Changing Priorities

Today, numerous Bangladeshi women are taking charge of their personal and professional lives. However, widespread gender bias and violence continue to challenge their dreams of emancipation and empowerment. Have the two women Prime Ministers of Bangladesh made a difference in the life of an average woman?

South Asian politics is dominated by dynastic trends and the presence of women leaders at the helm of affairs. The former is an unfortunate reality but the latter should be a source of pride for developing nations that have traditionally struggled with gender issues to provide their women with some very basic human rights. Whether it is the assassinated former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan and Indira Gandhi of India, or the still vibrant Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, we must credit these women for their determination and persistence against the norms of their male-dominated cultures. Unfortunately, however, that is not a testament to women’s empowerment because not only do most of these women leaders have a strong male connection as primary reason for their rise to power, but also the life of an average woman has remained largely unchanged under their rule.

Bangladesh is a developing nation of 165 million with an adult literacy rate of about 55%. It has been run almost exclusively for the past two decades by Bangladesh’s two Begums – current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Awami League (AL), and opposition leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Sheikh Hasina is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s independence hero and first prime minister murdered in 1975. Khaleda Zia is the widow of former president, Maj. Gen. Ziaur Rahman assassinated in a failed coup attempt in 1981.

As Prime Ministers, the Begums have been known to run corrupt regimes, and faced criminal charges. In 2007, the army tried to end their monopoly on power when it seized power by splitting their vote banks and trying to create alternate forces. However, the Begums’ parties proved resilient and Sheikh Hasina came back to power in Dec 2008 and promptly resumed business as usual by filing more corruption charges against her opponent.

It is safe to say the last two decades have seen Bangladeshi women become more visible on the social and professional scene, but the gains have fallen short of expectation, especially under successive women Prime Minsters. So while the Begums focus on each other, the majority of women fight their own battles at home and in the social sphere against harassment, assault, kidnapping, acid throwing, and murder over dowry disputes.

Amnesty International reported that in 2010 police had received more than 3,500 complaints of physical abuse of women over dowry disputes, and in 2011, violence against women topped all crimes reported to the police between January and June, and 1586 out of 7,285 complaints were of rape cases. Due to prevalent patriarchal social attitudes, women in general, but especially from low socioeconomic backgrounds, lack access to resources for protection or legal redress. Domestic violence, however, transcends class barriers and acid-throwing is a brutal favoured punishment of spurned suitors or disgruntled husbands. There is also extensive trafficking of women to other countries in Asia and Middle East, lured by job prospects but forced into prostitution.

Moreover, The Daily Star quoted United Nations World Food Program (UNWFP) on International Women’s Day 2012 asserting that much effort was still needed to improve the lives of women in Bangladesh. The report said that almost half of the female population in Bangladesh is married before reaching 16, which results in higher pregnancy rate in adolescence, and undernourished mothers then give birth to underweight babies. Many young girls are still denied schooling and face bleak futures. UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon urged the government, civil society and the private sector to work for gender equality in Bangladesh, which had not kept pace with strides in economic development.

Clearly, Bangladesh’s economic gains are not fully transferred to its women though their contribution to the economy is substantial, especially to the garment industry which is the source of 90% of Bangladesh’s foreign exchange. Institutions like Grameen Bank and BRAC have revolutionized the lives of many rural women by extending micro-credit to them, and have contributed to their economic empowerment, but unfortunately, Grameen Bank founder, the Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, has been attacked by Sheikh Hasina, ironically again, in what is seen as a political move.

Gender bias has also often surfaced through religious expression. In April 2011, CNN reported   that when the government announced its Women Development Policy 2011 about inheritance of property, protests broke out from the radical Islamic parties that considered it a violation of the Quran’s injunctions about inheritance. Ironically, the opposition party BNP of Kahleda Zia was reported to be supporting the protest, undermining the cause of women’s empowerment just to gain some political mileage.

In July 2011, Human Rights Watch reiterated its concern for Bangladeshi women who are increasingly on the receiving end of religious fatwas issued by so-called scholars, even against the rulings of civil courts, in shalishes, the traditional dispute resolution methods. These decrees have resulted in humiliating punishments resulting in death for young girls wrongly accused. The punishments include imposing fines, lashing, cutting hair or blackening faces, and ostracizing families, carried out by vigilantes. While many of these incidents go unreported, human rights groups claim at least 300 such incidents have occurred in the last decade. In 2011, one particular case in Shariatpur district highlighted the seriousness of the issue when the shalish ordered 100 lashes to Hena Akhter for an alleged affair, when she had reportedly been sexually abused. She collapsed while the punishment was being carried out, and later died. Thus, the government’s failure to effectively address such incidences and implement legislation continues to result in grievous harm to women under the watch of their woman Prime Minister.

 It should be a matter of pride for Bangladesh that in November 2010 it was elected to the board of UN Women, but to do justice to this role Bangladesh’s Begums need to shift focus from personal and political gains and use their position to aggressively to work towards emancipation and empowerment of the average woman. Only then can the Bangladeshi women be truly proud of their Begums. 

