Issue No. 35 January-April 2011

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

Question: First of all, we welcome you toPakistan, and then, for the interest of ourreaders, please tell us about your child-hood, education and family background.Mr. Akhtar Chaudhry: Let me begin bythanking you for this meeting. I belong toa small village in Lahore and come froman average middle class background. Myfather was a teacher and my mother ahousewife. I was born in the village. Wewere two brothers and one sister, but myelder brother, who was a lawyer in Lahore,died. My father was a very simple man, afact of which I am both proud and consid-er my identity! I studied in the Model HighSchool in Model Town, Lahore, until myMatriculation, and sat for the Intermediateexamination, also from Lahore. After this,at the age of 20, I left Pakistan.

Question: Why didn't you continue yourstudies after your Intermediate?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: I have a friend,and he and I were both very good students.Yesterday, when we visited our school weremembered that we used to have ateacher, Master Fazlur Rehman. He was aheavily built man and had a long beard.

During the half hour recess, when childrenwanted to eat their snacks, run around andtalk to each other, this teacher would makeus pray, say our namaz. When we returnedto class, he would bring a stick, and canethose who had been absent for the namaz!

I am convinced that this man did not pro-duce a single namazi, but he was responsi-ble for ruining the future of countlesspilots, engineers and architects of thecountry, because many of us did not returnto class after the namaz recess when thechemistry and biology classes were usual-ly held. We used to miss those classes

everyday. So the school instead of motivat-ing de-motivated us! This was one reasonwhy I did not continue my studies.

Then, my father died in 1976. My elderbrother had his own family to look after;and the responsibility for managing the

household fell on me. So financial difficul-ties too proved to be an obstacle in contin-uing further studies. I did my Matriculationand Intermediate as aprivate student. I wasaware that I was intelligent and could studyfurther, but at times circumstances do notpermit you to move ahead. However, I hada strong ambition to make something ofmyself, and so I accepted every challengethat came my way.

Question: How did you decide to go toNorway?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: My mother waskeen that I should go abroad. My paternaluncle (God bless him!) was living inNorway. My mother decided to marry meto his daughter, and so I joined my wife

Norwegian women have struggled long and hard for their rights

Women enjoy equal rights in Norway Mr Akhtar Chaudhry, Deputy Speaker National Parliament of Norway, talks to Legislative Watch

Mr Akhtar Chaudhry, the Pakistan-born Deputy Speaker of the National Parliament ofNorway, was in the country to receive the Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam conferred on him bythe Government of Pakistan in recognition for his services. Taking advantage of his pres-ence, the Aurat Foundation spoke to him about women's rights in Norway, in particulartheir struggle for political and social rights, and measures taken to ensure their partici-pation in the decision making process. The interview was conducted by Ms NasreenZehra, Ms Shumaila Tanveer and Ms Mumtaz Mughal from Aurat Foundation�s Lahoreoffice on 29 March, 2011. Details of the interview are presented below.

�I joined the Socialist Left Party in 1990-1991 as an ordinary member. Thengradually, I became Executive Member of the local wing of the Party; then of theRegional Executive Committee; and then in 1995, I was elected Member of theOslo City Council for the first time. My voters were the general public. Thisjourney continued until in 2007, when I became MP. In 2009 our Party has tonominate one MP into the Presidium. There were 11 members. One of us wouldbe candidate to be on the top of the hierarchy. There were also people who weresenior to me. I then had only two years of experience in Parliament. I had 12 to13 years experience in the City Parliament and 20 years in the Party. In the lightof all this the decision was made in my favour�. Continued on next Page

�The first womanPrime Ministerwas elected in

1986, and she wasa very strong

Prime Minister.She stayed so longthat, according toher, her grandsononce asked her:"Grandmother,

can a man becomePrime Minister?�

ISLAMABAD: In an immediatereaction, National Commission onthe Status of Women (NCSW),Aurat Foundation, Human RightsCommission of Pakistan and severalother human rights organisationsand activists expressed shock, angerand disappointment over theSupreme Court judgement inMukhtaran Mai�s case. Some ofthem discribed the decision of theSupreme Court as �re-victimisation�of Mukhtaran Mai.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on 21March, 2011, dismissed the petitions inMukhtaran Mai gang rape case. Theapex court concluded the suo mottonotice and has upheld the decision of

Lahore High Court. SC maintained thepunishment of main accused AbdulKhaliq and acquitted other 13 accusedwho were arrested for last six years onapex court orders.

A three-judge bench - comprisingJustice Mian Shakirullah Jan, JusticeNasir-ul-Mulk and Justice Mian SaqibNisar - rejected Mukhtaran Mai'sappeals against the acquittal of her tor-mentors and for enhancement of theirsentence, by a majority of two to one.

In his dissenting note, Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk partially accepted the appeals ofMukhtaran Mai to an extent, when heset aside the High Court's verdict ofacquitting the accused.

The National Commission on theStatus of Women and members ofInsani Huqooq Ittehad, includingAurat Foundation, Rozan, Sungi,Bedari, Ethnomedia, Pattan, PODA,Mehergargh and SPO convened anemergency meeting to express deepshock and disappointment at the ver-dict given by the superior court in theMukhtaran Mai gang rape case on 21April 2011.

Although the judgment did prove thatMukhtaran was raped because oneaccused did get life imprisonment,while others were acquitted. We aresurprised to see why only one accusedwas punished and others were acquit-ted on a charge of 'gang rape'.

The Commission and members ofcivil society felt that this was thereflection of a biased and inefficientcriminal justice system. This case hasbeen a classic example of how thefacts were distorted and documenta-tion of the evidence was tamperedwith at all levels.

The group expressed concern at thelong delays to dispense justice. Thevictim was raped in 2002 on theinstructions of the local Panchayat. In2005 the chief justice of the superiorcourt took suo moto notice of the case.Despite the intervention it took morethan nine years to come up with thisdecision, which is a source of concernfor the women of Pakistan.

NCSW, CSOs protest as Mukhtaran Mai �re-victimised�

2

and established my links with Norway.

Question: Tell us something about yourchildren. What are they doing?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: I have, MashaAllah, four children. My elder daughter isstudying law, while my son has a Bachelor'sdegree in Business Administration. The twoyounger children are 13 and nine years old.My wife prefers to be a housewife, though Iwould dearly like her to participate moreactively in social life!

Question: What did you do when you firstwent to Norway?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: I did everythingthat a man with an Intermediate degree cando, and I have no hesitation in telling youthis. I did different types of work, for exam-ple, I washed dishes in hotels, worked atpetrol stations, delivered newspapers andalso worked as a bus driver. But at the sametime I was conscious that I had to find someway to reach a better place in the world..

The great historian Toynbee once said thatthree different streams of thought wereconstantly agitating his mind. One, hekeeps revising the book that he has written,and thinking of developments that havetaken place after he has written it; second-ly, he is thinking of the book he is present-ly working on; and thirdly, he is thinkingof the book he will write next.

Of course, Toynbee was a very great man.We are not engaged in writing any books,but two thought processes also go aroundin my mind. First, that whatever I amdoing it should be done as well and as sin-cerely as possible; and second, whatshould I do next? As precisely such a nextstep, I began working for the welfare of thePakistani community in Norway in 1982 or83, and sought employment in the PakistanNorwegian Welfare Organization.

Question: What does this organization dofor the welfare of Pakistanis in Norway?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: In the 80s and 90sthe organization began facilitating linksbetween Pakistani Norwegians and theirmother country. It works hard to strength-en political, literary and cultural tiesbetween the two countries. In addition, inorder to keep Pakistani Norwegiansinformed about their culture, it invitedeminent Pakistanis to Norway once a year.It has invited Hamid Ali Al-Makki, whowas an old Muslim League worker, thefamous painter & poet Aslam Kamal, edi-tor of Hikayat Inayatullah, MukhtarMasood the writer and philosopher, andpeople like Pareshan Khattak. We organizeliterary gatherings and seminars, so thatchildren born in Norway can learn abouttheir cultural heritage.

