WUNRN
UNRISD - United Nations Research
Institute
for
Social Development
PAKISTAN - WOMEN'S RIGHTS -
INTERVIEW WITH FARIDA SHAHEED
International Women’s Day 2012
Authors: Farida
Shaheed, Kristine
Goulding
Farida Shaheed is a sociologist with over 25 years’ research
experience on women’s issues (including rural development, women and labour and
legal rights), especially in
On 12 February,
Farida Shaheed (FS): International Women’s Day is an opportunity to reflect,
take stock, and strategize for gender equality worldwide; to be inspired by the
past and to plan for the future. Commemorating the bravery of women in
confronting injustice, the day reminds us that to be overcome, injustice must
not only be identified and publicly recognized, but challenged every day,
despite the odds, in public and private arenas alike. It is a day to celebrate
victories: increased legal equalities in many spheres of life; better
opportunities for education and livelihood options; the slowly but steadily
growing presence of women in political and public decision-making; and the
growing recognition of their creativity and achievements. But it is also a day
to extend solidarity to all those girls and women who continue to be denied
their rights and deprived of a life of dignity. It is a day to remember that
all rights remain fragile, vulnerable and incomplete unless every person enjoys
them equally without discrimination. This last is a lesson that women in
Pakistan Women’s Day was declared by women who stood up to the worst
dictatorship the country has known — which, with the stroke of a pen, albeit
backed by a gun, rescinded the rights of its citizens, particularly women and
religious minorities. 12 February 1983 was the day when around 100 women,
despite the odds, defied the ban on political activities and demonstrations to
demand justice. Thirty years later, women have won back some of their rights.
Their vastly increased presence in legislative bodies has ensured numerous acts
to support women’s rights, reversing much – but not all – of the discriminatory
legislation put into place by the 1979–1988 dictatorship. New acts aim to
address discriminatory practices, including domestic violence, for the first
time. Affirming the ability to make change happen and offering new avenues for
redress, these reforms promise a better future.
A joint declaration passed on the occasion of National Women’s Day this year
calls upon the Pakistani government to undertake a comprehensive and systematic
review and revision of all discriminatory legislation that undermines the status
of women as full citizens of the country. To what extent will amending
discriminatory legislation facilitate women’s realization of their rights as
citizens? What other steps are necessary?
FS: The challenge is always how to transform the rights promised in laws and
policies into a tangible, living reality for all girls and women, regardless of
rural, urban or provincial location, or other identities such as class,
religion, ethnicity, age or marital status. Legislative and policy changes are
always a crucial, but only first, step.
Every law and policy that promotes the rights of girls and women bolsters women
as rights-holders, as full citizens entitled to all this implies. There are a
number of laws which directly or indirectly continue to discriminate against
women and these need to be reformed, especially in the area of personal status
law, but also, for instance, in terms of conferring nationality, and in terms
of labour laws and practice.
The next more challenging step is implementation. People cannot claim rights if
they do not know these exist. Women in
Entrenched societal norms and attitudes reinforce and perpetuate gender
inequalities, constituting a second obstacle for transforming rights into
reality: turning promises into tangibles. Traditionally isolated by restricted
mobility that impedes their participation and access to the public sphere,
girls and women in
In addition to the traditional patriarchal structures and systems, women today
are facing a new surge of conservative thinking that permeates ever-larger
swathes of society, cutting across class and other divides. The new
conservative political agenda, often couched in religious terminology, is
threatening the gains secured in the past. It needs to be challenged
effectively through building alternative discourses and practices. This
requires new creative thinking – best done by youth.
Passing the baton of activism to the younger generation remains a major to
achieving gender equality. While there innumerable examples of brilliant young
women changing the lives of their communities, they are not linked with a movement
that would give them the visibility that they need and deserve to inspire
others. There is also a lack of a robust engagement linking the older
generation of women’s rights activists with younger women. The older generation
needs to share their experiences, recognizing that the youth hold the key to
future changes, and support younger women to come forward with their new ideas
and projects.
In response to the devastating floods in the Sindh province of western
FS: The government has initiated a number of important schemes for women such
as the Benazir Income Support Programme, which goes much further than simply
providing economic stipends to women. The scheme builds capacity to change the
future as well, and links women with a number of important supportive measures
relating to education and employment for themselves or their offspring. A
potential pivotal scheme introduced by the provincial government in Sindh is
the distribution of land to landless women farmers. This is extremely important
because it changes the basis of negotiations within the family in a very
fundamental way. The scheme ensures that land cannot be sold, and that it will
pass from mother to daughter.
Importantly, the scheme enables women to become landowners without demanding
their share of inheritance which would put them into direct conflict with their
brothers (who are often the providers of support for women). Over and above the
direct tangible benefits of such schemes, they have encouraged a massive
increase in women’s national identity cards, a requirement for accessing the
scheme. This basic documentation opens many new opportunities for women: it
enables them to open bank accounts, register as voters and access all other
government schemes. It also gives women an incentive to interact with
government officials, enter the public sphere and therefore move towards being
active citizens.
Looking ahead to the upcoming year, what is the potential for a further
opening of space for activism or policy change? What steps will be necessary
for realizing gender-egalitarian policy change at the national level?
FS: I believe that the upcoming elections (either this year, or in 2013) will
provide an important opportunity to push for greater commitments from political
parties for women’s rights and development. Currently we are seeing a flurry of
political rallies, meetings and other activities in anticipation of early
elections in 2012. It is encouraging that many of the political rallies being
held have far greater number of women participating than ever before, as well
as an apparent desire by large parties to be seen as supportive of women’s
participation and of their rights. It is important to leverage this opportunity
to put women’s issues squarely on the national agenda. Women’s rights activists
should prepare their own political agenda and engage political parties as they
have done in the past; push for eliminating the gap in male-female voter
registration; educate the female public of the importance of having their
identity card in their own possession. Parallel to this, there is a need to
ensure awareness about and effective implementation of laws that have been
enacted, and to continue to raise those issues which have not yet been
addressed.
Finally, there is a need to work at the level where policy implementation
matters to women and can affect their lives, to ensure ownership of