore.

In May women's rights activists defied the ban by holding a symbolic one kilometre "mini-marathon" in Lahore.

Women participants wore traditional dress, the salwar kameez, and some wore high heels rather than running shoes.

Source: BBC News