By: Mohammed Asif
Rana and Kishwar Sultana
Background
Women and Security in Pakistan is
a background paper in order to broadly understand diverse issues and conflicts that
have a bearing on women and girls security in Pakistan and to inform Women
Regional Network’s future action.
Women Regional Network is a body
of women’s rights organizations and experts, from South Asia and other regions,
getting together with the purpose to assist communities of women leaders in
Pakistan, Afghanistan and India to learn from each other and construct common
agendas across borders on the inter-linkages between security and extremisms;
corruption and the militarization of aid and development as they impact women’s
lives. The Network is motivated with the vision to build enduring and
productive relationships among women leaders in South Asia to ensure women’s
concerns and voices are included in the highest levels of dialogue; as well as
engage a network of global champions who support women to meet these critical
issues with greater resiliency.
WRN rolled out in 2010 and it was
in the process in 2011 when a regional consultation was held in Nepal and the
need of expansion of the Network was underscored that the participants of the
Consultation identified the rise of extremisms, the persistence of corruption
and the militarization of development and aid as they impact women’s overall
security as one of the most important areas of deliberation and future action.
What is Security?
Security for militaristic
consumption is a state of the absence of and/or the capability to combat or
avert any threat to its assets, sovereignty and the life of its citizens from
any foreign and/or local element(s). Theoretically, it is the degree of
protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime[1]. The Commission
on Human Security (CHS) however puts ‘human’ in the center and “defines human
security as the protection of ‘the vital core of all human lives in ways that
enhance human freedoms and fulfillment’. Human security[2] means
protecting fundamental freedoms. It means protecting people from critical and
pervasive threats and situations. It means using processes that build on
people's strengths and aspirations. It means creating political, social,
environmental, economic, military and cultural systems that, when combined,
give people the building blocks for survival, livelihood and dignity. In this
sense, human security is far more than the absence of violent conflict. It
encompasses human rights, good governance and access to economic opportunity,
education and healthcare. It is a concept that comprehensively addresses both
"freedom from fear" and "freedom from want". To attain the goals of human security, the Commission proposes a framework
based on the protection and empowerment of people.
·
Empowerment implies a bottom up approach. It
aims at developing the capabilities of individuals and communities to make
informed choices and to act on their own behalf.
·
Protection refers to the norms, processes and
institutions required to shield people from critical and pervasive threats. It
implies a "top-down" approach. States have the primary responsibility
to implement such a protective structure. However, international and regional
organizations, civil society and non-governmental actors, and the private
sector also play a pivotal role in shielding people from menaces[3].”
Women rights defenders however
ascribe “integration of different conditions, values and feelings” to the term
“security” and define it as the combination of:
“Freedom from Constant Threats - The
absence of war, living without fear and [all forms of] violence, freedom of
movement, stability, security, smiling children, homes, going for a walk at night
unimpeded, etc.
Economic Security - Employment, food,
social justice, the absence of oppression, etc
Political Security - Democracy, freedom
of thought, freedom of choice, legitimacy, the rule of law, solidarity, the
United Nations, etc.
Environmental Security - Eco-friendliness,
environmentalism, unpolluted air and water, etc.
Health Security - Health protection,
accessible medical treatment, etc.”[4]
This security paradigm is not exhaustive in its given form
however it is certainly inclusive and spans over the personal wellbeing to that
of the community also and is therefore “different from the centuries-old,
‘traditional’ sense of security, which is rooted in the set, militaristic
concepts of war and conflict, which are inextricably linked to weapons, armed
forces and patriarchy. A stand-alone concept that is somehow separate from
other parts of their lives. This concept of integrated security recognizes that
women’s security is about everything. That justice and reparation are as
important as gaining the right to communal land, as freedom to speak, travel
and to work without any obstacles, and as access to spiritual leaders. It is
about not having to explain your work. Or that you are human. It is all connected.
The concept breaks down artificial boundaries between the ‘public’ (open, real,
important, hard, serious) and the ‘private’ (closed, hidden, soft, less
significant) sides of security. And it links them together. Real life is not
separate, so security is not, either.
Every aspect of the life of a woman’s human rights defenders affects how she
thinks about security - and whether she thinks about it at all. Her health,
happiness, well-being, stress levels. Her family. Whether she can keep her job
and pay her bills. Her identity, who she loves. How she feels about herself -her
sense of worth and self-respect. Whether she feels expendable, particularly in
comparison to others”[5].