I started as an ordinary member of thisorganization, and later was electedSecretary General. I worked for twentyyears in this organization.

Question: How did you learn about theorganization?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: I am a man whotakes responsibility. I found soon whichorganization would be the best to join.

We had good discussions in the organiza-tion. I was then young. Uses to criticizeeverything. An elder friend in the organiza-tion once said: "Instead of complaining, tell

me what are you doing?". After this I madeit a principle in life to not criticize, but jointhe struggle and help to improve things.

As Mohsin Naqvi said: 'There is a double burden on our lives OMohsin, Not only must we see but we must alsothink!'So we must see, think and then act!

Question: So you also have a liking forpoetry!Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: Absolutely! In ourday there was a generation of great poets:

Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Ahmed Faraz, IftikharArif, Parveen Shakir, Kishwar Naheed, JonElia, Munir Niazi, Habib Jalib, EhsanDaanish. All of them attracted young peo-ple and gave them a world view, a philoso-phy of life. I can't think of any poet in thelast fifteen or twenty years about whom wecan say that he is saying something ofimportance. We are still surviving on whathas been bequeathed to us earlier!

Question: You mentioned Toynbee. Howdid you become interested in acquiringknowledge?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: We used to readmany books in those days. There was nosubject that we did not explore! Thissharpened my interest in reading and writ-ing and literature.

Question: How did you enter politics?Was there anyone else in your extendedfamily who was a politician?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: The family wasnot generally interested in politics, thoughmy elder brother, the lawyer, used to attendpublic meetings in the late 60s and early70s. He was a great admirer of Mr. Bhutto,I remember!

The political journey begins in the mind. Ithink, I began to develop political aware-ness during the 70s when the governmentof an elected Prime Minister was over-thrown and; a democratically-elected

Parliament was dismissed. Then I saw myPrime Minister (Z. A. Bhutto) beinghanged. Those five or six years were veryimportant in my life. Coupled with thispolitical consciousness, I had become thecitizen of a country (Norway) that hadstrong and firmly established democratictraditions in place. When I started to workin the welfare organization, I began to learnthe language and about many other matters.

Immigrants entered politics in 1981-82when the laws were amended to allowthose who had lived in Norway for threeyears or longer to vote in the local elec-

tions. They were studying in the sameschools, using the same roads, being treat-ed in the same hospitals and also payingtaxes. Hence it was decided to includethem in the mainstream as stakeholders, sothat they should live and contribute asresponsible citizens.

Actually, Norwegians had won the right tovote in 1909; but in 1981, non-Norwegianstoo were given the right to vote in localbodies. I think some were elected to localbodies in 1983. I joined the Socialist LeftParty in 1990-1991 as an ordinary mem-ber. Then gradually, I became ExecutiveMember of the local wing of the Party;then of the Regional ExecutiveCommittee; and then in 1995, I was elect-ed Member of the Oslo City Council forthe first time. My voters were the generalpublic. This journey continued until in2007, when I became MP.

In 2009 our Party has to nominate one MPinto the Presidium. There were 11 mem-bers. One of us would be candidate to beon the top of the hierarchy. There were alsopeople who were senior to me. I then hadonly two years of experience inParliament. I had 12 to 13 years experiencein the City Parliament and 20 years in theParty. In the light of all this the decisionwas made in my favour.

Question: Why did your Party elect you?

Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: It was recognitionof my services to the minorities in general,and recognition of the services of minori-ties to the country. It may be the recogni-tion of my 20 years services. I felt thatwhat I had done in those twenty years hadbeen done well. Also,

After the King, the Speaker comes next inseniority, so in this way I am fifth in line.

Question: What are the prominentachievements of this 20-year journey?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: It is difficult toidentify any one thing. We don't have poli-tics based on individuals. We work collec-tively. We are in power for the last sixyears, and ours is a left of centre govern-ment. I guess our achievement is that wehave barred the way for the centre right,and especially the extremist right partiesfrom coming into power! We believe thatwe need to work hard for the developmentof our country, and for that it is necessaryto empower women.

We have a Law of Equality that ensuresequal rights for all - men, women, minori-ties and disabled persons. However, theright wing party is very strong, and if itcomes to power it will repeal this lawbecause they say it is not required. Wethink that would be a tragedy!

This society has struggled for 100 years,and these people are working to undo whatwe have achieved. It used to be difficult forall parents to find places for their childrenin the kindergartens. When we came topower, the budget for kindergartens usedto be 14 billion Kroners. We spend 26 bil-lion Kroners every year, so that every childhas the right to be admitted in kinder-garten. Now it is demanded right that onlychildren who were born before or on 31stAugust can be admitted when they are oneyear old in the following year; but thoseborn on or after 1st September can only beadmitted the year after. We are trying toinstitute twice yearly admissions, so thatchildren don't have to wait more than sixmonths to be admitted.

Question: Did you have to face any dis-crimination when you entered politics?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: There is discrimi-nation in Norway too - against languages,religion and ethnicity. And one can feelthis; I too feel it. In fact, in the last tenyears, these attitudes have become worse,and this is very painful, especially forMuslims. And we do our utmost to ensurethat everyone in the country should beentitled to equal rights and be treatedequally, but there is one particular partythat has assumed a harsh intolerant termi-nology, and people are influenced by them.We are trying to get them to soften theirrhetoric and moderate their point of view.We all have to live in the country. Our chil-dren will become judges, teachers, busdrivers and parliamentarians, so we wantthat the harshness should be toned downand our opponents should become moremoderate. But our opponents too are usingall their resources to propagate their ideol-ogy against ours.

Electing Haji Tajik and me to Parliamentwas an honour and a responsibility, but itwas also a way to fight back. The minori-ties are a part of the country and equal cit-izens. I am convinced that if minorities are

Politics in Norway is not based on individualsFrom Page 1

(From L to R) Mr Akhtar Chaudhry, Deputy Speaker of the National Parliament ofNorway, with the interview panelists Ms Shumaila Tanveer, Ms Nasreen Zehra andMs Mumtaz Mughal from Aurat Foundation�s Lahore office on 29 March, 2011.

Continued on next Page

Interview with Mr Akhtar Chaudhry

�In our Cabinet, at least one third women are ministers and hold the necessaryauthority. In the past four or five elected governments, the Ministry of Defensehas always been headed by a woman. Also, the Speaker of the Parliament hasbeen a woman�.

3

not given their just rights in the world, dif-ferences among people will grow.

Question: What are your views onwomen's empowerment? Are Norwegianwomen empowered, do you think?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: Yes, they areempowered, there is no doubt about it, butthere are still some areas, for example,women are given a year's maternity leavewith pay according to the law. But whenthey come back to work they return to thesame position, while their male colleagueshave moved ahead.

Question: But this is natural! The govern-ment should promote them anyway! Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: You are right, butthe difference remains. For example, whenthere are two or three children, what gener-ally happens is that the husband works fulltime, while the wife either gives up workaltogether or works four hours a day. Thisaffects her career and her pension. So theequality we talk about is not there yet!

Question: Has your government taken anysteps to address this?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: Absolutely! Weare proud to say that in the last four yearswe have established kindergartens, and allchildren who live with their mothers canavail of these facilities at reasonable ratesafter the age of one. The result is thatmothers and those who want to work canconveniently leave their children in thekindergartens.

Question: Do Norwegian women enjoythe same rights as men?

Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: Norwegianwomen have struggled long and hard fortheir rights. The truth is that if you yourselfare not going to demand them, no one willgive you your rights - women, youth,industrial workers, peasants, senior citi-zens - all. Our women have struggled, andour men too have understood that unlessyou make the women strong, you will notprogress. Hence, both men and womenhave together worked for these rights.Women have the same rights as men, buteven so they have not yet reached the samelevel.

