Celebrating Nadia Mehr

From the Malaysia Sun - First Pakistani girl gets doctorate in medieval history in Indian Kashmir:

Nadia Mehr has scripted history by becoming the first Pakistani female to complete a doctorate in medieval history from the Kashmir University here.

She completed her thesis titled: "The Development of Science, Technology, Arts and Language during the Sultanate period in Kashmir". Hailing from Kasur near Lahore, 31-year-old Mehr was selected under the South Asia Foundation programme.

See also the articles from -

The Greater Khasmir:

A Pakistani girl Nadia Mehr daughter of Mehr Din of Lahore, Pakistan has completed her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in History from Kashmir University. She is the first Pakistani girl to have completed the doctorate from this Srinagar-based varsity under the South Asia Foundation (SAF) program.

The KU officials said Nadia pursued the research program vide University Registration No: 52-PhD-2010 from the Institute of Kashmir Studies. She did her thesis on “The Development of Science, Technology, Arts and Language during the Sultanate Period in Kashmir”, under the supervision of Prof Gulshan Majeed, Institute of Kashmir Studies.

The Tribune:

After a difficult visa process, bouts of violence and four years of hard work, Nadia Mehr Din has completed her PhD in history from the University of Kashmir, Srinagar. She is the first Pakistani woman to have completed the doctorate from Indian-administered Kashmir under the South Asia Foundation (SAF) programme, report Kashmiri newspapers.

Her dissertation was titled “The Development of Science, Technology, Arts and Language during the Sultanate Period in Kashmir”, under the supervision of Prof Gulshan Majeed, Institute of Kashmir Studies and she received her degree on December 9.

Girl Challenges Taliban

From the Post Gazette:

The Taliban's attempted murder of a 14-year-old girl simply because she campaigned for the right of Pakistani girls to go to school is extreme even by that group's barbaric, medieval standards.

Malala Yousufzai, a young activist who defied the Taliban by pursuing an education and encouraging other girls to do so, was shot Tuesday in the head and neck by an assailant as she sat in a school bus in Mingora, a town in the Swat Valley.

Pakistani Women Has New Nose After 32 Years

From Gulf News:

After six years of abuse, Allah Rakhi was in the process of walking out of her marriage when her husband struck once again. Snatching a knife, he sliced off her nose. “You’re no longer beautiful!” he shouted.

He then slashed at her foot - a brutal punishment for leaving the house without his permission.

“A woman is only a woman inside the home, outside she’s a [expletive]!” he yelled at Rakhi as she lay bleeding on the dusty street just outside her home.

That was 32 years ago. All that time, Rakhi hid her disfigured face under a veil. Then in March, a surgeon took up her case. He cut flesh from her ribs and fashioned it into a new nose, and in the process, has transformed her life.

Fear Of Reprisals Over "Saving Face"

From LINK:

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy made history earlier this year when she won Pakistan’s first Oscar, feted across the country for exposing the horrors endured by women whose faces are obliterated in devastating acid attacks.

Her 40-minute film focuses on Zakia and Rukhsana as they fight to rebuild their lives after being attacked by their husbands, and British Pakistani plastic surgeon Mohammad Jawad who tries to help repair their shattered looks.

When “Saving Face” scooped a coveted gold statuette in the documentary category in Hollywood in February, campaigners were initially jubilant.

The Acid Survivors Foundation Pakistan (ASF) had cooperated on the film but some survivors now fear a backlash in a deeply conservative society — and are taking legal action against the producers.

Dr. Salma Maqbool

From the News International:

Dr. Salma Maqbool was the voice of the disabled in this country. After she was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa — an incurable genetic disorder leading to blindness — she took it upon herself to elevate her individual struggle to a bigger sphere. From there started a journey that left an indelible mark on history of social welfare in Pakistan. A young visually impaired female doctor would go on to single handedly establish ‘Darakhshan’, a Vocational Rehabilitation Centre for Women with Disability, develop the National Policy on Disability for the Ministry of Social Welfare, chair the Committee on the Status of Blind Women of the World Blind Union and manage the Pakistan Foundation Fighting Blindness in the capacity of Chairperson. Her proudest achievement however remained the induction of visually impaired in the Civil Services of Pakistan, a first in the 60-year history of Federal Public Service Commission. 

Begum Nusrat Bhutto

From The Nation:

Born Nusrat Ispahani, the young woman from an Iranian Pakistani family, who grew to love her adopted country, rests today in the soil of Sindh.

Begum Nusrat Bhutto’s political role does not start with Ziaul Haq, but it was during his rule that her determination was forged of an unbreakable iron. With her eldest daughter, Benazir, Begum Bhutto fought fearlessly to save her husband, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, whose life was stolen by the most vicious military dictator in our nation’s history; a dictator, who denounced democracy, abrogated the Constitution, cynically toyed with religion, and denied the basic rights of the people.

