A delegation of Aurat Foundation Lahore staff visited Begum Zakia Shahnawaz at her home to congratulate her and her party for winning the general election 2013. The delegation was led by Ms Nasreen Zehra, Resident Director, Lahore Office. Other members of the delegation included Ms Mumtaz Mughal, MsNabeela Shahin, Mr Abid Ali, Mr ZubairYousaf and Ms Arfa.

She expressed her commitment to continue working with AF for empowerment and upliftof community women, especially implementation of women empowerment package. 

Aurat Foundation displayed a stall in the Islamabad Expo, organized by the Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry- (IWCCI), 13 – 14 April, 2013, at the Jinnah Convention Centre.  Aurat Foundation displayed its publications, particularly on related to women’s participation in the General Elections 2013.  The Women Chamber is working for the economic and social development of women since more than decades. For the past two consecutive years Islamabad Women Chamber is organizing Islamabad Expo at Jinnah Convention Center Islamabad. Aurat Foundation also set up a stall last year as well.

Aurat Foundation, in collaboration with Free and Fair Elections Network (FAFEN),Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and Special Talent Exchange Program (STEP) organized a conference titled ‘Conference on Election Observation to  Promote International Standards in Election Observation’,  on April 4, 2013, at Marriot, Islamabad.  The  organizations, which going to observe General Elections 2013, have pledged to observe elections according to the recognized methodology defined in Declaration of Global Principles for Non-Partisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organizations.

In a conference held in Islamabad on Thursday, the Pakistani organizations were joined by international associations of citizen observation groups from Asia, Middle East and Southern Africa and by Democracy Reporting International (DRI), National Democratic Institute (NDI) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Khawar Mumtaz, Chairperson of the National Commission on the Status of Women, opened the conference and commended Pakistani organizations for taking the step towards ensuring credible election observation: “Accountability and transparency in elections is a two-way street – we ask for it from the election commission and seek equally from the observers to be transparent and share the standards being used”.

Vladimir Pran from DRI said:“The standards used by international and domestic observer groups to assess elections are an extension of the obligations and commitments Pakistan made under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). These treaties include the obligation to facilitate election observation.”

National Coordinator for HRCP Core Groups Hussain Naqi said that HRCP is planning to monitor the elections in those 56 constituencies which are sensitive in the context of human rights violations. Calling upon the voters to exercise their right to franchise on election day, he said, “Your destiny is in your hands! Prove it".

Sharing observation plans for the upcoming elections, Naeem Mirza from Aurat Foundation explained that the focus of AF will be on participation of women “We will be reporting on how the authorities are guaranteeing women’s rights. Our special focus will be arrangements made by the ECP.” Mirza commended the ECP for planning to provide data on women’s turnout on polling day for the first time in Pakistan.  He also said that while the national and international organizations and networks would be observing and monitoring general elections, Aurat Foundation would also be observing and monitoring the Election Commission of Pakistan to see whether it has made necessary  arrangements for maximizing women’s participation in the elections and if see there were no violation of women’s right to vote and representation.

The preamble of the ‘Declaration of Global Principles for Non-Partisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organizations’ says:

 

“ Non-partisan election observation and monitoring by citizens organizations has emerged as one of the most tangible and significant dimensions of democratic development around the glob  ……………  Non-partisan election observation and monitoring by citizens organizations is part of participating in public affairs, which ‘relates to legislative, executive and administrative powers’ and ‘covers all aspects of public administration, and formulation of implementation of policy ………….  Non-partisan election observers and monitors can  be considered as specialized human rights defenders focused on civil and political rights, which are central to achieving genuine elections.  Genuine elections require respect for the exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including association, peaceful assembly, expression, media freedom, movement, security of person, equal protection of the law prospective voters and those seeking to be elected……..”

Hannah Roberts, Deputy Chief Observer, European Union Observation Mission, gave a presentation on the International Standards in Observation of the 2013 Elections Access of voters with disabilities will be under scrutiny of STEP, said Ms Abia akram, Director Programme, STEP (an organization promoting rights of persons with disabilities). Sarwar Bari from FAFEN called for formalization of these rights, “The ECP should give accreditation to local observation networks as organisations instead of giving it to individual observers,” he said. Telibert Laoc, from National Democratic Institute, introduced the Declaration of Global Principles for Non-Partisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organizations which has been endorsed by180 independent election monitoring organizations in over 75 countries around the globe. The Declaration incorporates global standards into citizen observation in order to strengthen the role of domestic observers in the electoral process.