Question: What is the percentage ofwomen's representation in Parliament? Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: About 45%, andthey have all been directly elected. Womenin Norway contest as equals, and there isno law for reserved seats for women orminorities. However, political parties havea sound tradition whereby some seats arereserved for women and candidates fromthe minority communities. The quota sys-tem prevails only in local bodies, and alsocommittees that are formed, for example,the Health, Education, Law or other com-mittees, are required by law to have 40%representation from men and women both.

Question: Is there any difference betweenmale and female members of theAssemblies, or do women face any dis-crimination? Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: There is no differ-ence and no discrimination. If there is anydifference, it is that the women are verypowerful!

Question: Do women parliamentariansparticipate actively in the proceedings?

Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: As I mentionedbefore, it was in 1911 that the first womenentered parliament. Then, in the 70s therewas a virtual revolution that made womenvery powerful. The first woman PrimeMinister was elected in 1986, and she wasa very strong Prime Minister. She stayedso long that, according to her, her grandsononce asked her: "Grandmother, can a manbecome Prime Minister?"

Her Cabinet had 19 or 20 members, ofwhom nine were women, and this was thenbig news in the country and abroad. Afterthis no Prime Minister has been able toeven think of a government withoutwomen! It is only when you work at sucha high level that change comes about.

In our Cabinet, at least one third womenare ministers and hold the necessaryauthority. In the past four or five electedgovernments, the Ministry of Defense hasalways been headed by a woman. Also, theSpeaker of the Parliament has been awoman.

When young people are elected toParliament, it is their responsibility to talk

on all issues, but people expect them tofocus mainly on youth. Similarly, women,even though they have a point of view onall matters, they are expected to focusespecially on women's issues. But this ischanging. The Penal Code in Norway,made in 1905, is currently being amended,and the argument is that the Penal Codewas made by and for men, and so it needsto be changed.

Question: How many Bills have beenpassed since your government has been inpower?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: It is difficult tosay, but I've heard that 27 or 29 Bills havebeen passed by your (Pakistani)Parliament. I think we pass that many Billsevery day! Our Parliament is convened onthe first Sunday of October and remains insession till the last Friday of June, andthere are three to five sittings every week,starting at 10 o'clock in the morning andcontinuing till 10 at night, sometimes later,even up to 2 am until the Bill is passed!

Question: Which particular women'sissues are being debated these days?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: One is thatwomen should be represented in all walksof life. Also, rape is a big issue in ourcountry. We are a small country with apopulation of less than 5 million, but eachyear hundreds of rapes are carried out.Nearly one-tenth of all these are reported.Women are in the forefront in taking upthis issue and drafting legislation to

address it. Question: Quite recently, a Bill againstsexual harassment of women in the workplace was passed in Pakistan. Is there asimilar law in Norway?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: Things are differ-ent in Pakistan and Norway. There is sexu-al harassment, but the context is different.Over here (in Pakistan) a woman cannoteven walk to the end of the street to buymilk without being harassed. This kind ofharassment is non-existent in Norway. Wehave actually strengthened our laws. Twoyears ago we modified our laws on rape tosay that the man should himself be able tojudge if the woman is not willing. Heshould not wait for her to physically resisthim, or tell him that she is not willing, orindicate her unwillingness by her body lan-guage. It is his responsibility to decide if itis willing intercourse. If there is the slight-est suspicion about it then the action willbe considered rape.

Question: What is the situation regardingdomestic violence?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: This is a hugeproblem. It is sometimes difficult to under-stand why there should be so much domes-

tic violence in our country. A substantiallylarge number of women suffer every yearbecause of domestic violence - even chil-dren are battered. I am a member of theCommittee on Justice and spokespersonfor my Party. There is much attentionbeing given to this issue.

Question: Are laws being made for this?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: Yes, with a senseof urgency. Laws are being made for theprotection of women and the rehabilitationof men. The root cause of violence againstwomen can be found in societal attitudes.My understanding of the issue is that mencannot tolerate being refused. When thewoman refuses to comply, the man resortsto violence. He does not understand thatthe woman too is an individual in her ownright, and she is entitled to refuse him oraccept him.

Question: Are there any support structuresfor women victims of violence?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: The governmenthas provided support since the past 30years. But 40 years ago, women them-selves, with some help from local gov-ernments set up some crisis centres. Nowthe government has established crisiscentres in each union council. In the big-ger cities, there are units smaller than theunion council, and these are required bylaw to have crisis centres. Hence in eachtown and all areas there are these cen-tres. But here too there are problems.Women who go to the centres are looked

down upon and are not respected bysociety.Our law says that the one who is commit-ting violence should move out of thehouse; not the person on whom violence isbeing inflicted. If the woman has to leave,the children too have to suffer with her.

Question: How can the man be asked toleave the house; because normally proper-ty is in the name of the man?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: No, it's not so.The property is owned jointly. Even if theman owns the property, he cannot throwthe woman out of the house. She is protect-ed by the law. The courts can rule that theman will not come within a distance of 100meters or 200 meters of the woman. Thewoman is given an alarm that she can pressif she sees the man, and the police willimmediately come to her assistance.

But at times, the man breaks a window toenter the house and the woman sounds thealarm, but by the time the police arriveshe has been killed! So, we have passedanother law that a clamp should be fittedaround the leg of such men, so that assoon as they step into the forbidden zonean alarm will immediately alert thepolice. Some people opposed this law, butthe majority supported it. It has now beenpassed and efforts are being made to man-ufacture the clamp.

Question: Is there a pressure group withinthe Norwegian Assembly that influenceslegislation concerning women. Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: Yes, there aresuch groups affiliated with different politi-cal parties. They have wings within par-ties.

Question: So, parties have women's wingsthere too.Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: There is no end ofthe road! In this journey you constantlyneed to strengthen yourself!

Question: Forced marriages seem to be abig issue in Norway. Are there many casesin the Pakistani Community? Often aftermarriage these cases lead to 'honourkillings.' What steps has the governmenttaken to deal with this problem? And havestrategies like the 'Action Plan againstForced Marriages' been effective?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: Pakistani societyand its norms are reflected in Pakistanicommunities, and Muslim societies arereflected in Muslim communities wherev-er they are in a minority all over the world.That is why we try and interact with AuratFoundation, Sungi and other organizationsto strengthen our women. If there is somepositive change here, it will have an effectin our country too.

Forced marriages are a problem inNorway. Violence against Pakistaniwomen and violation of their rights is a bit-ter reality. When women get married andcome to Norway, most are unaware ofNorwegian law. They are not permitted togo outside the house. New arrivals aregiven permanent residential permits onlyafter they have been here for three years.This is misused. The woman is told thatshe will be thrown out of the house.Heaven knows how she adjusts to theseconditions! Even after three years if theman wants he may or may not give herpassport.

Forced marriages in Pakistani community are a problemFrom Page 2

Continued on next Page

�Pakistani society and its norms arereflected in Pakistani communities,

and Muslim societies are reflected inMuslim communities wherever they

are in a minority all over the world�.

�The Penal Code in Norway, madein 1905, is currently being amended,

and the argument is that the PenalCode was made by and for men, and

so it needs to be changed�.

�Women�s representation in ourParliament is about 45%, and they

have all been directly elected. Womencontest as equals, and there is no law

for reserved seats for women orminorities�.

�Violence against Pakistani women andviolation of their rights is a bitter reality.When women get married and come to

Norway, most are unaware ofNorwegian law�.

Interview with Mr Akhtar Chaudhry

4

We have tried to address this issue too. If itis proved that the woman has been subject-ed to violence, the government can issueher an Independent Residence Permit, sothat she should not have to put up with aviolent situation only because of the fearthat she will be thrown out of the house.

