Issue No. 38 December 2011

Founded by Shahla Zia Patron-in-Chief: Nigar Ahmad

By Naeem Mirza

The legislative history on women'srights issues has all those dark, greyand bright patches. There have beenrepeated attempts and continued

efforts by women and men parliamen-tarians for reform of existing laws andnew positive legislation for women.The efforts went along determinedstruggle by women's rights groups andactivists for long years against discrim-inatory laws and customary practices.Though women of Pakistan havereached a milestone on 12-13December 2011, when three importantbills, Prevention of Anti-WomenPractices, 2011, Bill, Acid Control andAcid Crimes Prevention, 2011, Bill,and The Women in Distress andDetention Fund (Amendment) Bill,2011 were passed by the Senate, thereis a long way to go and the major chal-lenge in the future would be to see howwomen parliamentarians and women'srights movement ensure that women ofPakistan in all professions, groups andclasses and in all age-groups, benefitfrom these laws and the de jure equali-ty for women is transformed into defacto equality. More emphasis nowneeds to be shifted towards strictenforcement and implementation ofthese laws.

There gulf between 1999 and 2011 is12 years long. Something must havehappened during these twelve yearswhich led to the Parliament's change ofheart towards women's rights issues;and something must have happenedeven before these 12 years and even so

on prior to that. Things usually get clearer if seen inhistorical perspective because whathappened on 12 December 2011 didnot transpire in one day or a singleyear. There was a build-up of events tothis momentous occasion, and it has ahistory of continuous efforts bywomen's rights movement and womenin political parties for several decades.

Women in political parties and in suc-cessive governments always undertookbold initiatives. They faced enormouschallenges and tough resistance fromvarious quarters whenever they tried tomake some legislative contribution inlegislatures. Women's rights activistshave been waging a glorious strugglefor realization of women's equal statusand rights in society since long throughagitation on streets, research and advo-cacy and through extensive lobbyingwith decision-makers and legislators.

Past seven years (2004-2011) are mon-umental in the context of legislativeupsurge on crucial women's rightsissues. This is unprecedented inPakistan's legislative history that sevenprogressive and positive laws to coverspecific areas of women's lives came induring just seven years.

After a legislative drought for almost28 years the breakthrough was made

through the enactment of law on 'hon-our' killings in 2004; in 2006, came theProtection of Women, Act, amendingtwo Hudood Ordinances; in 2009, theDVB was passed by the NationalAssembly (since it lapsed and couldnot become law so far, therefore it hasnot been counted in the tally); in 2010,two laws came in on preventing andcriminalizing the offence of sexualharassment of women and; in the pres-ent year, 2011, came these three laws -on customary practices, acid attacksand women in distress.

There is no denying the fact that some ofthese, and may be all of these laws, haveshortcomings - some of which are ofserious nature - but, these can be andmust be removed and reformed in future.Several precedents are available in thisregard, e.g. the Section 310A, which wasinserted in 2004 in the Criminal law(Amendment), 2004, has been substan-tially improved in the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Act, 2011.

It is necessary to connect the presentsuccess with the efforts and successesmade in the past for clarity of perspec-tives and vision. We will focus onrecording of major events with briefcomments in the next columns, whichwe believe, had a great impact onbringing about present development.

MFLO 1961

The first and major progressive legisla-tion on women in Pakistan was thepromulgation of Muslim Family LawsOrdinance (MFLO) in 1961. TheMFLO was based on the recommenda-tions of the Commission on Marriageand Family Laws, set up in 1955. Therecommendations were accepted in adiluted form. The primary aim ofMFLO was to discourage polygamyand regulate divorce. The law alsoensured the right of inheritance ofgrand children (the relevant sectionwas struck down by the Federal ShariatCourt in a judgment in 2000. The

Continued on next Page

Parliament sends signals of change in mindset towards women�s rights

Seven pro-women laws in seven yearsWomen Parliamentarians demonstrate commitment and ability to serve women

A view of the Parliament�s proceedings.

August 1999: It was sheer disap-pointment and frustration for humanrights activists sitting in the visitors'galleries of the Senate of Pakistan towitness the 'killing' of a resolution,moved by some concerned Senatorsto condemn - just to condemn - themurder of a young woman, SaimaImran, who was killed in the name of'honour' at her lawyer's chamber inLahore in April 1999. The chairmanSenate did not allow even debate onthe resolution and it was quickly dis-posed of. Though the resolution wasoriginally supported by 25 Senators,only four of them, notably SenatorIqbal Haider, objected to andopposed this 'unceremonious killing'of the resolution.

December 2011: The Senate unani-mously passes two important bills,Prevention of Anti-Women Practices,2011, Bill, and Acid Control andAcid Crimes Prevention, 2011, Billon 12 December 2011, with severallaw-makers in the august Housefavouring the bills and even askingfor harsher punishments for theoffences than prescribed in the bills.This time, human rights activists andwomen MPs from several politicalparties sitting in the House and lob-bies, as well as, those who were pres-ent outside the Parliament House andelsewhere and everywhere inPakistan were happy and jubilantover the success of these bills. Therewere smiles on their faces and tearsin their eyes. On 13 December, 2011,The Senate also passed 'The Womenin Distress and Detention Fund(Amendment) Bill, 2011', anotherpro-women legislation to providelegal and financial assistance to thewomen languishing in jails byamending "Women in Distress andDetention Fund Act, 1996.

2

appeal against the judgment is pendingwith the Supreme Court's appellatebench) and provided for proceduresand much needed documentation ofmarriages and divorces. Despite thegood 'intentions' to provide protectionto women in the realm of family law,the law, along with the others contin-ues to have lacunas that discriminateagainst women and did not measure upto the expectations of the women whohad struggled on its behalf.Commissions set up in 1975, 1985 and1994 all proposed further recommen-dations, some of which were incorpo-rated into the law sporadically, includ-ing amendments in MFLO, 1961 andWest Pakistan Family Court Act, 1964;but no attempt was made to address theissues comprehensively. Amendmentsmade to the Family Courts Act in 2002proved to be a lot more positive.Concrete and welcomed changes weremade to make it easier for women toget a 'khula' within a specified time-period, and courts are now mandatedto complete a case of divorce and otherrelated issues such as maintenance andguardianship within six months.