The Women Regional Network sets
before itself the same paradigm of integrated security. This background paper tries
to explain Pakistan’s context versus women and girls.
Situation of Security and
its Impact on Women in Pakistan
Security paradigm for women is
inclusive in nature and is not restricted to a specific case. This paradigm is
based on the understanding and experience of different regional, national,
sub-national, ethnic and sectarian conflicts, familial, communal, social,
political and economic issues that have direct and/or indirect bearing on the
accumulative sense of security for women and early warning indicators that
prompt women, of different classes, ages, ethnic, sectarian and professional
backgrounds to take necessary action. This is why that even though the
Constitution of Pakistan, Acid Throwing Bill, Harassment at Workplace Act, Pakistan
Penal Code (Amendment 509 particularly), Domestic Violence Bill (ICT) and
Anti-Women Practices Bill are great milestones and are very comprehensive in
protecting women’s interests and wellbeing,
but they fail to address the question of security from women’s
perspective.
Pakistan in fact presents an
abysmal scenario with respect to the regional, national and ethnic and
sectarian conflicts and issues. The country shares its longest border of about
2500 kilometers with Afghanistan, which has been a volatile place for over
three decades now, and then there is a disputed territory of Kashmir between
Pakistan and India that make security challenges for women complex, more
serious and protracted in nature.
With respect to Kashmir, “there
is hardly any AJK women narrative on the Kashmir conflict. Dr. Shaheen Akhtar,
senior Research Fellow, at the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS), maintains
that the women in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, especially ones from the dividing
families; and those living along the LoC and in refugee camps are directly
affected by the conflict across the Line of Control (LoC) in the Indian held
Kashmir”. This impact appears in terms of division of their family members,
physical insecurity at times of tensions between India and Pakistan, economic
insecurity when male members of the family – who are mainly the bread winners -
are trapped on the other side of Kashmir, there is high ratio of unemployment
amongst youth, and the sense of insecurity concerning life, health and honor of
women prevailing in general conditions of refuge. Based on the refugee flows at
different times in 1947, 1965-1971 and pso-1990, Dr. Shaheen highlights that
around 8 per cent of the total population in AJK is composed of refugee
families and nearly half of them happen to be women[6]. It is
also relevant to note with respect to economic insecurity that among different
ironies imposed by this international dispute, Kashmiri women have to forego their
right to inheritance if they marry men who are Pakistani nationals.
Pakistan-Afghanistan context with respect to security
concerns for women is also not very different. The cold war, the rise of
Taliban and the subsequent war on terror combine together to push Pakistan to host
the world’s largest refugee population, and an unending agony for about one
million women and young refugee girls and about one million internally
displaced since the war on terror. “With the political instability and upheaval
that began in the late 1970s, Afghanistan descended into a pattern of conflict,
instability and chaos that has continued through the present [and has a
spill-over effect in Pakistan]. More than two million Afghans are estimated to
have been killed, over a million disabled and state institutions all but
collapsed. Rape of women and children became an all too common occurrence, as
did arbitrary detentions, summary executions and torture. Though no accurate counts
exist of those who have disappeared, many Afghans still do not know what has
happened to missing family members[7].
