PAKISTANI WOMEN: LAWS AND POLICIES

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PAKISTANI WOMEN LAWS AND POLICIES

• USING ICT
• TO COMBAT VAW
• P_at_SHA, b4all, apc-whsp
• Karachi, 19-20 February 2010

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We are victims of evil customs. ... No nation
can rise to the heights of glory with half its
population shackled. It is a crime against
humanity that our women are confined within the
four walls of their homes like prisoners ... they
should be side by side with men as their
companions in all spheres of life. Q Who
said this? When?
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Constitutional Guarantees

• 1973 Constitution, Art. 25, 27, 35, 37
  provisions ensuring gender equality
  affirmative action for women - to redress
  existing inequalities
• All citizens are equal before law and are
  entitled to equal protection of law. There shall
  be no discrimination on the basis of sex alone.
• Steps shall be taken to ensure full
  participation of women in all spheres of national
  life.

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Another View of Women

• Women are NOT a segment of society a sector
  of national development objects of attention
  or recipients of charity
• Women are almost HALF the population (48)
  equal participants and partners
• Women are human beings, deserving of equal
  rights, equal respect, equal decision-making
  authority, equal mobility, equal access to law
  and justice, equality at law equal access to ICT
  and opportunities.

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The Laws in Conflict

• 1973 progressive Constitution
• 1977-88 Gen. Zia-ul-Haq distorted it
• garb of Islamization
• Several discriminatory laws promulgated - in
  conflict with Const. Of these, the most
  anti-women include
• HUDOOD ORDINANCES
• QANUN-E-SHAHADAT
• QISAS DIYAT LAWS

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gtgtgt example

• Hudood Ordinances/Zina age of majority puberty
  (f 9, m 12)
• Law marriage age f 16, m 18
• Law CNIC, driving licence voting age f 18,
  m 18 (for both)
• Child labour 15 for both
• UN age of majority 19 for both

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gtgtgt

• 1991 Shariah Act (under PML-N)
• 2002 NWFP/Pukhtunkhwa MMA Hasbah Shariah
  Bills Vice Morality laws, policing,
  enforcement SC ruled them ultra vires
  unIslamic!
• 2008 ANP promised Taliban they would enact
  Shariah law in PATA
• 2009 Feb ANPTNSM/SufiM signed Shariah
  Nifaz-e-Adl Regulation April Pres. Zardari
  signed it April TTP rejected Constitution,
  democracy, law

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How does this impact VAW?

• laws are meant to be for ALL, but these laws
  widely understood to be against womens rights,
  freedoms, development and empowerment cf. MMA
  TTPs actions ads, dress code,
  g/schools,w/teachers, markets, tailors
• immediate increased VAW noted, esp public
  manifestations flogging
• also domestic, traditional socio-cultural,
  jirga/punchayat-ordained rape/ gang-rape,
  compensation, karokari,etc.

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International Commitments

• Pakistan, as Member-State, subscribes to UN
  Charter (1947) Universal Declaration of Human
  Rights (1948) - binding
• ratified Convention on Elimination of All Forms
  of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW,1996) -
  binding
• ratified Convention on Rights of the Child (CRC,
  1990) binding ref. Girl Child
• endorsed gender equality in UN docs Human
  Rights (Vienna/1993), ICPD (Cairo/1994), FWCW
  (Beijing/1995), MDGs (2000) non-binding.

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Steps Towards Legislation Supporting Womens
Rights

• 2000 National Commission on the Status of
  Women issues autonomy, mandate
• 2005 honour killings compoundability, Qisas
  Diyyat, wali, State not taking resp
• 2006 Womens Protection Act issues puberty,
  rajam, only male Muslim testimony excluding women
  non-Muslim Pakistanis
• 2009 NA passed inadequate, distorted Domestic
  Violence Bill lapsed w/o Senate tabling no
  signs of return

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Steps gtgtgt

• 2010 1 of 2 laws on sexual harassment at
  workplace enacted
• 2010 draft Bill to establish NCHR tabled in NA
  women omitted, selection criteria, mandate,
  autonomy, powers
• 2010 draft Bill on Reproductive Health Rights
  tabled NA issueMoH vs MoPW
• BIGGEST ISSUE positive new legislation cannot be
  effective w/o repealing existing anti-women
  legislation HO, QeS, QD, SA...

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Data

• Need to collect,compile, analyze all data sets
  disaggregated by gender, especially sex ratios in
  population census Pakistan case 108100 mf
  52 48, i.e. 8 MILLION MISSING GIRLS and WOMEN
  WHY??? This is another form of VAW
• Poverty data esp. needs disaggregation by gender,
  urban/rural location, assets, income, food
  security, employment/ unemployment, education,
  ICT, access to primaryreproductive health,
  housing, etc.