Several minor and a few importantamendments have been made into fam-ily laws at various points of time.However, the period between 1976,when the Dowry and Bridal Gifts(Restriction) Act, 1976 came, and2004, when the law concerning 'hon-our' crimes was made, is around 28years. Almost all the Acts mentionedabove still require major reform. AuratFoundation and recently the NCSWhave prepared a set of recommenda-tions to reform them. In addition, thepersonnel laws of religious minoritiesare subject of serious neglect and theymust also be looked into and reformedin consultation with the representativesof their communities.

The Hudood Ordinances, 1979

In 1977, the elected government ofZulfiqar Ali Bhutto was toppled by theChief of Army Staff General ZiaulHaq, who during his long dictatorialtenure of eleven years gave extremelydiscriminatory and derogatory laws inthe name of religion. The HudoodOrdinances, 1979, comprised the fol-lowing five ordinances:

1. The Offences Against Property(Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance,1979 (this deals with offences of theftand armed robbery);2. The Offences of Zina(Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance,1979 (this deals with offences of rape,zina (fornication/adultery), abductionof women);3. The Offence of Qazf(Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance,1979 (this deals with crime of qazf(false accusation of zina);4. Prohibition (Enforcement ofHadd) Ordinance, 1979 (this deals

with use/trafficking of drugs; con-sumption of alcoholic beverages) and;5. Execution of the Punishmentof Whipping Ordinance, 1979 (thisdeals with the mode of executing thepunishment of whipping).

The Ordinances prescribe two formsof punishments: Hadd which literallymeans the 'limit' and has been definedas punishment ordained by the HolyQuran and Sunnah and; Tazir whichliterally means 'to punish' and includesany punishment other than Hadd.Requirement for the imposition of theHadd were/are that the accused mustbe an adult (18 years for a male or 16for a female or puberty); the accusedconfess to the crime or there must beeye-witnesses to the crime; two eye-witnesses are required for all crimes,except in the cases of zina (adultery orfornication) and zina-bil-jabr (rape),four eye-witnesses are required and;the witnesses must be adult Muslimmales (the testimony of Muslimfemales or non-Muslims - male orfemale- is not accepted against aMuslim accused), but they can also benon-Muslims (male and female) if theaccused is a non-Muslim.

Some of the Hadd Punishmentswere/are: stoning to death for zina(adultery/fornication) by adult marriedMuslim; 100 lashes for zina(adultery/fornication) by adult non-Muslim or adult single Muslim; ston-ing to death for rape by marriedMuslim; 100 lashes plus any otherpunishment including death for rape byadult non-Muslim or adult singleMuslim; 80 lashes for drinking ofintoxicating liquor by adult Muslim;amputation of the right hand (on 1stoffence) and amputation of the left foot(on 2nd offence) for theft from anenclosed space of goods of morethan a specified value.

Dictator Ziaul Haq also promulgatedQanun-e-Shahadat, 1984 (Law of

Evidence) which made a woman's tes-timony half as that of a man or 'testi-mony of two women was consideredequal to one man's testimony'.

From 1999 to 2002

There was no Parliament from 1999 to2002, after the overthrow of NawazSharif's elected government by Chiefof Army Staff General PervezMusharraf. Constitution was also heldin abeyance. General elections wereheld in 2002 and the 12th NationalAssembly came into existence. ThePakistan Citizenship Act, 1951, waspartially amended enabling children ofPakistani women to citizenship in2001, but their foreign spouse werestill barred from acquiring Pakistanicitizenship. Amendments in FamilyCourts Act were also made in 2002 toensure that women get 'khula' within aspecified time-period.

Restoration and enhancement ofreserved seats for women in nationaland provincial assemblies and theSenate was the landmark event duringthis period; 17% seats were reserved forthese assemblies; 33% seats for womenwere reserved in the local governmentsystem. This may be noted here that thereservation of seats for women was aconstitutional provision in the 1973Constitution which lapsed with the gen-eral elections in 1988. As a result of thisaffirmative action measure in 2002,thousands of women were elected at thelocal level and the proportion of repre-sentation of women in national andprovincial assemblies rose to nearly20% changing the overall complexionof Pakistan's elected Houses. The firstsignificant step in breaking the glassceiling and achieving a critical mass ofwomen's political representation hadbeen taken with a long-lasting impact.

From 2002 to 2007

The foundation of the new wave of

gender-based legislation was laiddown primarily by women parliamen-tarians in the 12th National Assembly,the Senate and the four provincialassemblies with the complete supportof mainstream women's rights andhuman rights organizations, includingAurat Foundation, WAF, HRCP, SAP-PK, AGHS, Shirkat Gah, SPO, SDPI,Sungi and PILER. The centre-stage,however, was managed and run bywomen legislators across political par-ties. Several prominent male support-ers in their respective parties were alsosupporting them, in addition to theNational Commission on the Status ofWomen which had also been set up in2000. The performance of women leg-islators in the 12th National Assemblywas amazing. Though a majority oftheir legislative efforts did not suc-ceed, these were important becausethey, in fact, led to the results beingwitnessed today.

The records of the 12th NationalAssembly show that Ms. SherryRehman (PPPP) and others from herparty moved the only Private MembersBill in 2003 titled "The Protection andEmpowerment of Women Bill, 2003"; in2004, Ms. Sherry Rehman also moved abill on addressing the issue of 'honour'killings. But, meanwhile, an official billon ending 'honour' killing was moved inthe House, on 30 July, 2004. The bill, onwhich Ms. Nilofar Bakhtiar, Advisor toPM on Women's Development wasworking for quite some time in collabo-ration with Aurat Foundation did nothave both the provisions on Qisas andcompensation, which were part of theprivate bill as well as the draft bill whichwas prepared by Ms. Shahla Zia (late).However, since the author of this articlewas privy to the efforts being made inthis regard, it could be said that Ms.Nilofar Bakhtiar, Ms. Mehnaz Rafi andMs. Kashmala Tariq from the rulingparty (PML-Q) tried their best even tillthe last moment to get both these posi-tive amendments incorporated in thebill. They failed due to strong resistancefrom some quarters in the governmentand party. The official bill was passed bythe National Assembly on 26 October2004.

Among important private membersbills moved during the second yearincluded: the Pakistan Penal Code(Amendment) Bill, 2004 (Amendmentin 366-C), by Ms. Mehnaz Rafi (PML-Q); the Uplift and Welfare of WomenBill, 2004, by Ms. Samia Raheel Qazi(MMA); the Pakistan Penal Code(Amendment) Bill, 2004, and the Codeof Criminal Procedure (Amendment)Bill, 2004, by Ms. Kashmala Tariq(PML-Q) and; 'The Family Court(Amendment) Bill, 2004, by Ms.Mehreen Anwar Raja (PPPP).