War in itself
is a volatile phenomenon and a masculine narrative, and even if we take in
purely economic terms, it eats on resources before, during and even after its
eruption. In the context of Pakistan and Afghanistan, it cuts into the
development spending, and pushes women out because they are already somewhere
down the masculine priority. Much has been written about the wars in Afghanistan
and its fallout in Pakistan and the basic narrative of the conflict, in one
form or another, has been repeated in countless books, academic articles and
news reports. But the voices of ordinary Afghans and IDPs are often absent from
these accounts, and yet it is the Afghan and Pakistani women who are most
affected by the violence. Kunar, an
Afghan refugee in Pakistan, narrates his views in a study carried out in 2009
that three decades of war created a lot of problems for them. They migrated to
Pakistan, their houses were destroyed, their land and property were grabbed by warlords,
the economy was badly affected, their sons and daughters were deprived of
education, their women were ‘insulted’…schools, hospitals, roads and factories
were destroyed and fear of war caused many mental problems. He is one among two
to three millions who have the same experiences. He is among many refugees who have
never known Afghanistan to be at peace, have spent most of their lives outside
of their country and have not been able to develop the skills that would enable
them to integrate into life in Afghanistan. According to a recent survey of
refugees living in Pakistan, 71% reported having no formal education, 89%
having no skills and 71% no monthly income[8]. This
consequently have a bearing on women. They have to put up domestic violence
meted out by the male members. The male refugee members, who are often jobless,
act so to exhibit their superiority over women of their family who happen to find
some work as maids/domestic servant. As refugees in Pakistan, Afghan women have
in fact several challenges that stem out once they acquire the status of
refugees and have to live their life in camps. It has been observed that camps
are unfriendly for women, because there is:
·
“Inadequacy of light or absence of light
within camps increase women's vulnerability
·
Constant fear of sexual abuse, harassment,
physical and psychological violence and incidences of abduction are much more
·
Absence of privacy for breastfeeding mothers,
males thronging around toilets designated for females and relief provision
areas, absence of women-only washrooms or construction of washrooms too far
away from the camps in dark conditions. This context increases the likelihood in
making women more vulnerable
·
Possibility of marrying girls at the tender age
or selling them off to avert the danger of ‘dishonor’
·
Lack of knowledge and skills among the relief
and rehabilitation teams about women's protection and women specific needs
·
Social problem of considering women a problem
instead of efficient and equal member of the family/team/refugee in order
to mitigate the odds
Women IDPs problems are not very
different from Afghan women. Starting
with the denial of right to education as Taliban razed down about 500 girls
school in less than three years of rampage which made women’s future bleak,
their problems become more complex as IDPs. There is little planning seen even in military
operations that are meant to free local population from the menace of
extremists. Pregnant women for example who were uprooted by the violence in the
Malakand region, northwest Pakistan, were reported to be suffering acutely in
refugee camps between 2009 and 2011. Displaced women from Swat, Buner and Dir -
the three affected districts – in 2009 for example, were reported to face critical
health problems that military operations should have urgently addressed.
According to the estimates of the United Nations Population Fund, some 69,000
pregnant women were displaced since the start of military operations on Apr 27,
2009 in the three adjoining districts of the province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa”[9].
With respect to sub-national and ethnic and sectarian conflicts
and issues in Pakistan, women from Karachi to Gilgit Baltistan and from FATA to
Lahore have a shared agony when it comes to the integrated concept of security.
There is even a sublime acceptance of violence and insecurity as in the case of
Malala Yousafzai who was shot by Taliban in the head, in Swat, for her love for
education, and it was followed by a campaign of right-wingers that thought the
case was only fabricated to support military operation in Waziristan. Before
that we witnessed manhandling of 14 years’ down-syndrome girl-child, Rimsha
Masih, in the heart of capital of Pakistan, who was charged under a fabricated blasphemy
crime, and she and her family got almost killed by the hands of vigilantes. The
family had to re-locate even though a culprit religious-zealot was found
involved in messing with evidence against Rimsha so that she get a punishment
for a crime she did not commit. But this is of course not the end. Shakeela,
from Sindh, for example, is a witness to massacre of 16 young boys, who
belonged to different ethno-political groups of her area, at Karachi. One of
them was her nephew and three were his mates whom she knew given the cultural
privilege that youths’ friends do come to their mates’ houses easily. She told
that she knew them from their childhood. She shared the list and revealed that
all of them were educated but remained unemployed for a long time until 2005
when the local government elections took place and these young boys fell to
different political parties to secure some economic support. Later, they found
jobs but also became a target of each other political rivalries. One of them
was the only son of a widow who doesn’t leave the grave of his son for she has
almost lost her senses and every social protection that her son could get for
her.
A woman from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa shared the agony of fear
that her family is currently experiencing. “My sister and her husband are both
human rights activist. They had been receiving warnings from different zealots
for their services to the women in distress, especially those who were victims
of violence. They kept relocating themselves but still they could not save
their young son who got assassinated in front of their own doors by one of the
militant factions. This is how one gets paid in our society for their services
for the betterment of human kind”, she gasps with anguish and pain in her
heart.
