WUNRN
UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
APPOINTS FARIDA SHAHEED
AS INDEPENDENT EXPERT ON CULTURAL
RIGHTS
6/10/2009:
The Human Rights Council concluded its 12th regular session by naming the new
Expert on Cultural Rights, Farida Shaheed, Director of Research at Shirkat Gah -
Women's Resource Centre & a founding member and council member of Women
Living Under Muslim Laws. (WLUML Networkers)
An internationally recognized sociologist, writer, academic and development
consultant, Farida Shaheed has over 25 years of experience in development
research and training. Since 1980, Ms. Shaheed has served as consultant to
various U.N. and bilateral development agencies as well as to the Government of
Pakistan on issues of governance and policy-formulation.
Over the years, Ms. Shaheed has played a key role in promoting the need to
integrate cultural appropriateness with all human rights and fundamental
freedoms. While she has done this with particular reference to Muslim contexts,
she has also worked closely with rights advocates from diverse cultural and
religious traditions. In 1995 Ms. Shaheed was an expert delegate at the
landmark Muslim Women Parliamentarians Conference and provided significant
inputs to the Islamabad Declaration on the Role of Muslim Women
Parliamentarians in Promotion of Peace, Progress and Development of Islamic
Societies.
She has written extensively on issues of citizenship and culture, including recent works such as “Citizenship and the nuanced belonging of women” (2007) and Gender, Religion and the Quest for Justice in Pakistan (UNRISD: 2009). Furthermore, she is a founder member of the national women’s lobby, Women’s Action Forum that spearheaded the movement for women's equality during a decade of martial law (1977-88) in Pakistan.
Ms. Shaheed has always worked on the principle that legal consciousness enables people to make informed choices within the existing range of options (including laws, customs and institutions), empowering them to challenge and redefine these. As Director of Research at Shirkat Gah Women’s Resource Centre in Pakistan, she was responsible for the Centre’s Women Law & Status Programme (WLS), which builds the capacity of women at the grassroots for policy advocacy.
Source: WLUML Networkers
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