National civil society organizations planning election observation present at the conference acknowledged the importance of adhering to internationally recognized standards for the responsible conduct of their duties as observers. Discussing the importance of the relationship between elections commissions and observers, Zurab Tchiaberashvili, former Chairman of Georgian elections commission, said: “Elections can never be credible and in line with international standards without proper and long-term observation. Simple fact is that election authorities need election observers to support the electoral process.

In order to console the traumatized residents of Josef Colony, Lahore, AF Lahore team visited them on March 12, 2013.  They also issued a press statement and condemned the attack on the Christian community of the Colony. (On March 9, 2013, a mob rampaged through the Joseph Colony- a Christian locality, while the local police precincts in a nearby go down. The infuriated masses looted and torched every house in the area, sparing none.

ISLAMABD: Today we, as women of Pakistan, declare our solidarity with the women of the world on the 102nd anniversary of International Women’s Day – a day that has been commemorated since 1911 to voice women’s concerns and highlight their perspective on social, economic and political issues. Through the years women have demanded the right to vote and hold public office, the right to work and an end to discrimination at work. They have protested against war and violence and struggled for the attainment of peace.

The issue of women’s rights eventually won official acknowledgment from the UN and 1975 was declared the International Women’s Year. The First World Conference on Women was held that same year in Mexico, and the Government of Pakistan sent a strong women’s delegation, which was led by Begum Nusrat Bhutto. March 8 was designated as International Women’s Day by the nations of the world at this historic conference.

 

The women of Pakistan have a rich history. They participated in the struggle for independence under the leadership of Quaid-e-Azam and have continued to play an active role in the country’s development. Today, as we celebrate International Women’s Day, our hearts go out to all those who have lost their relatives and friends in the cold-blooded violence unleashed in our country in the name of religion. Today, while hundreds of thousands have been senselessly killed, many more have been maimed and are spending their days in pain and misery. We believe that violence whether against women, or people of another sect, religion, ethnicity or country, is a product of a patriarchal mindset – a mindset that seeks to exploit and subjugate others and appropriate resources and power for itself.

We, as women of Pakistan, reiterate our commitment to peace and social justice, and demand that those who have committed heinous crimes against the nation’s citizens must not be allowed impunity. We call upon the nation to pledge on this day to stand up for a peaceful and just Pakistan – a tolerant and just Pakistan that was dreamed of by the Quaid and those women and men who sacrificed much to make Pakistan a reality – where all citizens can have equal opportunities and live in peace and harmony.

The rally is organized by different civil society organizations and networks including Insani Huqooq Ittehad (IHI) Network, End Violence against Women and Girls (EVAW/ G) alliance, Women Action Forum (WAF), Fight against Dowry Advocacy Network (FADAN) & dosti YAN (Youth Advocacy Network). 

The exhibition displayed the works of senior artists Mansoor Rahi, Hajra Mansoor, Raja Changez Sultan, Nsir Malik, Aliya Mirza, Raja Najam-ul-Hassan, Mir Wais, Zainab Nawaz, and works of students of Foundation University. The event was inaugurated by Her Excellency Cecilie Landsverk, Ambassador of Norway, and Ms Tahira Abdullah, renown human and women’s rights activist.

The works of Mir Waiz, Aliya Mirza and Nsir Malik drew special attention of art lovers. Waiz depicted the misery and suffering of children and women of Afghanistan.  Aliya’s ten feminist paintings including ‘missing women’, buried alive’, ‘resistance’ and ‘how many walls’ depicted multiple discrimination and violence faced by women. Nsir Malik’s calligraphy and portraits were much appreciated.   

Ms Cecilie Landsverk  was most impressed by the diversity of art work by both students and senior artists put on display.  She reiterated her continuing commitment to support cultural activities in Pakistan and wished everyone a Happy International Women’s Day.  She thanked the Rawalpindi Arts Council and the student of Foundation University for inviting her to celebrate International Women’s Day with them.