An elderly woman from Lahore, and a religious minority
group, upon condition of confidentiality of her name and identity, posed a
serious challenge to the assurance of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and
Islamic teachings which guarantee security of life to all citizens including
religious minorities, no matter they are “muahid[10]” or
conquered. She told that her brother was shot dead in front of her eyes because
he was believed to be a non-muslim. She told that she locks herself up in a
bathroom whenever her husband leaves house to fetch edibles from the market or
to do something else because of constant fear in the back of her head. “I look
at my children as if they are tiny sparrows, who grow in my nest but will have
to leave it never to return.” She walks a tight rope of hope and threat
whenever her children decide to visit her from abroad. She doesn’t leave
Pakistan for the love of this country.
A young Hazara woman from Balochistan shared her
experiences and thoughts, “An incident of target killing has claimed my younger
brother’s life while its shock took my father away from us within four months.
When my father died, I was in a state of shock and anger that why he forgot his
seven daughters before dying. This is a horrible reality which Hazara people
dwelling in stupendous mountains of Balochistan and surrounding areas are
facing. Being inflicted with fear and disappointment, she shares her feelings
in these words, “What is the status of those families whose male members have lost
their lives in such havoc incidents is well known to me. Each of these families
has four or eight daughters and many of them have lost their brothers without
any of their fault. Today we are so much depressed and helpless and we have to
come out of our homes to earn our livings. What problems we are facing in
search of employment or jobs is only known to us. We remain fearful and come
out of homes while putting our prestige, integrity and life into danger. We even
don’t know from which corner of a street sniper may hit us or drag our shawls.
We have doubts and fears that we might not be able return and see our near and
dear ones. Our mothers pray for our safe return.”
“Hazara community is dwelling in
two areas of Quetta. Some at Alamdar Road and some at Bruri and there is much
distance in between these two localities. We don’t have transport facility from
the government rather we have made some arrangements for this on self help
basis. We are peaceful citizens and pay more taxes than other locals, believing
to play our role for the national development instead of mere lip servicing,
but even then since the last many years our community is being unduly punished.
It seems that some vigilantes of divinity are deciding about our life and death.
Our places of worship are being attacked and youth being targeted. They are
kept away from jobs. Few days back, a group of vegetable venders of our
community, while they were on a way to vegetable market at Saryab Road and
Hazara Kunji, were killed. Assailants selectively asked them to step down from
the transport and killed them instantly. Similarly, multiple attacks have been
made at a van driver we hired for ferrying us from Alamdar Road to Bruri. So, those
among the killed ones are our fathers, brothers, elders, mothers, sisters and
sons. Our homes are getting deserted and graveyards turning into dwellings. For
the whole day we keep looking at doors waiting that our fathers or brothers will
return and knock at door, but in return we either receive their dead bodies or
information that some unidentified corpses are lying at Saryab Road, Hazara
Kunji, BMC Hospital or civil hospital. Have their killers ever thought that
with which pain the bereaved families are inflicted with or who will be
bringing milk for innocent babies? How stoves of these families will be lit and
who will be looking after them? It is in fact a Day of Judgment for an eight or
a 10 member family whose sole bread earner is viciously killed. Our grief hit
hearts appeal for the lives of our dearer but who listens to it?” She questions, “why feuds, conflicts and wars
end at the cost of women’ helplessness?” Dying souls depart anyway but women
left behind have to pay the price for everything.
Her family resides in an area
surrounded by mountains from three sides at the other side of which are Pushtun dwellings. She informed that a few
years back all of them (Pushtun, Baloch, Hazara and other tribes) used to live
peacefully and share joy and grief. Children of all those communities used to
play together. This togetherness had given them a comfort that whenever any
mishap takes place, they would run to take refuge on the other side of the
mountain. But now the situation is in the opposite direction and Hazara
Community feels that someone from behind those mountains may intentionally
attack them.
With perforation of fear in her
eyes, she says, “The way our male family members are being killed in front of
our eyes, it appears that the day is not far away when attackers will be
hurling into our homes to shoot us too. Sometimes we think we must kill
ourselves instead of living under this constant fear. My mother says that
hunger is so cruel that one has no option but to expose his/her daughters to
the dangers of the outside world. Although, in our community much attention is
paid to girls’ education but traditionally males are family caretakers.