Problems have become magnified in ourcountry. There are political elements whosay minorities, especially Muslims, shouldnot marry partners from Muslim countries,or from their own mother country, becauseit hinders integration. If immigrants areconstantly coming into the country theremust be integration. But, we believe thatsuch a law cannot be passed to stop suchmarriages because it is your basic right tomarry whosoever you wish.

Question: But is there such a lobby?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: There is, and it isvery powerful! But we can also see that itis harmful. My children are not Pakistanichildren. My children were born there;they studied in institutions where otherNorwegian children study. Their fathermigrated from Pakistan some time in thepast. They will think kindly about thiscountry - it was their grandfather's country- but the girl herself is Norwegian. If youmarry her to a Pakistani man, even if he isas well-educated as she is, the difference inmindset will remain. For this reason thereare clashes and the marriage breaks up!

Question: How successful has the ActionPlan adopted by the Norwegian Ministryof Children and Equality been in dealingwith such cases? Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: Denmark has for-bidden marriages outside the country. Wetoo have imposed certain restrictions, suchas: the reunion age should be around 21years, the partners should at least have ahigh school degree, or should have workedfor at least four years after basic education,he/she should have a reasonable income.The purpose is that after home and schoolthey should have developed some relation-ship with other people and should knowabout their basic rights. Also, his or hercontacts with other people should bestrong enough to be able to call uponsomebody for help, if needed.

We have appointed Advisors in schools,especially schools where there are morechildren from the minority communities.There is also an Advisor in the Embassy ofPakistan whose job is to remain in touchwith those who come from Pakistan to getmarried here, and be watchful that forcedmarriages don't take place.

Question: Is the violence against womensituation the same in all countries?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: Not at all!European politicians don't lie to you. Theyadmit it if there is a problem. But Europeanpoliticians are working honestly and sin-cerely to address the problem.

Question: Are martial laws (military rule)ever imposed in Norway?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: We have a prettysmall army in Norway! Only 13 000 sol-diers. But Pakistan always does things thatare contrary to good sense! We Muslimshad long ago decided that armies should beanswerable to the civilian government.Khalid bin Walid was a very capableGeneral. When he was serving outside the

country for a while, Hazrat Omar (RA)recalled him. People asked, why are youcalling him back? He has won many victo-ries and expanded your kingdom, butHazrat Omar (RA) said: He is a Generaland a General must not be more powerfulthan a civilian head of state. So this issuewas settled a long time ago!

Question: How do you see women's rightsin the context of the political, cultural andsocial situation in Pakistan? Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: I am pained to seethe situation in Pakistan. Those who are inresponsible positions lack courage, and sothe forces of darkness are strengthened.The tragedy is that those, in whom we hadplaced our hopes that they would dispel thesuffocation and give women and minoritiestheir just rights and scatter the dark cloudsof religious extremism, are displaying lackof sense. They perhaps believe that theywill win more votes this way, and with abigger vote bank they will be able to imple-ment their policies. I doubt that if you havecome into power with the votes of thesedark forces, you will be able to implementyour policies! You will not be able to fol-low anything other than their agenda.

I was present in the President House whenmembers of your ParliamentaryCommittee that finalized the 18thAmendment were given awards, and wassad to see that there was not a singlewoman among them. I asked about thisand was told that there were no womenmembers in the committee. Pakistan was acountry of 180 million people in 2010, andthere are no women in this important par-liamentary committee! This would signifythat no woman in the country is capable ofcontributing to the committee! But thereare capable women! Those who put thecommittee together did not have the senseto realize that strong and independentwomen must be included.

The communication between our twocountries must be maintained. I have metthe Speaker Dr. Fehmida Mirza, and I willgo back and tell them that the highest posi-tion after the President of Pakistan is heldby a capable and accomplished woman.This is a very positive development.

Question: Do you think that the presentreligious extremism is worsening the prob-lems for Pakistani women?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: When SalmanTaseer was assassinated, if the President,the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, theChief Minister of Punjab and Members ofthe National and Punjab Assemblies hadbeen present at his funeral, it would havesent a strong and resolute message to thenation. But the message they are nowsending out is that you are so powerful thatwe are supporting you! I told the Governorof Punjab that you have built these highwalls around you, but if you think thatmakes you safe, it will not. You will onlybe strong if you, with 100 others, stand onthe road and state firmly that such actionsand attitudes are not acceptable inPakistan. How many people will they kill?

About ten years ago, in Norway someextremist youths came out on the streets.They had only one plan: to kill a non-whiteperson that day. They got hold of a 14-year-old boy and killed him. This was the firstracist murder in our country. That same

evening all the important forces - the PrimeMinister, the Justice Minister, the PoliceCommissioner, the City Mayor andProvincial Ministers came out in protest.And three or four days later, at probably thelargest demonstration ever, where all theimportant people were present, they gave thecollective message that this country wouldnot tolerate such actions and behaviour.

The world does not have a good impres-sion about Pakistan. Everyone believesthat Pakistani women are suffering and arefacing immense difficulties.

We are closely watching Pakistan, as is thewhole world. This is a huge country with apopulation of 180 million. It is a nuclearpower and has the fifth largest army in theworld. But the behaviour of its people isworrying. This pains us, but Pakistan itself issuffering the greatest harm! The ex-PrimeMinister of the country was assassinated; theGovernor of the largest province has beenassassinated, a Federal Minister has beenassassinated. These are very dangerous por-tents. Pakistan must first of all address thisextremist behaviour. Its politicians and lead-ers must act with courage. But unfortunatelythis is not happening! And not only politi-cians, but media and intellectuals too are notdoing what they should be doing. Pakistanseems to be in a civil war, and whoever actswith boldness and courage will win!

I have spoken to several people here aboutthis. Whether it was the Senate Chairman,Speaker of the National Assembly, FederalMinisters, Speaker of the Punjab Assemblyor the Governor Punjab, I highlightedissues concerning women and minorities,told them that we were concerned andemphasized that greater efforts needed tobe made to urgently address the situation.

Question: You have described some bestpractices. Should these be shared with theGovernment?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: We speak about itin our conversations. Norwegian fundingin Pakistan too is focused; 40 million dol-lars funding in the next four years is gearedtowards achieving the MillenniumDevelopment Goals for women and chil-dren in Sindh. And this year we are spend-ing 6 million dollars on children's educa-tion in this country. Also, 3.5 million arebeing given to Women Organizations likeAurat Foundation to spend on women andminorities.

We divide our funding into three parts: onepart we give to the United Nations, anoth-er part to NGOs and a smaller portion togovernment. There is some concern in ourParliament about corruption in the govern-ment; that is why we route our fundingthrough the United Nations and throughNGOs and organizations.

Question: What is your impression; doPakistanis really love their country? Or dothey just talk?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: They definitelylove Pakistan very much, but many don'tknow how to express it! People think itmeans that we should always be ready tosacrifice their lives; when all it means isthat if the rules say we should drive on theleft side of the road, then you must driveon the left! Serving Pakistan means that ifyou have to be in the office at 8 am thenyou must be there at 8 am, not 0805 am!

Question: Why do you think Pakistan isnot making progress?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: I feel sad to thinkthat wherever revolutions have takenplace, it was because there was exploita-tion, injustice and inequality in that coun-try. The upper classes were exploiting thelower classes. Then the people of the coun-try rose up against it and said: we cannottolerate this any longer. But unfortunately,in Pakistan people say there is exploitationand injustice and corruption, but they tooseek to become beneficiaries of the sys-tem, and don't oppose it!

Question: How do you feel about beingawarded the Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: It is a great hon-our for me. I have also won an award inNorway by being elected as DeputySpeaker, and I am grateful to God! But myParty thought and discussed about Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam. Our Party does not oftenaccept awards. We are vey careful and weseriously discussed whether the awardshould be accepted.