In 2005, general focus has been to leg-islate for uplifting women's status andending grave discriminations against

Seven pro-women laws in seven yearsFrom Page 1

Continued on next Page

The Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 The Foreign Marriages Act, 1903 Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 The Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 The Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 West Pakistan Rules Under The Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 West Pakistan Family Court Act, 1964 West Pakistan Family Court Rules, 1965 Dowry and Bridal Gifts (Restriction) Act, 1976 Dowry and Bridal Gifts (Restriction) Rules, 1976 The Hudood Ordinances, 1979 Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984 (Law of Evidence) The Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951, partially amended in 2001 Amendments in Family Courts Act for khula etc. in 2002. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2004 (on 'honour' crimes) Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act, 2006 Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2010 (on sexual harassment) The Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010 Prevention of Anti-Women Practices (Criminal Law Amendment) Act, 2011 The Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Act, 2010 The Women in Distress and Detention Fund (Amendment) Act, 2011

Major laws concerning women: at a glance

3

them. Important bills moved during2005 were: the Equality ofOpportunity for Women EmploymentBill, 2005; the Prevention of DomesticViolence Bill, 2005; and the HudoodLaws (Repeal) Bill, 2005, moved byMs. Sherry Rehman; the FamilyCourts (Amendment) Bill, 2004, theOffence of Zina Enforcement ofHudood (Amendment) Bill, 2005, andthe Offence of Qazf Enforcement ofHudood (Amendment) Bill, 2005 byMs. Kashmala Tariq; the PakistanCitizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2005(twice moved), the Establishment ofthe Office of Wafaqi Woman MotasibBill, 2005, the Senior Citizens Bill,2005, by Ms. Mehnaz Rafi; theProtection of Serving Women Bill,2005 (twice moved), the Inheritancefor Women Bill, 2005, the EconomicStability of Women Bill, 2005, theHudood Laws Effective Enforcementand Protection Bill, 2005, by Ms.Samia Raheel Qazi. Other bills of sig-nificant nature for women were: theCode of Criminal Procedure(Amendment) Bill, 2005, and the Codeof Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill,2005, by Ms. Beelum Hasnain (PPPP);the Code of Criminal Procedure(Amendment) Bill, 2005, by Ms.Samina Khalid Ghurki (PPPP); theProhibition of Marriage with the HolyQuran Bill, 2005, and the Dowry andBridal Gifts Restriction Bill, 2005, byDr. Farida Ahmad Siddiqui (MMA);and the Criminal Law (Amendment)Bill, 2005, Ms. Rubina SaadatQaimkhawani (PPPP).

In 2006, the fourth year, the NationalAssembly passed the official bill 'TheProtection of Women (Criminal LawsAmendment) Bill, 2006, moved by thegovernment on 21 August 2006. PPPP,MQM and ANP supported the bill.MMA (an alliance of six religious par-ties) opposed it and the PML-Nabstained from the voting. The billdrastically amended two of theHudood Ordinances, the Zina and QazfOrdinances. Some of its salient fea-tures were that it separated the Haddand Tazir offences/punishments; rape(zina-bil-jabr) was separated from for-nication/adultery and shifted to thePPC from the Zina Ordinance; theoffence of fornication (all sex outsidemarriage) was inserted in the PPC asseparate sections (496B & 496C) withimprisonment up to five years and fineup to ten thousands rupees; procedurefor complaint of zina & qazf changed;and simultaneous imposition of Qazfmade possible.

During the same year (2006) Ms.Mehnaz Rafi also moved a bill "theOffense of Qazf (Enforcement ofHadd) (Amendment) Bill, 2006", toreform the Qazf Ordinance. In themeantime, Ms. Kashmala Tariqbrought another bill to further reformthe Hudood Ordinance through her billtitled "the Offence of Zina(Enforcement of Hadd) (Amendment)

Bill, 2006". Two bills on Muslim fam-ily laws namely, "the Muslim FamilyLaws (Amendment) Bill, 2006", byAisha Munawar and Ms. InayatBegum (MMA) were moved in thefourth year; and one with the same titlewas moved by Ms. Rubina ShaheenWattoo. Ms. Shakeela KhanamRasheed (PPPP) also moved an impor-tant bill called "the Bonded LabourSystem (Abolition) (Amendment) Bill,2006" in 2006. The last and the fifthparliamentary year (2007) proved to be

lackluster in legislative activities as theAssembly met for much less days thanin all the previous years and womenparliamentarians moved 17 privatemembers bills during this year.However, before the expiry of its five-year-tenure, the National Assembly dida noble thing - it referred both theDVBs, moved by Ms. Sherry Rehmanand Ms. Mehnaz Rafi, to the concernedStanding Committee with the directivethat these should be clubbed together.As a matter of record, it may be notedthat the National Assembly and the

Senate could make only two laws forwomen during its tenure, which werethe law on 'honour' killings in 2004and the Protection of Women Act in2006.

From 2008 to 2012

General elections were held in 2008.But, there was no going back to themomentum created by the previousNational Assembly. Aurat Foundation,UNIFEM and Ministry of Women's

Development (MoWD - now devolvedto provinces after the 18thAmendment) worked collectively todevelop a consensus on DVB as fourseparate drafts were circulating - onethat had been tabled by Ms. SherryRehman and Ms. Mehnaz Rafi in theprevious National Assembly and hadbeen clubbed together by the MoWD;second which was prepared by theAurat Foundation with the help ofJustice (Retd.) Nasira Javed Iqbal; thirdprepared by the UNIFEM; and thefourth which was tabled in the 13th

National Assembly by Ms. YasmeenRehman (MNA PPPP) as a privatemembers bill in latter half of 2008.Aurat Foundation and UNIFEM suc-ceeded in merging their versions intoone draft through a consultativeprocess. This draft was further dis-cussed and shared with different stake-holders by a team of Aurat Foundationled by Ms. Malihaz Zia and; finallyhanded it over to the MoWD. Since, bythat time the fourth DVB had beentabled in the National Assembly, theStanding Committee of the NationalAssembly on Women's Developmentunder its Chairperson Ms. BushraGohar (MNA ANP) performed the taskof further consultation through a sub-committee headed by Dr. AttiyaInayatullah (MNA PML-Q). This com-mittee developed the final version. TheNational Assembly made history on 4August 2009 by passing the DomesticViolence (Prevention and Protection)Bill 2009 of Ms. Yasmeen Rehman.Unfortunately, this bill got lapsed in theSenate and nothing could be done tosave it due to changes in the legislativeprocess after the 18th ConstitutionalAmendment. A recent initiative by theNCSW has created new hopes of thepassage of a new reformed version ofthe DVB. In the meanwhile, womenlegislators in collaboration with theNCSW and Aurat Foundation are mak-ing efforts to introduce comprehensivelegislation on domestic violence inprovincial legislatures which hopefullywill bear fruit soon.