Daughters and sisters are not usually allowed to work outside especially among
non-family member males. So, one can well understand that what it means for
such families when their male members are killed.” She continues, “Hatred and
blind revenge against Hazara community has reached to such level that even our
children are not safe. In schools, we are blamed to be traitors and not
citizens of Pakistan. We are falsely blamed for smuggling weapons into Pakistan
from Iran and Afghanistan. All picnic spots for our children are closed and
since the last eight years we have not been on a picnic. Hunna, Arak, Uskari
Park, Hazara Kunji and Pir Ghaib are some small picnic spots but even at those
places we cannot enter without proving our identity or showing identity card.
It is difficult for us to get jobs. Balochs or Pukhtuns get them.” She became
silent. She knows hatred cannot be answered with hatred.
Kashmala from AJK said that while
travelling from her home to Islamabad, the capital territory, she had a strong
sense of deprivation, that people and women from far flung areas do not have
opportunities. She also read a poem ‘mujh
ko dekho izat say, aurat nahin insan hoon main”.
Balochistan, for some years, has been a theatre of
insecurity both for women and men alike. Stories of missing persons, target
killings and the socio economic and psychological impact on the lives of their
families, especially women, are now an open secret. Here we discuss a case of a
woman to understand what it means to be a woman in a conflict ridden society.
Twenty six year old Nazia Khan [not being introduced with
real name for security reasons] comes from Hazara community of Balochistan.
Hazara, being third largest community in Afghanistan, makes about 18 percent of
Afghan population. According to an estimate about 0.5 million Hazara people
live each in the provincial capital of Balochistan (Quetta) and Iran. Ancestors
of Hazara people, several years before, get themselves settled in the said
province and now are Pakistani nationals. A large number of Hazara people also
entered into Pakistan as refugees while their own country (Afghanistan) was at
War. Hazaras are mostly shiats or
followers of Fiqah Jafaria and being members of a sectarian
minority in Pakistan are an easy prey of target killings and are subjected to
sectarian violence. Nazia presents before us combination of different ‘insecurities’
that many women in Pakistan face. She is a woman in the first place and then an
ethnic minority and a sectarian minority too. Her younger brother became prey
of the target killing and she herself feels she might become “missing” one day.
The latter two factors add into the overall sense of insecurity that she is up
against every moment. She came in contact with Insan Foundation Trust – a WRN
member – in a workshop in 2011 and narrated her ordeal.
One of Nazia’s brothers is serving in the armed forces and
visits home rarely. When he came last time, he trained Nazia and her sisters how
to use a 9mm caliber pistol. He advised them to sleep in corridor and fire over
seeing even a shadow. He also suggested them to shoot themselves in case they fail
to stop suspects from entering into their home. Her brother says he can hear
the news of his sisters’ death instead of hearing that they were ‘missing.’ This
is a horrible reality which Hazara people dwelling in stupendous mountains of
Balochistan and surrounding areas are facing. Being inflicted with fear and
disappointment, Nazia shares her feelings in these words, “What is the status
of those families whose male members have lost their lives in such havoc
incidents is well known to me. Each of these families has four or eight
daughters and many of them have lost their brothers without any of their fault.
Today we are so much depressed and helpless and we have to come out of our
homes to earn our livings. What problems we are facing in search of employment
or jobs is only known to us. We remain fearful and come out of homes while
putting our prestige, integrity and life into danger. We even don’t know from
which corner of a street sniper may hit us or drag our shawls. We have doubts
and fears that we might not be able return and see our near and dear ones. Our
mothers pray for our safe return.”
Nazia explains that they are
peaceful citizens and pay more taxes than other locals, believing to play our
role for the national development instead of mere lip servicing, but even then since
the last many years her community as she said was being unduly punished. She
said it seems that some vigilantes of divinity were deciding about their life and
death. Their places of worship were being attacked and youth being targeted.
They are being kept away from jobs. She told that a few days before, a group of
vegetable venders of our community, while they were on a way to vegetable
market at Saryab Road and Hazara Kunji, were killed. Assailants selectively
asked them to step down from the bus and killed them instantly. Similarly, multiple
attacks were made at a van driver that was hired for ferrying them from Alamdar
Road to Bruri. So, those among the killed ones are their fathers, brothers, elders,
mothers, sisters and sons. Nazia questions, “Why feuds, conflicts and wars end
at the cost of women’ helplessness?” Dying souls depart anyway but women left
behind have to pay the price for everything. Nazia’s family resides in an area
surrounded by mountains from three sides at the other side of which are Pushtun dwellings. Nazia informed that a
few years back all of them (Pushtun, Baloch, Hazara and other tribes) used to
live peacefully and shared joy and grief. Children of all those communities used
to play together. This togetherness had given them a comfort that whenever any
mishap takes place, they would run to take refuge on the other side of the
mountain. But now the situation is in the opposite direction and Hazara
Community feels that someone from behind those mountains may intentionally
attack them.