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Poverty

• In Pakistan, women and girls comprise almost 75
  of population below poverty line. Need to address
  this feminization of poverty on URGENT basis
  through, i.a.
• Gendered social protection not BISP
• Food security focus on women
• Womens assets ownership land, property,
  livestock (inheritance, joint title deeds,
  gifts)
• Secure livelihoods waged/remunerated employment
  not like HBWWs exploitation

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Violence Against Women

• age-old patriarchal concept of honour (izzat
  or ghairat) being sole prerogative of men and
  solely vested in womens bodies
• not just based on gender, but also on
  socio-economic class and rural-feudal-tribal
  structures,esp.jirga/punchayat,haari/mazare
• VAW also justified by religious sanction
  veneer, citing primary texts
• Thus, the questions what honour? whose
  honour? do women have an identity of their own
  w/ or w/o honour?

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What to Do?

• Need to repeal anti-women laws (HO, QS,
  QD,etc.) strengthen laws contra- VAW, e.g.
  honour killings, rape/gang-rape, acid/dowry
  deaths, physical and mental abuse, abduction,
  trafficking, forced prostitution, bonded labour,
  etc.
• Need to train judiciary and law-enforcers
  (police) on imperative of implementation ensure
  action, supervision and accountability.

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gtgtgt

• Need to remove conflicts between parallel legal
  systems - civil codes, perceived religious
  injunctions thru FSC, customary laws (VAW horrors
  sanctioned thru illegal jirgas and punchayats),
  e.g. rape, honour k, compensation, bride price,
  orphans and womens inheritance, marriage,
  divorce, child custody, polygamy, etc.
• Need to ensure access to justice.

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POLICIES

• MoWDs NPDEW (2002) a statement of intent
  gender perspective reflected in all national
  policies and plans. Comment 8 yrs on, STILL not
  implemented thru line depts, e.g. Youth,
  Education, Health, Employment.
• NPDEW sends mixed signals re Constitutional
  guarantees/provisions for womens equality vs.
  acceptance of prevailing socio-religio-cultural
  traditions and norms (laws vs. jirgas/punchayats).
  
• NPDEW confused on use of terminology re womens
  equality vs. equity used interchangeably,
  sending wrong signals.

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SOME POLICY GAPS IN NPA, NPDEW, PRSP, MTDF

• Vertical, utilitarian, paternalistic vs holistic,
  integrated, mainstreaming, rights-based approach.
• Huge gap between Constitutional
  protections/guarantees, vs. existing legislation,
  policies and programmes re womens fundamental
  human right to BMNs (see GDI, GEM, POPI). GoP
  acknowledges 75 female face of poverty, but
  wheres the action???

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MAJOR CHALLENGES

• Poverty Patriarchy Feudalism-Tribalism
• Jirgas Panchayats illegal sanctioning
  legitimizing VAW and honour killing
• Legislated inequality of women
• Lack of opportunities lack of access to
  decision-making/ mobility
• Lack of awareness, education, knowledge and
  services lack of information and communication
• Lack of access to ICT poverty, permission,
  mobility, rural lack of access/connectivity
• Lack of access to justice

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THE WAY FORWARD

• filling disaggregated data gaps in ICT VAW
  engendering data collection exercises
• resolving conflicts b/w intl. commitments
  domestic laws, e.g. CEDAW ratification vs Hudood
  vs 1973 Constitution Art. 25
• initiation of gender responsive budgeting by
  MoFin and MoPD
• ensuring girlswomen access to Education ICT
  with security, privacy, confidentiality

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gtgtgt

• achievement of Constitutional guarantees of
  womens equality through affirmative action
  proactive legislation access to justice and
  governance political participation.
• enunciating policies re. gender inequalities w/
  corresponding financial allocations at all levels.

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gtgtgt

• Accurate gender r/u-disaggregated database for
  planning programming census enumeration, b/d
  registration, agri. census and labour force
  surveys.
• Greater participation of women in all fora
  political, economic, legislative -
  decision-making and policy planning
• State-owned lands distribution joint m/f
  ownership and registration

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gtgtgt

• For women, wider, cheaper and easier availability
  of and access to ICT (hardware, software,
  technical know-how), and
• microcredit, small-to-medium loans, technical
  vocational skills, mobility and entrepreneurship
  options.

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Challenges

• Some of MANY Challenges as Opportunities for ICT
  usage to combat VAW
• perception of gender as women only
• lack of gender mainstreaming
• lack of gender budgeting, policy and programming
  in vital areas
• inadequate social protection, social safety nets
  and mechanisms to address feminization of
  poverty
• Increasing incidents of violence against women
  inadequate laws enforcement.

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gtgt

• provision of enabling environment for women to
  participate in national life, as participants,
  contributors sharers of benefits
• Inadequate enabling legislative framework

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• gtgtgt
• Vital need for attitudinal change which requires
  concerted use of all ICT and media forms IPC
  and lobbying.
• Women need security, safety, dignity, respect
  and honour.
• Women need to be seen NOT as vulnerable
  passive beneficiaries but as ACTIVE PARTNERS
  and DECISION MAKERS.

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NEED TO SEE CHANGED MINDSETS AND ATTITUDES