In 2010, came two laws to curb sexualharassment against women as officialbills. The first one is Criminal Law(Amendment) Act, 2010, which makesamendment in section 509 of the PPCrelating to sexual harassment ofwomen at workplace. This is a goodpiece of legislation. The Act definesthe offence of sexual harassment andsays that the offence "shall be punishedwith imprisonment which may extendto three years or with fine up to fivehundred thousand rupees or withboth". The other, more comprehensivelaw titled "The Protection againstHarassment of Women at theWorkplace, Act, 2010". This is themain and comprehensive law toaddress the issue of sexual harassmentof women at workplace. AASHA, acivil society coalition must be creditedand appreciated for its dedication andpursuance to take the bill to its finalstages and get it passed. Ms. SherryRehman, who was holding the portfo-lio of Information Minister at that timemade special efforts to hold two broad-based consultative meetings of variousstakeholders to have input and feed-back on the bill. Aurat Foundation waspart of these consultation meetings andthe suggestion of setting up the institu-tion of Federal Ombudswoman underthe Act came from one of its represen-tative. This bill was passed by theNational Assembly on 22 January

Seven pro-women laws in seven yearsFrom Page 2

Continued on next Page

Movement for repeal of the Hudood Ordinances

The movement against the Hudood Ordinances started soon after their intro-duction in 1979, when it became apparent that these laws were blatantly dis-criminatory against women and minorities; and that they were also becomingan instrument of oppression and injustice against them. Women's Action Forum(WAF) was formed and it led the struggle against these laws. On 12 February,1983, Punjab Women's Lawyers Forum and WAF took out a rally in Lahoreagainst the Law of Evidence. Participants of the rally were severely baton-charged, tear-gassed and sent to lock-up (12 February is now commemoratedas the National Women's Day in Pakistan). Meanwhile, thousands of womenwere booked, tried, humiliated and convicted as a gross miscarriage of justiceby these laws, particularly the Zina Ordinance. Civil society organizations, par-ticularly Aurat Foundation, HRCP, Shirkat Gah, AGHS and SAP-PK amongothers, made consistent and determined efforts for nearly two decades throughnation-wide advocacy campaigns, rallies and demonstrations, research andinformation development and dissemination. They held the view that theselaws were in conflict with the equality provisions of the Constitution, partic-ularly Article 25 and Article 34; and they had grossly misinterpreted IslamicInjunctions and were clearly discriminatory towards women and minorities. In1997, the Commission of Inquiry for Women, an official body chaired by a sit-ting judge of the Supreme Court, recommended the immediate repeal of theHudood Ordinances; in 2003, the National Commission on the Status ofWomen, a statutory body chaired by a retired judge of the High Court, also rec-ommended the repeal of these laws; leading jurists of the country and membersof intelligentsia, including eminent intellectuals, journalists and academiciansalso joined the movement for the repeal of these laws. A number of comprehen-sive studies by prominent Islamic scholars held the view that these laws wereun-Islamic and unjust and must be repealed; at least three mainstream politicalparties - PPPP, MQM and ANP - stood for their repeal, in addition to a numberof regional and smaller parties; several leading members of the PML-Q alsofavoured its repeal.

4

2010. It became law after the approvalof the Senate and the assent of thePresident. The law will protect womenbelonging to various sectors such asbrick kiln workers, agriculture work-ers, domestic workers, and women inthe market and public places.

The law proposes the establishment

of an inquiry committee in eachorganization within thirty day periodof the enforcement of this Act toenquire into complaints. "The com-mittee shall consist of three membersof whom at least one member shall bea woman. One member shall be fromsenior management and one shall be asenior representative of the employ-ees or a senior employee where thereis no CBA."

The current year, 2011, is ending with agift of two more very important laws toend injustice and discrimination againstwomen by penalising offences related tocustomary practices and acid crimes.The mover of the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Bill, 2011, is Ms.Donya Aziz of PML-Q, who tabled thebill with the full backing of her party'sleadership. The bill got unanimouslypassed from the National Assembly on

15 November 2011 and also unanimous-ly from the Senate on 12 December2011 (the analytical comment on thePrevention of Anti-Women Practices,2011, Bill, was published in the previousissue No. 37 of Legislative Watch,which is available on Aurat Foundation'swebsite www.af.org.pk). Earlier, on 10May, 2011, the National Assembly alsounanimously passed 'The Acid Controland Acid Crime Prevention Bill 2010',which recommends 14-year to lifetimeimprisonment sentence and fines up toRs 1 million for those who commit thecrime. The original movers of the AcidControl and Acid Crimes PreventionBill, 2011, were Ms. Marvi Memon,Begum Shahnaz Sheikh and AdvocateMs. Anusha Rehman. However, sincethis bill had also lapsed in the Senate, itwas re-tabled by Senator NilofarBakhtiar. This bill has also receivedunanimous support from the Senate on12 December 2011.

Several important bills are still pend-ing before the Parliament, whichinclude a private members bill movedby Ms. Bushra Gohar to remove dis-crimination in the existing PakistanCitizenship Act, 1951.

Policy and Institutional Measures

Several landmark developments toaccord policy and institutional frame-work to women's rights and empower-ment have preceded and followed thepro-women legislation referred to inthis discussion, mainly during the lasttwo decades. Briefly these are: settingup of First Women Bank in 1989 andwomen police stations in 1994; launch-ing the ambitious Lady HealthWorkers Programme in 1994; settingup of Commission of Inquiry forWomen in 1994 and launching of itsReport in 1997; ratification ofCEDAW in 1996; launching ofNational Plan of Action for Women in1998; establishment of 25 crisis cen-tres for women survivors of violencesince 1997 to 2008; establishment of apermanent National Commission onthe Status of Women in 2000; launch-ing of National Policy forDevelopment and Empowerment forWomen in 2002; introduction of 33%reserved seats for women in localcouncils and 17% quota of reservedseats for women in national andprovincial legislatures in 2000 and2002, respectively; launching ofGender Reforms Action Plan (GRAP)in 2005; launching of Benazir IncomeSupport Programme, with women asprimary beneficiaries, in 2008. Also in2008, the cross-party Women'sParliamentary Caucus (WPC) wasformed in the Federal Parliament. In2008, the full-fledged Ministry ofHuman Rights was established givinga new and holistic human rights per-spective and dimension to governancestructures and institutions.�Theauthor is associated with AuratFoundation