 Ms Tahira Abdullah appreciated the commitment to art of both the Rawalpindi Arts Council and the student of Foundation University.  She encouraged the young art students to learn how to depict the situation of women in Pakistan, particularly reflecting ‘violence  against women’ from the  works  of Alya Mirza and Mir Waiz and Nsir Malik.  She requested the students never to forget those 50,000 Pakistanis killed by  the  terrorists.  The art work of 12 students by Foundation University had a theme of ‘Death and Soul’.  The students depicted the situation women, the poor,  the persecuted and the unfortunate members of society.  The Malala Yousafzai’s corner portrayed Malala’s courage through paintings and art collage. 

Ms Samina Jamshed, Art Therapist, said  that the exhibition was a good opportunity for the young artists to display their work, and also learn from the works  of senior artists.  She said that the exhibition would be on till Monday evening (March 11, 2013).

The art exhibition was endorsed by Mi Corazon, a Canadian NGO, and was supported by Aurat Foundation.

Ministry of Women Development, UN-Women, Aurat Foundation and other civil society organizations organized an event to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, 2013, at Serena Hotel, Quetta. Ms Surayya Aladin, renowned women activist, was the Chief Guest and Mr Sultan Bayazeed (Provincial Election Commissioner) was the Guest of Honor.

The speakers highlighted the importance of women’s day and appreciated the role of women in the society. Mr Ishfaq Mengal (Programme Officer) from Aurat Foundation shared his views on ending violence against women in Balochistan. Students from schools and colleges presented tablo and poetry. GEP documentary ‘Main Safar Main Hoon’ was also played.

Aurat Foundation organized a concluding event of ‘One Billion Rising’ campaign to end violence against women on February 14, 2013, at Arts Council, Karachi. The event included a seminar and a dance performance by Sheema Kirmani on the theme of ending violence against women. The campaign was launched in December, 2012.

Ms Mahnaz Rahman, Resident Director gave a detailed background of the “One Billion Rising” campaign and current situation of violence against women in Pakistan.  Major Speakers of the event included Justice(R) Majida Razvi, Ms Noor-Ul Huda Shah, writer and activist, Ms Farhat Parveen, Now Communities, Ms Naghma from Network for Women Rights, and Ms Attiya Dawood, writer and an activist.

A number of guests from civil societies, education and development sectors, government and non-government organisations, media and students attended the event and pledged to work against violence against women. All the staff members of Aurat Foundation were also present at the occasion.

Aurat Foundation, in collaboration with Democracy Reporting International (DRI) organized a training workshop on CEDAW for Aurat Foundation’s core staff that would be monitoring the upcoming general elections.  The said training, delivered by DRI’s international consultant Ms Hannah Roberts and Madiha Farhan, focused on women’s participation in elections as voters and candidates.  The training participants included AF staff from Islamabad office (eleven), two each from Karachi and Quetta, Lahore and Peshawar offices, one each from Quetta and Skardu office, and

The content of the training included principals and structures of international human rights law, CEDAW obligations and commitments (article 7 and general recommendations 23), making written instruments, consideration of how Pakistan measures up in implementation of CEDAW commitments in regards to elections, awareness on how to assess compliance with CEDAW commitments, familiarity with the Declaration of Global Principles, electoral observation activities, identification of steps for reporting and familiarity with ICCPR and UDHR.  The participants agreed that De-Jure principles on women’s political participation, as put in the UN declarations, are not enough, and the government shall take’s De-Facto measure to ensure women’s political empowerment.  The government and the Election Commission of Pakistan shall take measure to empower and enable district elections commission office to become pro-active in ensuring women’s active participation in elections.

It was agreed that Democracy Reporting International and Aurat Foundation would prepare a brief paper on the outcome of the training workshop.

Aurat Foundation, in collaboration with Parliamentarians Commission for Human Rights (PCHR), organized a National Consultation on Women’s Empowerment in Political Parties’ Election Manifestos, on Wednesday, 30 January in Islamabad.  The main objective of the consultation was to dialogue with Political Party representatives to incorporate the Handbook recommendations into their Manifestos.

Aurat Foundation launched the Handbook titled ‘Suggestions on Women’s Empowerment for Election Manifestos of Political Parties’ co-authored by Naheed Aziz and Tahira Abdullah, development practitioners and rights activists.   Riaz Fatyana, Chairperson, National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights, chaired the event; Naeem Mirza, Chief Operating Officer Aurat Foundation, was the Co-Chair.

Ch. Shafique from the Parliamentarians Commission for Human Rights (PCHR) coordinated the event. Mr Naeem Mirza, Chief Operating Officer Aurat Foundation, welcomed the members of political parties in the national consultation.  He said that usually gender is a social construction, but we women and human rights activists at Aurat Foundation have learned that gender is a ‘political construction’. 