Question: Why did you have such reserva-tions?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: Because you haveto consider why you are being given theaward. You are just doing your job, so whythe award? Awards can make us think toomuch of ourselves, that we belong to somespecial class, and the way we think affectsour work. So we thought about it a greatdeal and decided that we can use this as ameans to strengthen relations between ourtwo countries. Otherwise too, the worldhas shrunk. Now no Pakistani is aPakistani and no Norwegian is aNorwegian. It was in this capacity that Imet with your government representativesand conveyed to them all the things whichI considered very important.

A few days ago a young man in Stockholmexploded a bomb. Fortuitously, only hehimself was killed. If ten people had beenkilled, there could have mourning in Dina,Gujrat, too, because people from all overthe world live in Stockholm. Now youcan't kill only white people. Your own peo-ple also get killed.

Question: What is your message for thepeople of Pakistan?Mr Akhtar Chaudhry: Whatever I amsaying is against my mandate, against pro-tocol! I am the Deputy Speaker of a foreigncountry, and I am sitting in your country.And there is a principle that you will notinterfere in the domestic affairs of anothercountry. But I love this country, and whileremaining within my limits I will stress thatit is absolutely necessary to rid Pakistan ofreligious extremism, because this will bebeneficial for everyone.

Those countries that have left religiousextremism behind are the ones that are suc-cessful. All the maulvis combined couldnot have made this country. It was a secu-lar man who did this. It is now necessary tocall a halt to religious extremism, and to dothis it is necessary to act with courage. Thecorrect interpretation of Quran will helpyou to achieve this goal.

Our people have so much knowledge. Youjust have to read Allama Iqbal. In the lastpoem in Bal-e-Jibreel the devil is addressinghis advisors. Iqbal has spelt out all the waysin which the Muslims will be destroyed. TheMuslims must read this from time to time.

Norwegian assistance geared towards social developmentFrom Page 3 Interview with Mr Akhtar Chaudhry

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

One of the landmark features of the 18thConstitutional Amendment, passed by theParliament in April 2010, was the strengthening ofprovincial autonomy through abolition of concur-rent list of the Constitution. Devolution of powerand resources to the provinces has been a long-standing demand of the smaller provinces andexponents of people-centred development inPakistan. Under the 18th Amendment, 40 of the 47subjects in the concurrent list are to be handed overto provinces before June 30, 2011, the deadline setin the package.Under the implementation package,the process of devolution of several federal min-istries including the Ministry of Women'sDevelopment, has either been completed or is nearcompletion.

With regard to process of devolution and provincialautonomy, there is complete consensus within civilsociety organizations that maximum provincialautonomy should be ensured and all measures inaccordance with the letter and spirit of the 18thAmendment must be undertaken and implementedin all sincerity. However, a number of women'srights organizations have serious apprehensionsthat some critical issues are being overlooked bythe decision-makers vis-à-vis the devolution ofMinistry of Women's Development (MoWD).These need to be elaborated here with the purposeof preserving the gains made by women's rightsmovement in exercise of affirmative action meas-ures under the 1973 Constitution over the decades.The establishment of the MoWD has been one ofthe outcomes of this struggle. The foremost concernis that which mechanism will ensure that women'sinterests are cross cutting at the national level afterthe MoWD's devolution; which agency, ministry ormechanism will be responsible for policy sugges-tions, national laws and national plans; what will bethe focal point at the national level and whereprovincial plans and programmes are integrated fornational programme and plan processes and; whichmechanism will be responsible for ensuring theimplementation of international norms, commit-ments, conventions and policies. The civil societyorganizations believe that this role should not bedispersed under different mechanisms, e.g. to EAD,Planning Commission, Cabinet Division etc. Noneof these mechanisms have a women-specific focusor internal commitment which would ensure unifor-mity, connectivity, ownership, continuity and cross-cutting nature of women's interests that have beenearned by them through a historic struggle , nation-ally and globally.

Let us not lose one gain in order to win another.

EDITORIAL

ISLAMABAD: Women Members of the NationalAssembly accounted for almost half of the parlia-mentary agenda conducted during the third parlia-mentary year of the thirteenth National Assembly,according to parliamentary records and FAFEN'sdirect observation of proceedings between March11, 2010 and March 4, 2011.

Women constitute less than one-quarter (23%) of theNational Assembly's current 340 members - 77female parliamentarians, 60 elected on reservedseats and 17 elected through popular vote. Despitetheir significant underrepresentation, womenMembers actively participated in the parliamentarybusiness and remained more assertive and effectiveas compared to many of their male counterparts inthe National Assembly that is headed by the coun-try's first woman Speaker.

The women parliamentarians put up 2,458 parlia-mentary interventions during the entire third parlia-mentary year. FAFEN defines a parliamentary inter-vention as each of the instances when a Member ofthe National Assembly either submits an agendaitem on the Orders of the Day (Calling AttentionNotices, Questions, Private Members' Bills, etc.) orraises his/her concerns during a debate on the floorof the House (Points of Order, SupplementaryQuestions, Debate on Adjournment Motions, etc.).

Despite the fact that 18 women parliamentariansfailed to participate in any form of parliamentarybusiness during the entire year and 43 women parlia-mentarians came up with less than 10 parliamentaryinterventions, the remaining 34 female parliamentar-ians contributed almost half of the parliamentarybusiness conducted during the year.

There were 10 female parliamentarians, who con-tributed more than 100 interventions each during theyear. These 10 active parliamentarians can be creditedfor 60% of the participation registered by all femaleparliamentarians. In other words, these 10 womenMembers accounted for around one-quarter of the par-liamentary activity in the National Assembly duringthe year. All the women parliamentarians conductingmore than 100 parliamentary interventions have beenelected on reserved seats and with the exception of oneMember of PML, all belong to PMLN.

Female parliamentarians with more than 100 inter-ventions include Ms. Shireen Arshad Khan with 176interventions, Ms. Marvi Memon (171), Ms. NuzhatSadiq (164), Ms. Tahira Aurangzeb (161), Ms.Qudsia Arshad (155), Ms. Nisar Tanveer (154), Ms.Khalida Mansoor (131), Ms. Tasneem Siddiqui(130), Ms. Nighat Parveen Mir (120) and Ms.Shaheen Ashfaq (114). With the exception of Ms.Marvi Memon from the PML, all of these parliamen-tarians are affiliated with the PMLN. On average,each of these 10 parliamentarians put up 112 ques-tions. More than one third of the total questions(34%), which were tabled on the floor of the Housewere put up by these parliamentarians.

The women parliamentarians elected through popu-lar vote contributed to only 8% of the interventionsto the participation registered by all female parlia-mentarians. The popularly elected women make22% of the parliamentary strength of femaleMembers in the National Assembly. There were fivepopularly elected women parliamentarians who didnot register any participation during the entire year,while another six parliamentarians made less than 10interventions. There were five female parliamentari-ans -- four from PPPP and one PMLN -- elected

through popular vote, who made more than 20 par-liamentary interventions each during the third parlia-mentary year in the National Assembly. Amongpopularly elected women Members Dr. Azra AfzalPacheho (PPPP), Ms. Saira Afzal Tarar (PMLN) andMrs. Shamshad Sattar Bachani (PPPP) put up 54, 34,and 30 parliamentary interventions, respectively.

Agenda-wise, during the third parliamentary year, 136Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) moved130 Calling Attention Notices (CANs), of which 37(29%) were women Members. In total, female MNAscollaborated with their male colleagues in submitting108 CANs (82%). CAN is an important parliamentarybusiness through which Members call attention ofsome ministry to an issue of urgent nature.