Seven pro-women laws in seven yearsFrom Page 3

The first progressive law for women,the MFLO, came in 1961. Besidessome amendments and rules for theselaws, the next positive legislation forwomen came after nearly 16 years, i.e.in 1976 when the Dowry and BridalGifts (Restriction) Act, 1976 becamelaw. From 1977 onward, it was a longand oppressive era of discriminatorylaws for women and minorities, someof which are still intact and in vogue.This era was tantamount to 'legaltyranny' against women and minori-ties. Democracy returned to Pakistanwith the elections in 1988. However,for the next ten years until 1999,despite several important policy andinstitutional measures no major gen-der-based legislation for women wasundertaken during this period. Nearly28 years after 1976 the new wave offocused pro-women legislation hit theshores of the Parliament in 2004, aselaborated above.

The presence of women parliamen-tarians in both Houses of theParliament, as well as, in theProvincial Assemblies is certainly theoverarching and crucial factor behindrecent legislative activism in theFederal Parliament in the last 7-8years. Women legislators have showedtheir enthusiasm and eagerness to dosomething for women of Pakistan,since they had got an opportunity to doso. This shows a genuine interestamong women legislators to havesome kind of positive legislation in theinterest of women from their own ortheir parties' perspective.

All these new bills and laws wouldhave not been possible if these womenwould have not been sitting in theselegislatures. These bills and laws areresult of personal commitment, energy,ability and maturity of women parlia-mentarians. People who have someidea of the law-making process in theParliament know that how serious,patient and even long and complicatedit is. It is also a battle simultaneouslyfought on several fronts. Party highcommand is required to be convinced;colleagues across party and acrossgender need to be won over; there arebureaucratic hurdles and long proce-dures of standing committees; argu-ments and counter-arguments etc.

Women legislators have demonstratedand proved that they could be goodpoliticians and parliamentarians.

The study of activities of women par-liamentarians in the 12th NationalAssembly elaborated above revealsthat women MPs did move bills on theissues of inheritance, marriage withQuran, citizenship rights, upliftingwomen's status and ending injusticeand discriminations against them andeven on customary practices of wanniand swara. They had also moved billsto reform Hudood Ordinances and theMFLO.

Inspired by the vision of ShaheedBenazir Bhutto, the decision ofPakistan People's Party to nominateDr. Fehmida Mirza as Speaker ofNational Assembly, and BegumShahnaz Wazir Ali as Advisor to PMon Social Sector, contributedimmensely in promoting women-friendly and gender-sensitive politicalculture. The appointment of severalwomen ministers at the federal andprovincial level further contributed tostrengthening women's political base.Appointment of the first-ever womanminister in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bythe ANP government and election of awoman Deputy Speaker in SindhProvincial Assembly were also meas-ures in the same positive direction.

Several key institutions are in placeand active: Women's ParliamentaryCaucus is undertaking pro-activemeasures, and it has been able to bringtogether women parliamentariansacross parties, like Ms. Nafisa Shahfrom PPP, Begum Ishrat Ashraf andBegum Nuzhat Sadiq from PML-Nand Ms. Bushra Gohar from ANP.

Standing Committees are more cog-nizant of their role and are also moreactive than before. Ministry of HumanRights is pro-active. Pakistan has rati-fied important international humanrights treaties during the last two years,which were long overdue.

The NCSW which took the lead toreform laws concerning women underits first chairperson Justice (Retd.)Majida Rizvi, remained vibrant duringSyeda Arifa Zehra's tenure and; is cur-

rently writing history by undertakingseveral legislative initiatives andattaining full autonomy for itself underthe dynamic leadership of Ms. AnisHaroon, who is one of the pioneers ofwomen's rights movement in Pakistan.

Political climate and times havechanged. This is not 1999. Democraticforces are stronger and better posi-tioned today than before. It is not easyto ignore or suppress anyone's voice.Rule of law and supremacy ofConstitution have become commonparlance after judicial activism by oursuperior courts.

Mainstream media is though political-ly-motivated to the extent of blatantmanipulation, its role in highlightingand promoting social causes and gen-der equality, particularly in reportingviolations of human rights of citizensand violence against women, isextremely positive and needs to beacknowledged.

Civil society has emerged as a majorstakeholder among governance institu-tions outside the State orbit. There isincreased awareness on issues whichwere never on the priority list of polit-ical parties with the gender gap in liter-acy rate in urban centres narrowingdown to almost nil.

Public representatives sitting in theParliament from various political par-ties are aware of the surrounding cli-mate. The unanimity shown by theParliament on more than one occasionin passing a number of pro-womenlaws mean that the law-makers areinclined to pay attention to women'sconcerns. They are hearing all kinds ofdemands by their constituents forchange in social relationships and per-haps they are trying to respond to thechanging trends and emerging realitiesin society, where everyone is demand-ing equality and justice.

Perhaps, this is a season of local, as wellas, global high tide of gender equality inthe ocean of human progress - a newhistorical wave? And perhaps the era of'legal tyranny' which began with thepromulgation of discriminatory lawsagainst women by dictator Ziaul Haq isfinally coming to an end!

Seven pro-women laws: some concluding observations

5

Legislative Watch is produced by the ResourceService of the Legislative Watch Programme forWomen�s Empowerment of Aurat Publication andInformation Service Foundation at Islamabad.

Advisory Board: I.A. Rehman, Tahira Abdullah, Naeem Mirza

Editorial BoardWasim Wagha, Sarwat Wazir

Letters, opinions and contributions are welcome.Please write to House 12, Street 12, F-7/2, IslamabadTel: (051) 2608956-8, Fax: (051) 2608955Email: lwprs@af.org.pk Website: www.af.org.pk Layout & design by: Kashif Gulzar

Printing funded by: MFA, Norway

KARACHI: Aurat FoundationKarachi team organized an 'artand cultural' event to mark the 16Days of Activism.

The event was organized onDecember 9, 2011, at theMumtaz Mirza Auditorium,Karachi. The poets invited high-lighted key gender issues faced bywomen in society including vio-lence. A folk band 'Marval', led bya young female singer MarvalMurk from flood-affected districtSanghar, sang the poetry of ShahAbdul Latif Bhittai and other sufipoets. The band was . The eventwas chaired by famous poet MsFahmida Riaz. Other poets

included Azra Abbas, NasimSyed, Fatima Hassan, Tanvir

Anjum, Sadia Hareem and AttiyaDaud.