Too strong to be easily intimidated, Begum Nusrat Bhutto was motivated by the depth of Zia's tyranny to put her heart and soul into the fight for the restoration of democracy, the Constitution and basic human rights. She stood steadfast against a usurper and dictator not out of any desire for personal gain, but out of an unwavering dedication to her principles. Many were intimidated by General Ziaul Haq and quickly acquiesced to his rule; but for Begum Nusrat Bhutto there was never a moment of doubt. The fundamental rights of the Pakistani people could not be sacrificed at the altar of dictatorship.

Dubbed the “Iron Lady of Pakistan,” Begum Bhutto was the backbone of the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) - a coalition comprising PPP and other democratic political parties determined to restore the democratic order on which Pakistan was founded.

Women In & Beyond the Pakistan Movement

From the Express Tribune:

Partaking in the Pakistan Movement was of a great historical significance for Muslim women of the subcontinent who had never participated in such a great number in any political movement. It was a befitting culmination of the reformist trends of the late nineteenth century for emancipation of Muslim women finally becoming a tangible reality.

Much before than that, the Khilafat Movement of the 1920s had been the first instance when Muslim women had made their presence felt in the political arena. With Maulana Shaukat Ali and Muhammad Ali Johar in jail, their mother Bi Amman, had taken up the cudgels against British imperialism with assistance from her daughter-in-law. She addressed large meetings from behind the curtains and traveled to various parts of India to garner support.

Pakistan Movement, when born, followed a similar trend. Women came to symbolize the struggle for a separate homeland and made immense contributions to the effort through their enthusiasm for social uplift and by demonstrating qualities of leadership, sincerity, intellect, courage and resolve.

Pakistan's First Female Foreign Minister

From Al Arabiya News:

On July 20th, Pakistan's first female Foreign Minister was sworn in. The Political inheritance and feudalism in Southern Punjab, pushed Rabbani to enter politics in 2002, when she was 25 years old, by default as she is the daughters of a politician.

She was known for her good relations with former President, General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shawkat Aziz.

She worked as a financial affairs’ consultant in the government and when Musharraf’s rule ended in 2008, she moved from losers to winners’ ranks, and became a member of the People's Party.

She continued to work as a financial consultant for the new Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani and then became the first female minister for financial affairs in 2009.

In February 2011, Hina rose to the rank of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, after the former Pakistani foreign minister resigned, protesting against his country's stance to give diplomatic immunity to U.S. intelligence agent accused of killing Pakistanis.

Women in Pakistan

From the Express Tribune:

While we have seen phenomenal changes take place across the world in recent decades, the status and fate of women, who have been so badly treated through the centuries in almost all cultures, hasn’t changed much.

But in Pakistan, their situation has become worse and thus it comes as no surprise that we were recently rated as one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to the way we treat women. Already among the ten most corrupt states of this world, Pakistan ranks even higher when it comes to maltreatment of women. Only in war-torn Afghanistan and the Congo is their plight worse and their lives and honour more threatened.

Italy: Woman Killed Opposing Arranged Marriage

From AFP:

A Pakistani woman has died in Italy after her husband beat her with a brick for opposing the arranged marriage of her daughter, triggering a wave of outrage among Italian politicians on Monday.

The daughter, 20-year-old Nosheen Butt, was hospitalised with a cranial traumatism and a broken arm after her 19-year-old brother beat her with a stick in the courtyard of their building in Novi, near the northern city of Modena.

According to Modena prosecutors' initial findings, the father Ahmad Khan Butt, a 53-year-old construction worker, threw his wife to the ground and beat her with a brick while the brother Umair attacked his sister.

"The victim did not want her daughter to have an unhappy relationship like the one that had been forced on her," said deputy Modena prosecutor Lucia Musti, who is in charge of the investigation.

"The mother and the daughter were on the same side and this could be called a 'cultural' homicide because in addition to domestic violence there is the issue of the traditions that may have motivated the crime," Musti said.

The family's three other children have been taken in by Italian social services.

The Italian political class reacted with indignation at the incident which was highly similar to the cases of a girl of Pakistani origin in 2006 and a Moroccan girl in 2009 who wanted to lead Western lives with Italian boyfriends.

Pakistan: 2 Women Abused Every Hour

From the Express Tribune:

Every hour two women are beaten in Pakistan, according to an estimate by Human Development Foundation, a local NGO. Yet, almost a year after being cheered by the National Assembly on August 4, 2009, the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2009, has not been passed.

After years of struggle, parliament last year finally passed the comprehensive 28-clause bill moved by Pakistan People’s Party MNA Yasmeen Rahman, who is also the adviser to prime minister on women development. The bill had originally been authored by MNA Sherry Rehman in 2004.