Female parliamentarians' contribution to oversightof executive through putting questions was exempla-ry, as out of 3,339 questions raised in the Assemblyduring the third parliamentary year, more than half(1,685 or 51%) were put forward by femaleMembers. On average, 22 questions were submittedby each female MNA, almost four times more ques-tions than their male counterparts.

In legislation, which is a core business of theNational Assembly, female parliamentarians werequite active in bringing up Private Members' Bills.Out of 34 Private Members' Bills on the Orders ofthe Day, half (17, or 50%) were submitted by singlefemale Members, including the only PrivateMembers' Bill passed by the Assembly during thethird parliamentary year. More than one-fourth(28.9%) of the Members who took part in debateabout the budget proposals were women, with a totalof 33 female parliamentarians (44% of all femaleMNAs) taking an active role.

Women Members also sponsored 75 Resolutions(94.9% of Resolutions put forward) either independ-ently or jointly with male or female Members, andmore than half of all Resolutions (46, or 58%) wereput forth by individual female Members.Resolutions are a crucial part of the parliamentaryagenda, through which the House expresses its opin-ion on some issue.

Female MNAs also took part in other agenda itemsincluding Motions Under Rule 259 and discussionon Matters of Public Importance. Women MNAswere active in the submission of 55 (80.9%) MotionsUnder Rule 259, including 12 Motions (18%) joint-ly sponsored by male and female Members, eightMotions (12%) tabled by groups of femaleMembers, and 35 (51%) Motions put forth by indi-vidual female Members.

Fourteen Matters of Public Importance were broughtforth by 22 Members of the National Assembly,including 10 male Members (4% of 263 maleMembers) and 12 female Members (16% of 77female Members). As many as 41 female Members(53.2% of all women MNAs) from six parliamentaryparties participated in raising Points of Order duringthe third parliamentary year.

Women Members raised a total of 199 Points of Orderduring the year, including 23 POs related to non-inclu-sion of their submitted agenda items on Orders of theDay or seeking permission to take part in discussionson agenda items submitted by other Members.

(Courtesy to Free and Free Election Network - anetwork of 44 civil society organizations working tofoster democratic accountabilities in Pakistan)

Women legislators outshine in third Parliamentary Year

6

[In order to discuss and mark the commongrounds between the government institu-tions, donors and civil society organiza-tions, in the up-coming recovery and reha-bilitation work for the affectees of August2010 floods, the National HumanitarianNetwork - NHN (a network of civil societyorganizations) presented and discussedCitizens' Charter of Demand at a RoundTable titled 'Reviewing Post-FloodSituation & Framing Way Forward onCitizens Charter of Demands' on March 2,2011, at the Islamabad Hotel. We are re-producing important demands from thecharter for readers' information.]

1. End Monopoly: We urgesocial movements and CSOs to joinhands for the implementation of thearticle 38 of the Constitution ofPakistan which prohibits the monopolyof a few families over the means of pro-ductive resources and guarantees hous-ing, employment, and social services tothe people. We also urge the govern-ment to introduce comprehensivereform package that eliminate monop-oly of feudal/tribal chiefs and cartels.

2. End Disparities: Civil societymembers note that existing social, gen-der and regional disparities have wors-ened due to the floods. They demandthat the state revisit its exclusionarynational policies that lie at the root ofthe existing social and economic gaps,the burden of which has been borne bythe poor and the deprived of Pakistan.

3. Announce RehabilitationPlan: The governments should makethe rehabilitation plan public and invitebroader consultation for rehabilitation.

4. Decentralise Relief/Rehabilitation: We note with concernthat the over-centralized disaster man-agement structures and dismantling ofthe local government bodies worsenedthe damage caused by floods. The stateneeds to restore these structures anddecentralize disaster management toenable a quick state response to disas-ters.

5. Cancel Foreign Debt: Wedemand the immediate implementationof the Senate resolution on debt writeoff. Rather than continuing with itsunproductive spending, the stateshould introduce public austeritymeasures and control defence spend-ing.

6. Disburse 2nd Tranche of theWatan Cards Now: The amount promised by thestate under the Watan Cards systemshould be released immediately. Thestate must announce a date by whichtime the second instalment of theWatan Cards is released. The state should redevelop thecriteria for issuing the Watan Cards asthe existing one excludes people withno CNICs and widowed women by wayof the provision for 'head of the family'.

The current administrationregulating Watan Cards is inadequate.In many parts of the country, the ATMmachines are not operating. The gov-ernment should set up mobile ATMsfor the Watan Cards.

7. Improve Farmers' Package:There is substantial information gapwith regards to the Farmers Package,its content and the mechanism con-cerning its distribution. Due to lack ofinformation, farmers are unable toaccess the package. The state shouldaddress the issue of duplication ofchannels of distribution for the farm-ers' package as currently multiple gov-ernment agencies are simultaneouslyimplementing the Farmers Package.

8. Restoration ofInfrastructure: The means of com-munication destroyed during thecourse of floods must be restored andtheir construction quality and designshould incorporate risk reduction.

9. Restore Social ServicesImmediately: Schools and healthunits destroyed should be immediatelyreconstructed. The new reconstructedstructures should be accessible towomen. In this regard, mobile healthunits for areas with inadequate healthfacilities need to be initiated.

10. Rehabilitation of Women: State land should be distrib-uted among flood affectees, especiallyto women involved in farming. As astarting point, women should be giventwo acres to initiate small-scale agri-culture activities on their own. Womenshould be given assistance with seeds,water, training and seed-funding tocultivate their land. Full compensation for live-stock losses should be given to thewomen directly since women are pri-mary caretakers of household animals. Women artisans (home basedhandicrafts workers) should be provid-ed tools and compensation on urgentbasis to resume livelihoods. The health needs of womenand children should be prioritized andtraditional birth attendants should bere-recruited to assist women. Gender DiscriminationsComplaint Cells should be establishedat District or Tehsil levels to allow

women to register complaints of sexu-al harassment, gender discriminationand denial of services. Women should be included indecision-making processes at all levelsin disaster mitigation efforts. Womenshall be given representation inDDMAs, PDMAs and NDMA.

11. Protection of Children'sRights: Children's education should beresumed in all locations so that chil-dren can start normal life in order tolessen their trauma and stress. Sincethose who lost all their assets in thefloods are in no position to continuethe education of their children, thegovernment should respond to thedemands of the flood affectees to pro-vide free education and stipend to theaffectee's children. The continuous displacementand sluggish pace of rehabilitation hasexposed children to a number of vul-nerabilities including physical and sex-ual abuse and child labour. The gov-ernment shall set up Child RightsComplaint Cells at district level thatshould be linked to facilities offeringprotection to children.

12. Vocational Training: Thereshould be specific focus on youth ofaffected areas. The Benazir YouthSupport Programme should create spe-cial provision of educational, vocation-al, and social programmes directedspecifically at youth.

13. Cancellation of OutstandingDebts of Haris: The damage caused tothe cultivated land and the missedcrops cycle resulting from floods havealready pushed haris (farmers) furtherdown the poverty spiral. The govern-ment, therefore, shall cancel all out-standing debts of the haris from theaffected areas.

14. Social Security for FloodAffectees and Agriculture Workers:Flood affectees should be registeredfor social security without delay.Workers who have lost their livelihoodduring the course of floods must beimmediately provided unemploymentallowance. Furthermore, the stateshould initiate specific social securityschemes directed at agriculture work-ers.

15. Land Reforms: To addresspoverty, the poor need assets to sustaintheir livelihoods, which, in case ofrural areas, are titles to land. The gov-ernment must set up a commission toexplore options for land reformsincluding the purchase of excess landholdings from landlords to distribute tothe landless.

16. Pay Special Attention onDoubly Affected Areas: The areassuch as Swat, Kohistan, Dir andJaffarabad have already been affectedby military operations; thus, the recentfloods have aggravated their economicdeprivation. These areas should bepaid special attention for relief opera-tions and rehabilitation.