Cultural show in Karachi to mark 16 Days of Activism

16 Days of Activism to End Violence against Womenobserved with rallies, performances and vigils

Ms Anis Haroon speaking at the Aurat Yakjehti Mela at Islamabad.Ms Shabina Ayaz addressing the rally in Haripur.

ISLAMABAD: Aurat FoundationIslamabad office organized AuratYakjehti Mela in honour of theInternational Day for the Eliminationof Violence against Women onNovember 25, 2011, at the Lok VirsaHeritage Museum under the auspicesof Gender Equity Program. The melawas one in a series of events that wereheld to launch the 16 Days ofActivism against Gender Violence.The 16 Days campaign begins onNovember 25 each year and ends onDecember 10, the International HumanRights Day.

"We all, men and women, need to takean active role in addressing and pre-venting violence, changing gender atti-tudes, and increasing the commitmentby community and government leaderson the issue", said Dr. Andrew Sisson,Director of USAID Mission inPakistan addressing participants of theevent. Anis Haroon, the chairperson ofNational Commission for the Status ofWomen, highlighted the need to chal-lenge militarism and end violenceagainst women by bringing togetherwomen's rights, peace and humanrights movements. Naeem Mirza,Chief Operating Officer of the AuratFoundation, discussed the Preventionof Anti-women Practices Act 2011,which criminalizes violent and dis-

criminatory practices against womenand girls and was recently passed bythe national assembly.

Simi Kamal, the Chief of Party for theUSAID-funded Gender EquityProgram, outlined the strategy that theprogram adopted to combat genderbased violence. Black Box Sounds pre-sented a USAID-funded media cam-paign that will highlight stories ofstruggle and courage of workingPakistani women through different TV,radio channels, and newspapers.

Renowned artist Feryal Gauhar made atheatrical performance, titled 'KhaliKamra' (empty room).

HARIPUR: Aurat Foundation�s Peshawar office ended the 16 Days of Activismby organizing a rally in Haripur to demand of the Senators to pass the Anti-WomenPractices bill in the Senate when it is tabled there. The rally, held on the HumanRights Day i.e. 10th December, 2011, was joined by hundreds of local communi-ty members, mostly women, human rights and political activists. The rally startedfrom Zafar Park and ended at Ayub Park after marching through different cityroads. The rally was addressed by Naeem Mirza, Chief Operating Officer of AuratFoundation, Shabina Ayaz, Resident Director, Aurat Foundation�s Peshawaroffice, Rabia Waqar from NCA and others. The participants or the rally asked theSenate of Pakistan to pass the bill already approved by the National Assembly toprotect women from the negative customs and traditions. The participants werecarrying banners inscribed with slogans that urged the Senators to play their roleand endorse the bill, which had declared customary practices of swara, wani,forced marriages, their marriage with Quran and disinheritance of women illegal.

Ms Feryal Gauhar performing solo in�Khali Kamra� in Islamabad.

QUETTA: On 25th of November 2011, Aurat Foundation, in collaboration withBalochistan Gender network (network of different organization in Balochistan)held an event to highlight the significance of 16 Days of Activism. Event wasembedded with informative sessions, documentaries, stage performances, and can-dle light vigil, all sending strong message to stop violence against women.

6

The World's Women 2010: Trends and StatisticsThe World's Women 2010 report, prepared by theDepartment of Economic and Social Affairs of theUnited Nations Secretariat and the StatisticsDivision, presents and analyses world-wide statis-tics on the status of women and highlights the dif-ferences between the status of women and men invarious areas of contemporary life.

This is a 255-page comprehensive and representa-tive report of its own nature presenting uniqueand valuable data on the situation of women glob-ally in eight key areas of human life. We arereproducing below the message of the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon,along with "Key Findings" verbatim as presentedin the beginning of each chapter of the report withthe acknowledgement of the strenuous and com-mitted effort made by the United Nations' team ofresearchers and writers.

The report is available on the website of the UnitedNations. �Editor Legislative Watch

The United Nations occupies a unique position as aglobal storehouse of statistical information on socialand economic phenomena. Numerical profiles ofwomen and men and their status in societies are sys-tematically collected, compiled, processed and ana-lyzed, providing an authoritative basis for sound pol-icymaking at all levels - national, regional and inter-national.

The World's Women: Trends and Statistics was firstpublished by the United Nations in 1991. A new edi-tion has been issued every five years since 1995, ascalled for specifically in the Beijing Platform forAction adopted at that year's landmark Fourth WorldConference on Women. With coverage encompass-ing the full range of issues and concerns, it is theonly publication of its kind.

The World's Women 2010 is intended to contribute tothe stocktaking being done to mark the fifteenth

anniversary of the Beijing Conference. It addressescritical aspects of life: population, families, health,education, work, power and decision-making, vio-lence against women, environment and poverty. Itfinds that progress in ensuring the equal status ofwomen and men has been made in many areas,including school enrolment, health and economicparticipation. At the same time, it makes clear thatmuch more needs to be done, in particular to closethe gender gap in public life and to prevent the manyforms of violence to which women are subjected.

It is my hope that the insights and information con-tained in the present publication will helpGovernments, researchers, scholars, non-govern-mental organizations and concerned citizens aroundthe world in their efforts to ensure that every singlewoman achieves her full potential.

Ban Ki-Moon

Message from the Secretary-General

72 million children of primary school age are not attending school, out of which over 39 million (or 54 per cent) are girls.

While secondary school enrolments show improvement, fewer countries are near gender parity than for primary education.

In tertiary enrolment, men's dominance has been reversed globally and gender disparities favour women, except in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern and Western Asia.

Women in tertiary education are significantly underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering; however, they remain predominant in education, health and welfare, social sciences, and humanities and arts.

Worldwide, women account for slightly more than a quarter of all scientific researchers - an increase compared to previous decades but still very far from parity.

Use of and access to the Internet grew exponentially in the past decade, narrowing the gender digital divide - however, women still do not have the same level of access as men in most countries, whether more or less developed.

Key findings

The world's population tripled in the period 1950-2010 to reach almost7 billion.

There are approximately 57 million more men than women in the world,yet in most countries there are more women than men.

There is a "gender spiral", with more boys and men in younger age groups and more women in the older age groups.