Naheed Aziz, in her presentation, pointed out the rationale for mainstreaming girls’ and women’s concerns in the Election Manifestos in all interventions focusing on major policies, plans and macro-economic structures and social sectors; the  need to increase budgets for women-focused in initiatives, especially in health and education sector; the terminology used should be explicit, and should clearly indicate sex/age and sub-group differentiation; and that there should be no gap in understanding  between those who prepare manifestos for their political parties, and those who implement those manifestos.  She also emphasized the need for consistency across each Manifesto, ensuring that statements in one part should not negate or dilute the others.  There should be very clear inter- and intra-sectoral linkages.  She specified the indicators demonstrating a Party’s commitment to democratic development, particularly in the gender perspective.

Tahira Abdullah demanded an end to paternalistic benevolence, patriarchal, feudal and religio-political structures impeding women’s empowerment, particularly political participation; and an end to perceiving reserved seats, quotas and affirmative action for women as charitable handouts; this is necessary to level the uneven playing field.  She advocated that political parties should allocate tickets for women to contest elections directly on general seats, as democracy should not be about ‘electability’ and ‘winnability’, but it is all about inclusion and fairplay; and women’s participation is the result of their long struggle for political, legal and socio-economic rights.  She emphasized the need for a fresh census, and demanded that the census should not be termed ‘mardum shumari’ but ‘insaan-shumaari” or ‘fard-shumaari” as the census is not only the counting of men and boys, but also women and girls.  She emphasized the need to focus on the ‘feminization of poverty’, unemployment, health, girls’ education, and the rising tide of Talibanization, jihadism, extremism and terrorism.

Senator Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo (National Party), in his remarks agreed that the manifestos of political parties do need a lot of addition and improvement.  Dr Ishaque Baloch, from National Party, Balochistan, in his remarks said that his party and leaders believe that women’s active political participation is must for a strong democratic system. Ms Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli, from Qaumi Watan Party, Balochistan, appreciated the timing of the consultation as most of the political parties are in process of writing / re-writing their manifestos.  She said that her party is against any type of discrimination against women and believes in enhancing women’s participation in politics and governance.  Ms Mehnaz Rafi, from Pakistan Tahrik-e-Insaf, in her remarks said that most of the political parties ignore the issues of women’s rights at the most crucial times.  For example, all the political parties gave cold response to the popular demand of repealing of Hudood Ordinances. 

Ms Farah Aqil, Senator from ANP, while talking about the women’s presence in political parties, agreed that although the situation is not very good in her own party, but leaders of her party believe in bringing more women in the parties and in the parliaments. Ms Khushbakht Shujaat, MNA from MQM, in her remarks said that her party fully agrees with most of the suggestions as proposed by Aurat Foundation in the booklet.  She also  said that one of the major reason behind discrimination against women is  the ‘neem-mulaet’ (so-called religious-ism) as whenever there is a talk of women’s rights, religious  leaders bring in the religion.  Ms Nuzhat  Sadiq, Senator from  PML-N, in her remarks said that  there is a need to  collect more data on situations of women in health, education, economic, employment and all other sectors.  She said that her party has recently worked a lot on women’s right to inheritance. 

Mir Khursheed Jamal Deeni, from Balochistan National Party (BNP) in his remarks said that violence and terrorism, continued since the times of General Musharaff, has drastically affected women’s rights in Balochistan.  Mr Anwar Soomro, General Secretary of Awami Tahrik, Sindh, said that his party, under the leadership of Rasool Bux Palijo, was the first party to establish a political party for Sindhi women, called Sindhianni Tahreek.  He also demanded that instead of 17% or 33% quota for women in the parliaments, there shall be 50% quota for women on reserved seats.  Mr Enwar Baig, Senator from PML-N, in his remarks emphasized that political parties and governments in Pakistan shall collectively increase the budget in education and health sector and also increase women’s education and opportunities in employment.

Chair of the consultation Mr Riaz Fatyana, Chairperson, Standing Committee on Human Rights, in his concluding remarks, while appreciating the participation of all the representatives from various political parties, said there is a need to change the common mindset of feeling shame in bringing women out in politics, education and employment.  While emphasizing on women’s economic empowerment, he said that the political parties shall ensure increase in women’s quota in employment more than 10%.