However, two months after Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, who is also the minister for Women Development, had termed the passage of the bill a “big achievement,” it was rejected by the Senate, reportedly because of the objections of one senator, preventing it from becoming a law.

According to insiders, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam – Fazl senator Maulana Muhammad Sherani (presently the chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology) had objected that the bill was not ‘male-friendly’ and was contradictory to Islamic law.

Punjab: Violence Against Women

From the Daily Times:

From January to June this year, 2,690 cases of violence against women were reported across Punjab, in which 2,909 women were targeted.

Former MPA Misbah Kaukab said violence against women was increasing rapidly. She said this while addressing a press conference organised by Aurat Foundation at the Lahore Press Club on Thursday. Joint Action Committee Convener Shahtaj Qizilbash, human rights activists Abdullah Malik, Nabeela Shaheen and Abid Ali were also present on the occasion.

The aforementioned facts have been taken from the first bi-annual report on incidents of violence against women, titled “Situation of Violence Against Women in Punjab”, compiled by Aurat Foundation in collaboration with the Violence Against Women (VAW) Watch Group.

Out of the 2,690 cases reported, there were 913 cases of abductions, 381 murders, 102 honour killings, 377 rape and gang rape and 166 cases of suicide.

Geographically, 1,141 cases had been reported in the urban areas and 1,546 in the rural areas, while the area could not be identified in three cases. According to the status of first information reports, 2,353 cases had been registered in the police stations concerned, 96 were not registered anywhere, while there was no information regarding the registration of FIRs in 241 cases. Out of the total 3,066 victims of violence, 1,535 female victims were unmarried, 1,217 were married, 48 were widows, 39 divorcees, while no information was available for the remaining 227 victims. Almost 467 of the victims were under 18 years of age, 185 women were aged between 19 and 36, 58 female victims were above the age of 36, while in 2,356 cases, no information was available about the victims’ ages.

Maximum incidents: According to the report, the 12 districts where a maximum number of cases of violence against women were reported were Lahore with 458 cases, followed by Faisalabad with 393, Sargodha 161, Sheikhupura 157, Rawalpindi 139, Okara 134, Kasur 116, Sialkot 114, Sahiwal 88, Gujranwala 87, Jhang 76 and Multan with 71 reported cases of violence.

The six-month picture of the current year reveals that out of 2,690 various types of offences committed against women, abduction tops with 33 percent women and girls abducted in Punjab, followed by murder and rape and gang rape at 14 percent, suicide six percent and domestic violence four percent. Interestingly, the report also reflects the relationship of the accused with the victims, as the accused in all 2,690 cases had been found to be close relatives such as husbands, fathers, brothers, cousins, in-laws, besides local influentials, police or neighbours.

The cases of violence against women were collected from local sources of information, mainly local and regional newspapers, individuals and shelter homes, the report says.

Pakistan: Minority Women Used As Sex Slaves

From NDTV:

The Pakistani army is sexually assaulting minority women and using them as sex slaves, alleges the European Organization of Pakistani Minorities (EOPM), an NGO working for the rights of minorities in Pakistan.

In a prayer-cum-demonstration held at the UN, it said the Pakistani army is taking minority women away from their families, raping them and then using them as sex slaves.

Referring to the December attacks on Christians in Lahore, the organisation alleged that attacks on minorities in Pakistan were increasing.

Using a symbolic broken chair to highlight the plight of minorities in Pakistan, more than 100 women from different faiths lit candles at the prayer to highlight the plight of minority women allegedly being raped and killed by the Pakistani army.

Expressing concern over the plight of women of Balochistan and Gilgit Baltistan, the organisers said army officials are taking them to torture camps, raping them and then using them as sex slaves.

Pakistan: Benazir Income Support Programme

From the Daily Times:

Waseela-e-Haq, a scheme of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) initiated by the PPP government, will help alleviate poverty and empower poor women and the vulnerable section of the society.

Benazir Income Support Programme Chairperson Farzana Raja said this while addressing a seminar titled “BISP technology-based governance for poverty alleviation and women empowerment” here on Thursday.

She expressed the hope that Waseela-e-Haq programme would create employment opportunities for more women.

Women Speakers United

From the Telegraph, India

Meira Kumar and Fahmida Mirza have become friends and discovered a lot in common.

Both are first women Speakers of their countries, Meira of India and Fahmida of Pakistan.

Both hail from political families. Meira is the daughter of the late Jagjivan Ram, a former defence minister and deputy Prime Minister. Fahmida is married to a senior leader of the Pakistan People’s Party, Zulfikar Ali Mirza, who is a close associate of President Asif Ali Zardari.

Both had successful careers before joining politics. Meira, 64, was a diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service, Fahmida, 53, was a doctor.

In their current job as Speakers, they share a problem — that of unruly parliamentarians.

Today, they hugged and sat at the same table, displaying a frame of bonhomie that has eluded their countries.