With perforation of fear in her eyes, Nazia says, “The way
our male family members are being killed in front of our eyes, it appears that
the day is not far away when attackers will be hurling into our homes to shoot
us too. Sometimes we think we must kill ourselves instead of living under this
constant fear. My mother says that hunger is so cruel that one has no option
but to expose his/her daughters to the dangers of the outside world. Although,
in our community much attention is paid to girls’ education but traditionally
males are family caretakers. Daughters and sisters are not usually allowed to
work outside especially among non-family member males. So, one can well
understand that what it means for such families when their male members are
killed.” She continues, “Hatred and blind revenge against Hazara community has
reached to such level that even our children are not safe. In schools, we are
blamed to be traitors and not citizens of Pakistan. We are falsely blamed for
smuggling weapons into Pakistan from Iran and Afghanistan. All picnic spots for
our children are closed and since the last eight years we have not been on a
picnic. Hunna, Arak, Uskari Park, Hazara Kunji and Pir Ghaib are some small
picnic spots but even at those places we cannot enter without proving our
identity or showing identity card. It is difficult for us to get jobs.”
Nazia’s account unfolds before us a
range of issues that may be different from the ones that women in Karachi or
Gilgit Baltistan (Shiites are also target in Gilgit Baltistan) face in the daily
mayhem but the ordeal of insecurity in itself is not very different.
Pakistan is a society where security for women and young
girls is masculine dictate. This concretely means that for a woman or young
girl to be alone, or living alone as a single or widow, is a constant threat. There
are many examples that mothers forgive their sons or husbands despite the fact
they are killers of their own sisters/daughters [honor killing]. Mothers would
do it, not because they love their sons/husbands more at that time but because
they cannot afford to live without ‘protection’ of male, for that situation would
invite many insecurities in their subsequent life. They feel they would be
harassed in the first place. They know their parents will not accept them back
in their homes, because they cannot afford to digest taunts of the rest of the
family [that their daughter knowing all what might fall onto her, sacrificed
her son/husband, and therefore she does not possess dignity]. They know they
cannot survive economically. They know their daughters will also become easy
prey of molesters. They know there is more likelihood of their being a soft
target for dacoits [and thieves], who might also sexually abuse them. Therefore,
they don’t have any option but to compromise.
In this understanding of the term “security”, one is able
to feel how insecure a rural woman might feel who is less advantaged because
she is often illiterate and her security often depends on what local panchayat
decides. She is afraid of becoming another Mukhtaraan Mai. And if she belongs
to a religious minority community, insecurity adds up. This is further
triggered if she happens to be from an ethnic minority from within a religious
minority group and is also HIV positive. A Pakistani semi urban city Gojra
witnessed carnage on August 01, 2009 when announcements through mosques in the
town urged the Muslims to gather and ‘make mincemeat of Christians’ — according
to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan report. Witnesses told that
on Aug 1, around 1,000 people gathered in the town and marched towards
Christian Colony. A police party present in the neighborhood did not try to
stop the mob which included a number of masked men, the report said. Witnesses told
the attackers went about destroying Christians’ houses in a very professional
manner and seemed to be trained for carrying out such activities[11]. During
the incident, body of a three year old Christian girl was found in the nearby fields.
She was killed after being brutally raped. The attackers also made fun of a
Christian woman who was having a bath during the attack. They pulled the
woman out of bathroom and made her run and beg before them for her life and she
was literally naked[12]. This
incident takes place in Punjab. Sindh also presents a sad picture for women of
religious minorities with regards to issues concerning their security. While the
world was celebrating International Women’s Day under the theme, ‘Connecting
girls, inspiring futures’, women of religious minorities in Pakistan, especially
Hindu girls in Sindh, felt humiliated in 2012. Four Hindu girls (Lata Kumari
from Karachi, Rinkal Kumari from Mirpur Mathelo, Aamna Kohli from Tando Bago,
the constituency of NA speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza, and Aasha Kumari from
Jacobabad) were kidnapped and converted to Islam allegedly at gunpoint. The
report highlighted that more than 700 families reportedly migrated to India and
Southeast Asian countries in a few months[13].