Fertility is steadily declining in all regions of the world, though it still remains high in some regions of Africa.

Life expectancy is steadily rising, with women living longer than men. International migration is increasing. There are more and more women

migrants, and in certain areas they outnumber men. The age at marriage for women continues to rise - and it remains high

for men. In family life women overwhelmingly carry the workload, although in

some countries the gap has narrowed significantly.

Population and families

Key findings

Women live longer than men in all regions. Two out of every five deaths of both women and men in Africa are still

caused by infectious and parasitic diseases. Women are more likely than men to die from cardiovascular diseases,

especially in Europe. Breast cancer among women and lung cancer among men top the list of

new cancer cases globally. Women constitute the majority of HIV-positive adults in sub-Saharan

Africa, North Africa and the Middle East. The vast majority of the over half a million maternal deaths in 2005

occurred in developing countries. The proportion of pregnant women receiving prenatal care is on the rise in

many regions. Despite intensified efforts for reduction, Africa remains the region with

the highest child mortality. Data reveal no significant disparity in the proportion of underweight girls

and boys.

Health

Key findings

Two thirds of the 774 million adult illiterates worldwide are women - the same proportion for the past 20 years and across most regions.

The global youth literacy rate has increased to 89 per cent, while the gender gap has declined to 5 percentage points.

Gaps between girls' and boys' primary enrolment have closed in the majority of countries, but gender parity is still a distant goal for some.

Education

Key findings

Globally, women's participation in the labour market remained steady inthe two decades from 1990 to 2010, whereas that for men declined steadily over the same period; the gender gap in labour force participation remains considerable at all ages except the early adult years.

Women are predominantly and increasingly employed in the services sector. Vulnerable employment - own-account work and contributing family

work - is prevalent in many countries in Africa and Asia, especially among women.

The informal sector is an important source of employment for both women and men in the less developed regions but more so for women.

Occupational segregation and gender wage gaps continue to persist in all regions.

Part-time employment is common for women in most of the more developed regions and some less developed regions, and it is increasing almost everywhere for both women and men.

Women spend at least twice as much time as men on domestic work, and when all work - paid and unpaid - is considered, women work longer hours than men do.

Half of the countries worldwide meet the new international standard for minimum duration of maternity leave - and two out of five meet the minimum standard for cash benefits - but there is a gap between law and practice, and many groups of women are not covered by legislation.

Work

Key findings

Becoming the Head of State or Head of Government remains elusive for women, with only 14 women in the world currently holding either position.

In just 23 countries do women comprise a critical mass - over 30 per cent

Power and decision-making

Continued on next Page

7

- in the lower or single house of their national parliament. Worldwide on average only one in six cabinet ministers is a woman. Women are highly underrepresented in decision-making positions at local

government levels. In the private sector, women continue to be severely underrepresented in

the top decisionmaking positions. Only 13 of the 500 largest corporations in the world have a female Chief

Executive Officer.

The World's Women 2010: Trends and Statisticsdrinking water, and most of the burden of water collection falls on women.

The majority of households in sub-Saharan Africa and in Southern and South-Eastern Asia use solid fuels for cooking on open fires or traditional stoves with no chimney or hood, disproportionately affecting the health of women.

Fewer women than men participate in high-level decision-making related to the environment.

Key findings

Violence against women is a universal phenomenon. Women are subjected to different forms of violence - physical, sexual,

psychological and economic - both within and outside their homes. Rates of women experiencing physical violence at least once in their lifetime

vary from several per cent to over 59 per cent depending on where they live. Current statistical measurements of violence against women provide a

limited source of information, and statistical definitions and classifications require more work and harmonization at the international level.

Female genital mutilation - the most harmful mass perpetuation of violence against women - shows a slight decline.

In many regions of the world longstanding customs put considerable pressure on women to accept abuse.

Violence against women

Key findings

More than half of rural households and about a quarter of urban households in sub-Saharan Africa lack easy access to sources of

Environment

Key findings

Households of lone mothers with young children are more likely to be poor than households of lone fathers with young children.

Women are more likely to be poor than men when living in one-person households in many countries from both the more developed and the less developed regions.

Women are overrepresented among the older poor in the more developed regions.

Existing statutory and customary laws limit women's access to land and other types of property in most countries in Africa and about half the countries in Asia.

Fewer women than men have cash income in the less developed regions, and a significant proportion of married women have no say in how their cash earnings are spent.

Married women from the less developed regions do not fully participate in intrahousehold decision-making on spending, particularly in African countries and in poorer households.

Poverty

From Page 6

Islamabad: Women Parliam-entari-ans from four provincial assemblies,i.e. Punjab Provincial Assembly,Sindh Provincial Assembly, KhyberPakhtunkhwa Provincial Assemblyand Balochistan Provincial Assembly,demanded ten percent mandatoryquota of party tickets on general seats,while addressing a press conference atthe National Consultation organisedby Legislative Watch Programme forWomen's Empowerment of AuratFoundation on November 26-27,2011.

During the press conference, they reada declaration, which was endorsedafter a heated debate among them-selves and civil society activists.

The declaration was endorsed by MsShehla Raza, Deputy Speaker,Provincial Assembly, Sindh, DrRuqiya Hashmi, Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination, Balochistan,Ms Ghazala Gola, Minister forWomen's Development, Balochistan,Ms Heer Soho, MPA (MQM), Sindh,Ms Nusrat Saher Abbasi, MPA (PML-F), Sindh, Ms Humaira Alwani, MPA(PPPP), Sindh, Ms Shameela Aslam,MPA (PML-N), Punjab, Ms FaizaMalik, MPA (PPPP), Punjab, Ms AmnaButter, MPA (PPPP), Ms Deeba Mirza,MPA (PML-N), Punjab, Ms ShaziaTehmas, MPA (PPPP), KhyberPakhtunkhwa, Ms Nargis Samin, MPA(PPP-Sherpao), Khyber Pakhtunkhwand Ms Noor-us-Sehar (PPPP),

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Declaration reads:

"We, Women Parliamentarians fromProvincial Assemblies of Balochistan,Khyber PakhtunKhwa, Sindh andPunjab and representatives of civilsociety organizations re-affirm ourcommitment to protect and preservethe provision of reserved seats in theConstitution for women in the NationalAssembly, Senate and the ProvincialAssemblies.

We, Women Parliamentarians, wouldalso like to demand that political par-ties develop consensus among them-

selves to amend the Political PartiesAct so as to provide mandatory quotaof 10 per cent of general seats towomen to mainstream them in elec-toral processes before the next elec-tions, in addition to the already avail-able reserved seats for women.

