International Women’s Day : Pakistan must confront issues head on

In Pakistan, the provincial Punjab Assembly passed a landmark legislation last week, criminalizing all forms of violence against women. A few days later, the Council of Islamic Ideology, a federal advisory body, ruled the law as wrong, triggering a series of debates and incurring backlash from human rights and women’s organizations. However, the law is now a piece of legislative enactment and would be part of the governance system.

The development in Pakistan – the first country in the Muslim world to have a woman prime minister, Benazir Bhutto – represents an intense larger struggle for democratic freedoms and rights going on between the forces of moderation and those of conservatism bordering parochialism in much of the Muslim world – a struggle that also finds expression in violence.

But make no mistake. Marking International Women’s Day also demands setting the record state. It is not the religion, which stops women from claiming their rightful status in the society or vigorous participation in national life of countries. In the majority of cases, it is centuries-old harsh traditions and societal and social problems in the Arab, Persian, African and South Asian lands that predate Islam that have been denying women rightful opportunity in life. The perpetuation of such antiquated notions of inequality hold girls and women from realizing their full potential as equal contributors to national development.

In the last few centuries, however, it is the interpretation of Islamic laws and traditions that have also been a factor in determining the fate of women in society, just as it has been pretty much the case with other aspects of life at individual, community, social or national levels. The struggle for overall human rights is also manifest in the ongoing fight against terror because militant outfits want to impose their literalist interpretation on the society. On the other hand, every Muslim society has progressive voices which call for an end to discrimination against women and other vulnerable segments of the society like economic outcasts, minorities, marginalized and poor communities.

On the political level, it is the struggle between democracy and dictatorships that defines the societal progress or lack of it on issues including status of women.

But Pakistan – now a democracy after long periods of dictatorship – has started trying to grapple with the some of the issues with the help of media, the Internet and general openness. It must race against time to fix discriminatory treatment of women and take key steps to ensure their access to a better education, health and economic opportunity.

Only last month two Pakistani women excelled with their extraordinary talent : Professor Nergis Mavalvala of MIT was part of the team that discovered gravitational waves while Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won her second Oscar for highlighting the plight of women with her documentary The Girl in a River. The country’s first woman prime minister late Benazir Bhutto stood out for many things – being an internationally acclaimed inspiring figure. Malala Yousafzai, and her brave student fellows who defied the Tehreek Taliban Pakistan to forge ahead with their right to an education, symbolize the young Pakistani women’s quest for economic, social and political empowerment. Nevertheless, these are just a few prominent names among millions of Pakistani women wanting progress with newfound awareness. Both the society and the state must play their roles to get rid of retrogressive traditions and address flaws in justice system created by controversial laws like the Hudood Ordinances.

The state must do things immediately ; appoint women to higher positions of authority in the governance and judicial systems and implement new laws like he Punjab Assembly legislation that are meant to protect women against unfair and discriminatory practices.

But there are several areas in Pakistan, where women face worst forms of violence like acid attacks, slavery, bonded labor and honor killings – some of the issues spotlighted by Chinoy – and need efforts by men and political leaders of men and women. Correcting gross injustices against women in Pakistan would have a snowballing effect for Afghanistan next door – where the Afghan Taliban and tribal customs have long deprived them of progress – and much of the South and Central Asia as the region moves toward economic and trade integration.

The rest of the Arab world, Iran and African countries lag far far behind in allowing women to exercise their basic human rights. Pakistan must take lead in empowering its women – more than half of the country’s population – if it is to make up for the lost decades and achieve grassroots progress with socio-economic uplift of all its citizens.

Internationally, Chancellor Angela Merkel has led Germany from the front in dealing with the massive humanitarian crisis in the form of Syrian refugees influx into her country, and has earned worldwide acclaim for her leadership qualities.

In the United States, former first lady Nancy Reagan, who died Sunday, was a strong advisor to her husband President and championed many causes. First Lady Michelle Obama has led an admirable initiative to facilitate girls’s access to education in impoverished countries and former first lady and secretary of state Hillary Clinton is the first woman with a real chance to become president of the United States.

The election of Ameenah Gurib, a Muslim, as President of multicultural Mauritius with large Hindu and Christian populations, is an example of harmonious coexistence, and a sign of women’s power to lead countries with multi-ethnic populations.

Yet, much work needs to be done in developing countries in the Middle East and Africa, as indeed in several Asian countries to facilitate women’s empowerment.

Around the world, organizations are marking the International Women’s Day with calls for progress towards realizing achieve gender equality by 2030.

“I remain outraged by the denial of rights to women and girls – but I take heart from the people everywhere who act on the secure knowledge that women’s empowerment leads to society’s advancement,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the Day.

“Let us devote solid funding, courageous advocacy and unbending political will to achieving gender equality around the world. There is no greater investment in our common future,” he said according to a UN statement.

Ban has signed nearly 150 letters of appointment for women in positions for Assistant Secretary-General or Under-Secretary-General.

“We have shattered so many glass ceilings we created a carpet of shards,” he said. “Now we are sweeping away the assumptions and bias of the past so women can advance across new frontiers.”

The theme for this year’s Day is “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality.” The UN says the year 2030 is the deadline for the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include targets on achieving gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls, as well as ensuring inclusive and quality education for all and promoting lifelong learning.

According tot he world body, the other half of the theme is a reference to UN Women’s Step It Up initiative, which asks governments to make national commitments that will close the gender equality gap, by the 2030 deadline

Meanwhile, there is no end to the sufferings of women in conflict zones. After a deadly 2015, which saw wars decimate human values in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and several African countries including Sudan, Nigeria and Somalia, the world must act urgently to stem the plunge. Already women and kids have suffered as refugees.

The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, spoke about his conversations with Syrian women who have been affected by the country’s five-year war.

The envoy said in a video message, according to the UN, that he has been able to see the women’s “enormous suffering and their dignity” and yet they have retained hope and given the international community hope.

“They have, and must have, the right to be part of the political process and the negotiations which we, at the UN, are planning to have. They are part of the future of Syria, of the present and of the past. They have much to say and much to teach us,” de Mistura, who has established a special advisory board comprised solely of Syrian women to advise him about what is really needed in political aspects of Syria.

The international community must convene a conference each year to measure progress towards women’s empowerment.