However this does not mean that urban women are secure. For
them challenges are different. We have many examples from Karachi. Karachi is a
hub of Pakistan’s economic activity and therefore a target of many ethnic,
sectarian groups and political groups to mark their respective share in power. The
fact-finding team of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan maintained in its
report in 2008 that all of the main political parties in the city bear
responsibility for the people being massacred in Karachi. Even the political
parties that have not assigned armed wings to pull the trigger have a lot to
answer for. The report said that in the form of ruling political parties’
patronage for criminals, state power and militant powers have come together and
the citizens are viewed increasingly through their identity with an ethnic /
linguistic / political group. The political parties focus on and watch out for
their own financial and political interests rather than the interest of the
people at large. State intervention in Karachi’s politics has been unlike that
in any other big city in Pakistan. Since 2002, political power and state
machinery have been used to grab land. While gangs of land-grabbers and mafias
have tried to exploit the breakdown of law and order, they do not appear to be
the main directors of the horrible game of death and destruction; that
distinction belongs to more powerful political groups and it is they who hold
the key to peace[14].
Males become target of this particular situation that
exists in Karachi. It is heavily weaponized city and contributes its part in destruction
caused by the nearly 900 million small arms in the world today, of which more
than 75% are in the hands of private individuals - most of them men - and
stored in homes. A gun in the home is much more likely to be used to intimidate
or physically injure family members than be used against an outside intruder.
Perhaps most shockingly, the greatest risk of gun violence to women around the
world is not on the streets, or the battlefield, but in their own homes[15]. The
estimated total number of guns held by civilians in Pakistan is 18,000,000. The
rate of private gun ownership in Pakistan is 11.6 per 100 people. The number of
licensed gun owners in Pakistan is reported to be 7,000,000. Possession
of weapons is permitted under license. Applicants for a fun owner's license in
Pakistan are not required to prove genuine reasons to possess a firearm[16]. But besides
these bigger glaring realities that come to fore, it is very relevant to note
that different health complications are now on the rise among women in Karachi.
According to a study carried out in the city, 40 percent pregnant Karachiites
suffer stress and depression[17]. So, their
agony eats into their own mental and physical wellbeing and consequently the
entire fabric of the family gets disturbed.
Conclusion
The discussion in this background
paper covers less than tip of an ice-berg. It is an established fact in view of
various reports of civil society organizations and research institutes, reports
and journals of feminists groups, media reports, groups’ feedback and notes of
day to day observations that ‘security’ for women is inclusive. It appears to defy
the principle of ‘the art of defining something’ because it is about their
inner feeling of dignity, self respect, protection, sacrifice, aspirations,
vision and hopes , it is about their immediate surroundings, of their homes,
schools, colleges, streets markets, place of employment, it is about their families
and even extended families, it is about their neighbourhood and communities and
it is also of strategic nature that is not directly in sight even when they are
young girls and venture to look into a distant future. In fact, a very detailed
research work is needed on how Pakistani women define security amidst the host
of conflicts and issues existing at the regional, national, sub-national,
ethnic and sectarian, familial, communal, social, political and economic levels.
To scale it on a pertinent ground,
it is advisable to start by putting women in the center of the framework of Pakistan
Penal Code (PPC), Constitution of Pakistan, CEDAW, international laws on
refugees, and SAARC Social Charter to which Pakistan is a party and which
provide for the wellbeing of women in general sense. It is also important that
women’s insecurity is interpreted with respect to Personal Security, Economic Security, Food Security, Health Security, Environmental
Security, and Community Security,
and others, both at times of peace and war. The United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1325 may also be a very relevant document to guide any possible advocacy
on national and regional policy and programs framework formulation.
Pakistan’s official position with respect to UNSCR 1325 is not very
encouraging though. The state believes that if Pakistan signs the UNSCR 1325, it
is tantamount to accepting the fact that Pakistan is at war and then NATO
forces have the legitimacy to land in here and take control. So, in different
moots at Islamabad, the officials covertly or overtly maintained that only
Article 6 of the UNSCR 1325 is relevant to Pakistan which asks to sensitize
peace keeping forces in gender related issues. However, in so believing, our State,
in a way or other, is denying women’s inherent right to participate even in
those processes of decision making that relate to their own safety, security and
wellbeing. This is what makes “security”, “conflict resolution”, and even “policy
formulation” a masculine narrative. In believing so, the State defies 4Ps,
i.e., Prevention, Protection, Participation and Prosecution [even though some at
the higher corridors of power may agree, for the sake of rhetoric, that women
have the right to participate].