South Asian Women in Media

From the Daily Times:

The first regional conference of South Asian Women in Media (SAWM) concluded on Sunday, urging South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries to implement the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) organised the two-day conference at a local hotel. The conference focused on the challenges, opportunities and partnerships available for women in media. The conference asked SAARC governments to increase people-to-people contacts. It called for journalists to be allowed free movement across borders.

The conference asked the governments of South Asia to ensure access to information by adopting effective laws and regulations, ensure freedom of expression and protect women in the media performing their professional duties.

Gender guidelines: The delegates demanded media organisations to adopt gender guidelines and a code of conduct while ensuring equal opportunities for women. They demanded SAARC governments and the SAARC Secretariat to recognise SAWM as an associated body of the SAARC.

Addressing the conference, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira assured the female journalists that special attention would be paid to issues regarding the media in Pakistan.

Kaira said many women were working in the media, and efforts were being made to improve the environment.

Women: Tortured, Humiliated - Followup

Further to my post - Women: Tortured, Humilated - comes this further article from Dawn:

Phoolnagar police on Tuesday booked 75 people, including a former TMA chairman and union council nazim, for humiliating three women in Jamber Kalan on Sunday night. However, none of the accused had been arrested till 12:30am on Wednesday when this report was filed.

According to complainant Shahnaz, she had a property dispute with former TMA chairman Rana Naseeruddin and she won the case in the court. She said Naseeruddin accused her of running a prostitution ring to avenge his defeat in the court and tried to occupy her house. She said Naseeruddin reached her house along with 200 people, seized her and her two women guests and then incited the people to attack her.

She stated in the FIR that the accused cut her and her guests’ hair, tore up their clothes and forced them to parade naked in the village streets in the presence of hundreds of people for two hours. She said her teenaged daughter Asma, a student of 10th class, was missing since Sunday night. She said the accused met out this treatment to her with the backing of the local police.

Police have registered a case against 75 people, 25 of them nominated. Naseeruddin, UC Nazim Muhammad Ilyas, Intizar Hussain, Aslam, Riaz and Ayub are among the nominated men. A heavy police presence was seen in the village on Tuesday after the locals staged a demonstration against the court, which granted bail to the three women.

DPO Gohar Nafees told Dawn that Shahnaz was involved in the illegal business. He, however, denied the women were forced to parade naked in the public.

Women: Tortured, Humiliated

From Dawn:

Three women, accused of prostitution, were tortured by an angry mob and were later forced to walk naked on Multan Road in Phoolnagar, Kasur, a private television channel reported on Monday.

A large number of people attacked a house in Jambarkalan village, torturing the women — including one Shahnaz — for alleged involvement in prostitution and running a brothel in the village.

The victims said the accusations against them were baseless. They said they had a property dispute ongoing with Union Council Nazim Ilyas Khanzada who wanted to occupy their house illegally. The women have accused him of planning the assault on their home.

Khanzada confirmed the women were tortured by the mob. He, however, denied plotting against them.

Jambarkalan Police Sub-Inspector Bashir said a case had been registered against the women for running a brothel on the local residents’ complaints. Meanwhile, no case was registered against the mob that attacked the women and publicly humiliated them.

Pakistan: Protecting Women

From Zubeida Mustafa @ Dawn:

The Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act 2009 adopted by the National Assembly in August won plaudits from women and human rights activists alike. ‘Landmark’, ‘milestone’, ‘victory for civil society’ and other such laudatory terms were lavished on it. Having been adopted unanimously, which is creditable given that it was a private member bill, the bill was a positive step in a society where women suffer the most violence. In fact violence from spouses is very often justified by conservative and orthodox elements as sanctioned by Islam.

Hence the euphoria. The sole voice of dissent came from the Council of Islamic Ideology which termed the legislation ‘ambiguous and containing few reforms’. It also criticised the draft on the ground that it would in its present form ‘fan unending family feuds and push divorce rates up’. Many saw this as a perverted form of reasoning and the National Commission on the Status of Women’s spirited response refuting the CII’s arguments is most welcome. One hopes that the Ideology Council will appreciate what the NCSW has to say. The Senate should not be deterred by the religious scholars’ objections which are not very convincing. The Senate has yet to adopt the bill which will then become law after it is signed by the president.

Pakistan: Women & Politics

From The Star:

The women wings of PAS, DAP and PKR have vowed to be the stabilising factor in Pakatan Rakyat in light of the Kedah DAP’s pullout from the state coalition.

Central committee member Dr Lo’Lo Mohamad Ghazali said the women wings had urged the central committee for the leadership to have more consultations and communication, and for each party to be more sacrificial for one another.

She said they had agreed to it.

“We are the stabilising factor and we will ensure that Pakatan will continue to be strong. These are common problems and I believe it would help Pakatan to mature,” she said.