17. Build on Existing Structures:Instead of creating new structures dur-ing emergencies, it is always better towork through existing social networks,as it is tested, effective and efficient.The government and donor agenciesshall therefore, work with the localpartners and re-build the existing struc-tures.

18. Respect UN-GuidingPrinciples: All humanitarian interven-tions should incorporate UN-GuidingPrinciples, the Sphere Standards andthe relevant articles of the Constitutionof Pakistan.

19. Reinstate Local Councillors:Elected local councils provide the beststructures to cope with any disaster.The NDMA Disaster ManagementPlan 2010 is also heavily dependent onelected local councillors. Therefore,we demand immediate reinstatementof the local councils.

20. Census: The forthcoming cen-sus should be inclusive, broad-basedand represent the diversity in language,ethnicity, religious backgrounds, pro-fessional occupation and other aspects,that characterise Pakistan's population.The flood affectees have demandedthat the union councils should registerthe village level population.

21. Peace and Security: Stateshalll make efforts to curb extremismand militancy that has crippled thesocial, economic and political progressof the country. Fast track action is need-ed to stop the recruitment drive by theextremists to lure children and youthinto furthering their destructive causes.

22. Safeguard MinoritiesRights: During the recent floods, therehave been host of complaints regardingdiscriminatory treatment meted out tothe minorities in the course of the reliefphase. The post floods rehabilitationorder must outline minorities' rights asa priority agenda. In addition, the stateshould form adequate structures tomonitor progress on addressingminorities' issues and their access tostate institutions be facilitated.

Citizens' Charter for rehabilitation of flood affectees

(From L to R) Karamat Ali, Samina Khan, Senator Jan Jamali, speaking as thechief guest at the round table, Naseer Memon, Sarwar Bari, Irfan Mufti.

7

AF Staff Report

Aurat Foundation released the statis-tics on violence against women inPakistan during 2010. The data wasreleased in March 2011, at a pressconference in Islamabad. Accordingto the figures, there were 8000 inci-dents of violence against women inthe country in 2010. Based on thereported cases in a majority of news-papers of Pakistan, no FIR was regis-tered in a large number of incidents,reflecting the citizens' lack of confi-dence in police.

Out of a total 8000 incidents, as manyas 5492 cases of violence were report-ed from Punjab; 1652 from Sindh;650 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 79from Baluchistan and 127 fromIslamabad. The figures of Islamabadare alarming given the smaller popu-lation and high security maintained inthe capital.

Of the total incidents, 2236 womenwere abducted; 1436 women weremurdered and 557 were killed in thename of ' honour'; 928 women wereraped; 633 women committed suicide;32 women were made victim of acidattacks and 38 women were target ofstove burning. This is a grim reminder

that evil social practices persist, suchas the fact that several women wereexchanged like cattle to settle disputesadjudicated by illegal jirgas, or hun-dreds were killed on the pretext of so-called 'honour'.

There has been 13 % increase in theviolence against women in 2009 overthe preceding year in 2008. But thedata analysis of 2010 reflects adecrease of 6% over the preceding yearin 2009.

The decrease in figures is due to thefact that the recent natural catastrophein the country not only damaged themain infrastructure of most of theflood affected districts but also led tothe loss of valuable official, judicialand crime records. Moreover, as themedia's focus was also shifted in high-lighting the relief activities throughoutthe country, the women related issueswere less reported.

The collected data represents thereported incidence of violence againstwomen from 113 Districts of Pakistani.e. 36 districts of Punjab; 23 of Sindh;26 of KPK; 28 of Baluchistan,Islamabad Capital Territory and feder-ally and Provincially AdministeredAreas.

The FIR status of the gathered datareveals that 3650 cases reported wereregistered while 1118 cases were notregistered. The remaining 430 cases have no information aboutwhether or not the cases been regis-tered or not.

Following is the break down of thecompiled 8000 cases reported in 2010on regional basis:

2236 cases of abduction/kid-napping:(1890 in Punjab; 246 in Sindh; 77 in KPK; 2 in Balochistan; 21 in Islamabad);

1436 cases of murder:(758 in Punjab; 309 in Sindh; 328 inKPK; 15 in Balochistan; 27 in Islamabad);

928 cases of rape/gang-rape:(741 in Punjab; 157 in Sindh; 5 in KPK; 6 in Balochistan; 19 in Islamabad);

633 cases of suicide:(424 in Punjab; 164 in Sindh; 54 in KPK; 8 in Balochistan; 7 in Islamabad);

557 cases of 'honor' killing:(233 in Punjab; 266 in Sindh; 22 in KPK; 36 in Balochistan; 0 in Islamabad);

486 cases of domestic violence:

(246 in Punjab; 136 in Sindh; 89 in KPK; 4 in Balochistan; 11 in Islamabad);

74 cases of sexual assault:(39 in Punjab; 34 in Sindh; 0 in KPK; 0 in Balochistan; 1 in Islamabad);

38 cases of burning:(33 in Punjab; 0 in Sindh; 3 in KPK; 1 in Balochistan; 1 in Islamabad);

32 cases of acid throwing:(20 in Punjab; 3 in Sindh; 0 in KPK; 5 in Balochistan; 3 in Islamabad);

1579 cases of violence were ofmiscellaneous nature:

(vanni/swara, custodial violence, torture, trafficking, child marriages, incest, threat to violence, sexualharassment, attempted murder, Land Encroaching, harassment at workplace, suicide & rape) in the four provinces and in Islamabad.

Unfortunately, the number and per-centage of the cases of abduction/kid-napping are 2236 with a very high pro-portion of 27.95%. Murder combinedwith 'honor' killings total to anotherugly figure of 1193, constituting14.9% of total crimes against women,with 1436 murders of women(17.95%) and 557 'honor' killing ofwomen (6.96%).

8,000 incidents of violence against women during 2010

AF Staff Report

Gender Equity Program of AuratFoundation, supported by USAID, cel-ebrated 100 years of InternationalWomen's Day with the inaugural meet-ing of National Advisory Forum andlaunch of a documentary "Main SafarMain Hoon". Both the events wereheld on 26 March, 2011, at a localhotel in Islamabad.

Members of the National AdvisorForum include Dr Nafisa Shah,Secretary General of Women'sParliamentary Caucus, Ms AnisHaroon, Chairperson, NationalCommission on the Status of Women,Ms Samina Khalid Ghurki, FederalMinister Women's Development, MsShahnaz Wazir Ali, member NationalAssembly, Ms Yasmeen Rehman,member National Assembly, SenatorNilofar Bakhtiar, Ms Saadia Danish,Advisor to Chief Minister, GilgitBaltistan, Ms Ghazala Gola, ProvincialMinister on Women's Development,Balochistan, Ms Sitara Ayaz,Provincial Minister on Women'sDevelopment, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Ms. Tauqeer Fatimah Bhutto,Provincial Minister on Women'sDevelopment, Sindh, Mr KamranMichael, Provincial Minister onWomen's Development, Punjab,Justice (Retd.) Majida Razvi, MrEhsan Sadiq, AIG, Islamabad Police,Ms Samina Pirzada, renowned TV

artist and women's right activist and DrAlya Khan, Professor Department ofEconomics, QAU.

Dr Nafisa Shah, while addressing theparticipants, expressed hope thatGender Equity Programme of AuratFoundation would deliver effectivelythe much needed financial support forwomen's rights. She expressed hopethat the joint efforts of government andcivil society organization would surelyresult in a gender sensitive and justsociety in Pakistan.

Dr. Marilyn Wyatt told the forum that

the United States has made a long-termcommitment to improving the lives ofwomen in Pakistan and that all U.S.development strategies reflect theimportance of women's core roles inraising families, providing health care,running businesses, providing educa-tion and feeding children.