We believe that the provision of theReserved Seats for women is theConstitutional right of women ofPakistan under Articles 25, 34, 51 and106, e.g. Article 25 (3) states: "Nothingin this Article shall prevent the Statefrom making any special provision forthe protection of women and children".

We believe that women parliamen-

tarians role in Assemblies helps toinitiate debates on issues of women'sempowerment both within and out-side legislatures, and eventually,lead to their playing a key role inlaw-making on crucial issues whichconcern women and citizens ofPakistan.

We must acknowledge that all impor-tant legislation (laws/Bills on 'honour'killings, Women's Protection Act,Protection of Women form Harassmentat Workplace, Domestic Violence Bill,Acid Control and Acid CrimesPrevention Bill and recently passedPrevention of Anti-Women PracticesBill) which had been carried out in theParliament for the last nine yearswould have not possible without theinitiatives and consistent efforts ofwomen parliamentarians across politi-cal parties.

We would also like to reiterate thecommitment made by the Women'sParliamentary Caucus at aRoundtable on 29 September 2011,that "we further commit to enhanceand strengthen women's representa-tion in legislatures by working withinour respective political parties andelected representatives and examin-ing how the systems of nominationsto the reserved seats could be mademore democratic and transparent; andthat women are represented at all lev-els of decision-making in politicalforums". �Staff Report

Women MPAs demand 10% party tickets on general seats

Ms Shehla Raza, Deputy Speaker, Provincial Assembly, Sindh, and several womenlegislators from four provincial assemblies (in the front row) addressing the pressconference in Islamabad.

8

SWAT: Women Peace Programmeteam of Aurata Foundation Peshawaroffice organized an awareness raisingmeeting at the Child Protection Centre(CPC), Asharay, Tehsil Matta, Swat,on November 25, 2011.

This activity was arranged for the menfrom community. Participants includedpeople from different walks of lifeincluding elders, religious scholars,CPC members and other communitymembers from different villages.

The topic of discussion in the meetingwas peace and security and participationof women in peace building process. MrZia-ud-din Yousafzai discussed in detailthe situation of peace and security in theregion and shared with the participants

UNSCR 1325 and highlighted the roleof women in peace building process.

Nisar Alam, Coordinator ChildProtection Project (CPP), also spokeon the occasion.

QUETTA: Aurat Foundation's Quettaoffice team organized a provincialconsultation to celebrate and share thepassage of 'Prevention of Anti-Women Practices (Criminal LawAmendment) Bill, 2011' and devisestrategy to influence the Senators,with the help of women parliamentar-ians, politicians and civil society, forthe passage of the Act from the Senatetoo. The participants included mem-bers of Balochistan Assembly, repre-sentatives of civil society organiza-tions, lawyers, political and socialactivists and media persons.

Justice (R) Vishwarnath Kohli, mem-ber National Commission on the Statusof Women (NCSW) shared the mainpoints of the bill and suggested somemajor amendments. Ms Husn Bano,MPA (JUI) and Advisor to the ChiefMinster, and Ms Zarina Zehri, PMA

(PPPP) and Advisor to the CM appre-ciated the efforts of Aurat Foundationthat it always takes lead in conductingconsultations like this.

They said they would lobby with theSenators of Balochistan for the passageof the Act from the Senate. MsRukhsana Ahmed Ali, memberNational Commission on the Status ofWomen (NCSW) also spoke on theAct.

Haroon Dawood, Resident Director,and Amir Ali from Aurat Foundationgave details of the process of thepassage of the bill from the NationalAssembly, and history of women'smovement in Pakistan. Womenpoliticians present in the consultationgave their commitment to lobby thebill with their respective party sena-tors.

LAHORE: Ms Nigar Ahmed, Executive Director of Aurat Foundation,along with the members of Joint Action Committee, at the candle light vigilto condemn the NATO forces attack on Pakistani forces. The vigil wasorganized on Tuesday, November 29, 2011.

ISLAMABAD: The Insani Haqooq Ittehad (IHI), a network of human rightsorganizations and activists organized a candle-light vigil in Islamabad, onTuesday, November 29, 2011, to protest the killings of 26 Pakistani soldiers in anunprovoked attack by NATO forces at a Pakistani check post in MohmandAgency on November 26, 2011. IHI members termed it an act of aggression anda violation of international human rights standards which neither serves peace nordiplomatic relations. They also condemned and deplored the violence by militantsthat has resulted in the loss of over 30,000 innocent lives of Pakistani civilians andthe ongoing attacks on schools and markets.

Members of Insani Haqooq Ittehad chanting slogans against NATO aggression inIslamabad.

Senators asked to pass the Anti-Women Practices Bill

(R-L) Ms Rukhsana Ahmed Ali, Justice (R) Vishwarnath Kohli, Ms Zarina Baloch,Husn Bano and Ms Saima Haroon in Quetta.

Men brifed on women�s role in peace

Nisar Alam briefing the participants onwomen's role in peace in Swat.

Gender Equity Programme(GEP) organized an eventin collaboration with theApplied EconomicsResearch Centre (AERC) atthe University of Karachion 22nd November, 2011 tolaunch the scoping deskstudies. The scoping deskstudies and three keyresearch thrusts included: i)primary research studiescovering gender-based vio-lence, ii) a national base-line study for GEP and iii)policy research studies.

The launch event commenced with thescreening of GEP Documentary 'MainSafar Main Hoon'. Ms MahnazRahman, Resident Director, AFKarachi Office gave the introductryremarks. Muneezeh Saeed Khan, Sr.Program Officer (M&E), AF presentedthe findings of Scoping Studies &Upcoming Research under GEP andMs Shahida Sajid Ali, Program Officer(CB) AF, facilitated the event. The keynote speakers were Dr Nuzhat Ahmad,

Director, Applied Economics ResearchCentre -AERC, University of Karachiand Dr Aliya, Lecturer, Centre ofExcellence for Women's Studies -CEWS, University of Karachi.

The Chief Guest of the event was MsTauqeer Fatimah Bhutto, Minister forWomen Development. Ms Simi Kamal,Chief of Party - GEP, Aurat Foundationand Ms BushraJaffer, Deputy Chief ofParty-GEP, Asia Foundation were alsopresent at the event.

GEP scoping studies launched

Ms Tauqeer Fatimah Bhutto, Minister for WomenDevelopment Sindh addresssing the seminar.