The future action of WRN is therefore rooted on and around the same context.
It is about claiming the space available within the Constitution of Pakistan,
Pakistan Penal Code, CEDAW, National Plan of Action, Gender Reform Action
Programs, SAARC Social Charter and other documents. So, the crux of this paper underscores
at least the significance of 3Ps, i.e., Prevention, Protection and
Participation with respect to the women’s overall sense of security/insecurity.
To negotiate the practical obstacles, let’s do without the 4th P and
stick efforts of the WRN to the mentioned documents. This means WRN needs to
focus its efforts on and around Prevention, which means the Network advocates
and lobbies for actions aimed to ensure ‘prevention’ of circumstances that lead
to make women insecure and unsafe in view of the accumulative sense explored
above. This is a call of gender justice programs and policy thrust with respect
to Personal Security, Economic
Security, Food Security, Health
Security, Environmental Security, and Community Security, and lot more that has yet to be defined by common women
themselves. This also means WRN should mobilize its efforts on and around
Protection, which in turn means policies and programs on local, provincial,
national and regional mechanisms that guarantee women’s protection. And last
but not least, it means programs on Participation that protect, promote and
support women’s right to participate in all decision making, especially in
conflict resolution, so that women’s perspective about peace and Security
should have its foot in the discourse and subsequent actions taking place from
a street in FATA to a high powered meeting at a five star hotel at Islamabad
and elsewhere.
References
[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security
[2] Dr. Mahbub ul Haq first drew global
attention to the concept of “human security” in the United Nations
Development Programme's 1994 Human
Development Report and sought to influence the UN's 1995 World Summit on Social
Development in Copenhagen
(Wikipedia). Human security is an emerging paradigm for understanding global
vulnerabilities whose proponents challenge the traditional notion of national security by arguing
that the proper referent for security should be the individual rather than the
state. Human security holds that a people-centered view of security is
necessary for national, regional and global stability. The concept emerged from
a post-Cold War, multi-disciplinary
understanding of security involving a number of research fields, including development studies, international relations, strategic studies, and human rights. The United Nations
Development Programme's 1994 Human Development Report[1] is considered a milestone
publication in the field of human security, with its argument that insuring
"freedom from want" and "freedom from fear" for all persons
is the best path to tackle the problem of global insecurity. Critics of the
concept argue that its vagueness undermines its effectiveness; that it has
become little more than a vehicle for activists wishing to promote certain
causes; and that it does not help the research community understand what
security means or help decision makers to formulate good policies (Wikipedia).
[3]
http://ochaonline.un.org/Default.aspx?alias=ochaonline.un.org/humansecurity
[4] Source: Women Human Rights Defenders’ Security
Strategies, Jane Barry with Vahida Nainar
[5]
Source: Women Human Rights Defenders’ Security
Strategies, Jane Barry with Vahida Nainar
[6] http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-6-105383-AJK-women-narrative-missing-on-Kashmir-conflict
[7]
The Cost of War: Afghan Experiences of Conflict 1978 – 2009
[8]
The Cost of War: Afghan Experiences of Conflict 1978 – 2009
[9]
Women Action for Peace and Non-violence, Insan Foundation Trust, 2012
[10] Muahid is a person or group of
persons who accept to live in the Islamic society after it is conquered by the
Muslims and the Islamic State is then responsible for their wellbeing and
protection.
[11] http://www.pkhope.com/when-gojra-became-godhra/
[12] http://friendsoftheoppressed.org/?p=152
[13] http://dawn.com/2012/03/09/plight-of-hindu-girls-in-sindh/
[14] http://www.balawaristan.net/Latest-news/karachi-unholy-alliances-for-mayhem-report-of-an-hrcp-fact-finding-mission.html
[15]
IANSA Women’s Network
[16]http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/pakistan, http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/pakistan
[17] http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2012/01/30/city/karachi/40-percent-pregnant-karachiites-suffer-stress-and-depression/
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