Ms Anis Haroon said women�s strug-gle over 100 years has resulted in someimportant gains nationally and global-ly, which women must preserve.

Ms Saadia Danish, in her address high-lighted the problems of women in

Giligit Baltistan. Ms Ghazala Gola,stressed that women of Balochistanwere not behind anyone; and they aredetermined to contribute to nationalstruggle for equality and justice for all.Ms Tauqeer Fatima Bhutto said thatwomen in rural areas are so muchcaught in making bread and butter fortheir family that they are unaware oftheir basic rights. Ms Sitara Ayaz saidthat people of Khyber Pakhtunkhaware in a state of war, which is affectingwomen's very basic human righs. MrKamran Michael appreciated AuratFoundation for its composed strugglefor women's empowerment.

Mr Naeem Mirza, Chief OperatingOfficer, Aurat Foundation, earlier wel-comed and briefed the participants on theGender Equity Program and introducedthe National Advisory Forum (NAF) andits members. Ms Simi Kamal, Chief ofParty, Gender Equity Program stated thatNAF is an important national forum forconsultation and brainstorming broadergender equity/equality strategies and itcan provide direction to GEP, as well asto the government and other gender enti-ties in the country.

A documentary "Main Safar MainHoon" was also screened at the end ofthe event. The documentary focused onthe 100 year journey of women all overthe world, particularly highlighting theachievements and sacrifices of Pakistaniwomen, starting from 1911 till 2011.

National Advisory Forum of GEP launched

Dr Nafisa Shah speaking at the event as Chief Guest; on stage (L-R), Simi Kamal,COP GEP, Sitara Ayaz, Provincial Minister on Women's Development, KP,Ghazala Gola, Provincial Minister on Women's Development, Balochistan, DrMarilyn Wyatt and Anis Haroon, Chairperson, National Commission on the Statusof Women.

8

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani women and their support-ers observed 12 February and 8 March in 2011 withrenewed vigour and resolved to continue their stug-gle for equality, justice peace and democracy in allmajor cities of Pakistan. Members of civil societyorganizations, women's rights activists and peoplesfrom different walks of life held a rally on 8thMarch, 2011, under the platform of Insani HaqooqIttehad (IHI), from Clock Chowk, Kalsoom Plaza toParade Chowk, in front of the Parliament House inIslamabad. Women's Charter of Demand, read out byRabeeha Hadi from Aurat Foundation. The partici-pants were carrying 'Doves of Peace', which wereprepared by the school children and teachers ofKhaldunya High School.

While commemorating the National Women'sDay, on 12th February, Aurat Foundation andOXFAM-GB, under 'Raising Her Voice' programme,jointly paid tribute to women leaders from grass-roots on 11 February, 2011 at Holiday Inn,Islamabad. Mukhtaran Mai, an icon of struggle andcourage in Pakistan and abroad, Dr Aman Mustafaand Haleema Bhutto were guests of honour. Womenleaders Ms Riffat Khan, Qamar Bano, RaziaSultana, Razia Mudassar, Surya Manzoor, AttiyaBatool and Ghazala Anjum, told their stories. SarkarAbbass, Advocate Supreme Court and Feroza Zahra,Programme Manager, Raising Her Voice, Oxfam,also spoke at the event.

National Commission on the Status of Women(NCWS) in collaboration with Aurat Foundation,Pothohar Organization for Development Advocacy(PODA) and Pakistan Television (PTV) jointlyorganized a public gathering on February 11, 2011, atthe Pakistan National Council of Arts, Islamabad.Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Advisor to Prime Minister, pre-sented the history of women's struggle for equalrights and status in Pakistan. Anis Haroon,Chairperson NCSW, gave a guiding presentation onthe 'Way Forward - Where we do go now from here'.Earlier, Zahida Hina spoke on the socio-culturalaspect of religious extremism and its impact onwomen. Rehana Taufique and Shabnam Shakeelread their poetry on women's struggle. Renownedsinger Fareeha Pervez sang famous poems.

In another event, Insani Haqooq Ittehad organized adiscussion on 'Religious Extremism and its Impact onWomen', on February 12, 2011, at National Library

Auditorium, Islamabad. Representatives of civilsociety organizations, women rights activists, studentfrom universities and women from grassroots wereamong the participants. Bushra Goher, Chairperson,Standing Committee on Women Development, in her

address, said that religious extremism andTalbanization have roots in state systems and policieslike education system and policies. Justice (R) NasiraJavaid Iqbal said that although Pakistan ratifiedCEDAW in 1996, it has failed to remove discrimina-tory laws against women. Today women's rights inPakistan are progressively deteriorating. Dr FarzanaBari, Rukhshanda Naz, Director, Samina Khan, alsospoke on the occasion. A recorded interview offamous poet Kishwar Naheed was also played for theparticipants. Alya Mirza, another women activist,

also read her poem. Pictures of '12th February lathicharg 1983' were also shown in a slide show.

In Lahore, the 100th International Women's Day wascelebrated by Aurat Foundation and HomeNetPakistan jointly by organizing an envet, including apanel discussion, on March 7, 2011, in the premisesof Punjab Assembly. Women parliamentarians, repre-sentatives from civil society organizations, politicaland social activists and media participated in theevent. Faiza Malik, MPA-PPPP presented a declara-tion on women�s rights issues. The panelists includedZakia Shahnawaz, Advisor to CM for SpecialEducation, Social and Population Welfare, MehnazRafi, renowned women's rights activist, Azma ZahidBukhari, MPA-PPPP, Amna Ulfat, MPA-PML (Q)and Arifa Khalid, MPA-PML (N).

In Karachi, around thirty Karachi-based organiza-tions organized a grand rally from Karachi PressClub to Arts Council of Pakistan. Members of citizenaction committees (CACs), media, school teachers,nurses and lady health workers (LHWs) joined thecelebrations in large numbers. In a seperate event,Aurat Foundation, distributed shields to women leg-islators of Sindh Assembly in a seminar and culturalevening organized at the Sindh Assembly buildingon 14 March, 2011. The distinguished guests on thepanel included Nisar A Khuhro, Speaker SindhAssembly, Shehla Raza, Deputy Speaker, Sindh,Tauqeer Fatima Bhutto, Minister for Women'sDevelopment, Nargis N D Khan, Minister for SocialWelfare, Anis Haroon, Chairperson, NCSW, SimiKamal, Chief of Party, GEP of AF and MahnazRahman, RD, AF Karachi. LWP regional coordinatorAdv. Rubina Brohi presented special shield to theSpeaker, Nisar A Khuhro, who in turn distributedshields to all the distinguished women parliamentar-ians and the women artists, as a gesture of apprecia-tion for their continued struggle for women'sempowerment. The award ceremony was followedby a cultural evening where renowned artists ShaziaKhusk and Sheema Kirmani performed.

In Peshawar, Aurat Foundation, Peshawar office cel-ebrated 8th March, in collaboration with other civilsociety organisations at Nishtar Hall by airing thePashto music and Atan dance. Skits were presented onthe theme of 'Sexual Harassment' and 'HIV-AIDS'.Women also performed kite-fying on the occasion.

Women�s resolve on 12 Feb. & 8th March - we shall win

A view of the Islamabad rally on 8 March.

Women members of Punjab Assembly and members ofcivil society lighting candles to celebrate InternationalWomen's Day.

Women flying kites at Nishtar Park, Peshawar, to cele-brate 100th International Women's Day.

A view of the 8 March celebrations inside the premisesof Karachi Provincial Assembly.

A view of the IHI event on 12 February at Islambad. A view of AF and OXFAM-GB event in Islamabad.

Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Advisor to Prime Minister, speak-ing at the function (top picture); Anis Haroon, NasreenAzhar presenting shield to Mukhtaran Mai, in an eventorganised by NCSW on 11 Feburary in Islamabad.