Pakistan

Pakistan: Swat women fear Taliban return

Girls in Swat District, northwestern Pakistan, have gone back to school, and most women who had been prevented from working have returned to work, but people are still fearful. "We worry the Taliban will return and the persecution will start again. In every neighbourhood there are people who are linked to the militants and who keep an eye on the activities of us women," Sumira Bibi, 20, who works at a cosmetics factory, told IRIN in Mingora, Swat's main town. According to the government's National Commission on the Status of Women, there were 1,000-1,200 women factory workers in Mingora before the Taliban takeover in 2009. It is unknown how many have returned to work. Tens of thousands of civilians were displaced from Swat in the spring and summer of 2009 due to intense fighting between government forces and Taliban militants. Most returned after the army regained control in July. (See Swat timeline)

Pakistan: Male politicians continue to defend systems of oppression

The fabric of Pakistani society, in general, seems to be afflicted with hypocrisy. At a recent seminar organised by the Aurat Foundation and the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), titled ‘Crimes in the name of honour and parallel legal system,’ representatives from various political parties were invited to provide input about what they believed was the solution to honour killings.

Pakistan: Women Need Political Space for Peacemaking

As a political activist and president of the women’s wing of the Awami National Party (ANP), Zahira Khattak has been working relentlessly for the empowerment of women in the war-torn North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in Pakistan. She believes that by empowering them, they can contribute more to the peace efforts in the region. "We are holding a peace jirga in the near future in which women from the whole province will be invited to speak on the prevailing situation," Khattak said, referring to the spate of violence in the NWFP, one of Pakistan’s four provinces. Women have also been providing comfort to the bereaved families of the victims of militant attacks in NWFP, she said.

Pakistan: HRW calls for Domestic Violence Legislation to be passed

The Pakistani government should quickly reintroduce legislation to protect women and children from domestic violence, Human Rights Watch said today. The Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill was passed unanimously by the National Assembly on August 4, 2009, but the bill lapsed after the Senate failed to pass it within the three months required under the country's constitution. "Victims of domestic violence have long faced a double injustice - abuse at home and then no protection from the government," said Ali Dayan Hasan, senior South Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The proposed law has widespread support in Pakistan, and the government should make passing it a priority."

United States: ‘Free Dr Aafia Siddiqui Day’

Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s trial begins today (Tuesday), while representatives of civil society and human rights organisations have decided to observe the day as ‘Free Dr Aafia Siddiqui Day’. On this occasion, different events like protests and candlelight vigils are being arranged across the world including the US, Europe, Australia, Middle East and Pakistan to highlight the plight of Dr Aafia. According to the details, a ‘Stand in solidarity with Dr Aafia Siddiqui’ event would be held in the US in front of Federal Court, 500 Pearl St, in lower Manhattan. On the occasion, members of civil society would fill the Judge Richard Berman’s courtroom. Please seen article below for background to the trial of Dr. Siddiqui

Pakistan: ‘Eye for an Eye’ Judgment Hailed, Denounced

For Fazeelat Bibi, 21, the last few days of 2009 have brought her some retribution, if not cheer. "Justice has been delivered," said the young woman, her voice void of any feelings. An anti-terrorism court in the Pakistani eastern city of Lahore, on Dec. 21, ordered the noses and ears of two brothers, Sher Mohammad, 27, and Amanat Ali, 29, to be cut off after doing the same to Bibi in September. The court also sentenced the brothers to life imprisonment and ordered them to pay 700,000 rupees (8,300 U.S. dollars) in compensation to the victim.

Balochistan: Dishonored killings

Balochistan does not have a vibrant middle class nor does it have an active civil society. The media are too restricted and operate unprofessionally with the intention not to offend the government and the tribal chiefs. Perhaps it is this reason that Balochistan is absolutely quite even after the barbaric killing of four women in different incidents in a period of barely one week. Women have been killed brutally by their own close family members in Balochistan’s districts located on the Sindh border on suspicion of having illicit relations with other men. The wired justification given for these reprehensible murders is the “family honor” that is presumably compromised by the “immoral girls”.

Pakistan: Christian & Muslim Leaders Call for a Repeal of Blasphemy Law

Christians, Hindus, Muslims, legal experts, religious scholars and activists for human rights, are all concerned about the abuses perpetrated in the name of the blasphemy law in Pakistan and call for its repeal. A popular front is emerging in the country which promises to bring the battle for the cancellation of the norm that provides for life imprisonment or the death penalty for those who profane the Koran, or defame the name of the prophet Muhammad.

South Asia: Women's peace offensive

‘Give peace a chance’ may just be another cliché for many, but for women who have suffered the ravages of war, endless strife and other forms of conflict, joining hands to find meaningful solutions to their collective aspiration lends it a whole new meaning. "For 5,000 years women have been sitting in ‘jirgas’ (tribal councils), at least in Afghanistan. We have ‘jirgas’ all over Pakistan’s tribal areas also, and we thought why not introduce this concept?"

Pakistan: A Small Dream

A Small Dream is a documentary film produced and directed by WLUML networker, Gulnar Tabassum. It tells the story of a young girl (Humaira Bachal) from the Moach Goth squatter settlement, Karachi, Pakistan. The only girl in her community to go to school, Humaira decided to teach children from her community, at home, the lessons she herself learnt in class.