PAKISTANI WOMEN: LAWS AND POLICIES - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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PAKISTANI WOMEN: LAWS AND POLICIES

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ta-ppt-roundtable-sg-saarc-sc-csc-18july06 Author: tahira abdullah Last modified by: Toshibauser Created Date: 4/20/2005 11:34:12 AM Document presentation format: – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: PAKISTANI WOMEN: LAWS AND POLICIES


1
PAKISTANI WOMEN LAWS AND POLICIES
  • USING ICT
  • TO COMBAT VAW
  • P_at_SHA, b4all, apc-whsp
  • Karachi, 19-20 February 2010

2
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?
3
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.

4
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.

5
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

6
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

7
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

8
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.

9
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.

10
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

11
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...

12
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.

13
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

14
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?

15
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.

16
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.

17
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.

18
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???

19
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

20
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

21
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.

22
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

23
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.

24
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.

25
gtgt
  • provision of enabling environment for women to
    participate in national life, as participants,
    contributors sharers of benefits
  • Inadequate enabling legislative framework

26
  • 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.

27
NEED TO SEE CHANGED MINDSETS AND ATTITUDES
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