A version of this article was published in SouthAsia, April 2012, as Changing Priorities

Demystifying Shari'ah

The conference held at the Islamic Center of New England in Sharon, on Saturday, March 31, was appropriately named as "Demystifying Shari'ah" - a word not many were familiar with until a few years ago, a concept so charged today that it fiercely divides communities and send chills down spines.

The aim of the conference was to educate the audience in a spirit similar to what President John F. Kennedy had famously said, "…a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people."

The full-day long program ended with dinner as per tradition of the Islamic Center of New England – some of my friends find the spicy food served at the ICNE reason enough to attend any event there, so I was hoping that combined with the topic's popularity (or notoriety?) would draw a big crowd. I am thankful to those who came, though I did not see many unfamiliar faces and felt an opportunity for sharing concerns and seeking answers seemed lost. I assumed many were either held up by prior commitments or by the inability to overcome their fears – or perhaps, simply, the advertising efforts needed more work!

Read full article at  Sharon Patch

THE WORLD IN BLACK AND WHITE

“Why are South Asians so fascinated with a fair complexion?” asked my American friend, Ruth.

The monthly meeting of our book club was in session. Having read Bapsi Sidhwa’s An American Brat, the members were ready to discuss the book’s contents.

“Doesn’t it look lovely?” I asked.

“Not if you are Rihaana!” Quipped Charlotte and everyone laughed.

“And not if it shows all your wrinkles more!” added Jane.

“You can’t have it both ways, can you?” I chuckled. “Actually, it’s probably a post-colonial association issue. White-skin has become synonymous with power and status for us.”

Everyone nodded, understandingly but the conversation started me thinking if our fascination with white skin was just a colonial hangover or a symptom of something deeper.

Skin-tone prejudice may be defined as giving darker-skinned people discriminatory social treatment. Anthropologists and historians believe the symbolism of white and black colours is universal and originates from the basic distinction of light and darkness. They also acknowledge its gender connection. In Fair Women, Dark Men: The forgotten Roots of Colour Prejudice, anthropologist Peter Frost says, “lighter women were preferred in medieval Japan, Aztec Mexico and Moorish Spain, even before there was significant contact with Western ideology.” Sociologist Pierre L. van den Berghe, also writes in his foreword, “Although virtually all cultures express a marked preference for fair female skin, even those with little or no exposure to European imperialism…many are indifferent to male pigmentation or even prefer men to be darker.”

This adds another dimension to the system of gender prejudice prevalent in South Asian societies of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Pakistan is ethnically very diverse, and women of the North Western areas that host fair-skinned populations are relatively free of this prejudice while other ethnic groups are more vulnerable. We all remember Junaid Jamshed’s hit song, ‘Goray-rung-ka-zamana’ that prompted an outcry from the not-so-fair maidens and resulted in, ‘Saanwli-saloni-si-mehbooba’. Though JJ obviously did not mean to be discriminatory, his choice of topics shows how deeply our society has unconsciously adopted this bias and become complicit in a gender crime that flourishes at home, at the workplace and in public spheres.

Workplace discrimination is hard to tackle since the methods are usually subtle, and many women are discouraged by fear of reprisal and lack of trust in legal recourse. This discrimination comes in the form of racial slurs in the US, but the legal system is more effective there, for example, in 2008 a black woman, Tomeika Broussard, was granted $44,000 in damages in a lawsuit because her boss repeatedly called her ‘reggin’, a racial slur spelt backwards.

Sadly, many wonderful women’s personal lives suffer because of widespread skin-tone bias when even dark-skinned Romeos pass them by for fairer maidens. However, more disturbing is when women themselves become equal participants of this cruel practice against their own kind — a case of the abused turning into abusers. When looking for bahus, mothers-in-law often act as hard-to-please prejudiced gatekeepers, thereby ruining the happiness of many girls and destroying any chance of finding compatible partners for their sons.

A friend once described her humiliating experience with the rishta aunties. As they enjoyed tea and samosas, she overheard them calling attention to her feet in case she had applied whitening creams on her face to hide her true complexion. Her intellectual accomplishments and pleasant mannerism meant nothing to them. What an unfortunate experience for any self-respecting female. On a similar note, African-American author Marita Golden writes in her memoir, “Don’t Play in the Sun”, about the colour-based bias of her mother when she tells her to stay out of the sun because, “You’re going to have to get a light-skinned husband for the sake of your children as it is”. This admonishment is familiar to many South Asian girls and points to the universal nature of this prejudice.
In such a discriminatory atmosphere, commercial gains are not lost to the shrewd businessman. Skin lightening products are a huge and lucrative industry in India and Pakistan. A 2007 New York Times report revealed that half of India’s skincare market comprised skin whitening products because, as Ashok Venkatramani of Hindustan Lever explained, “The definition of beauty in the Western world is linked to anti-aging…In Asia, it’s all about being two shades lighter.” The advertisements of popular fairness creams show dark, lonely women transforming into fair, happy beauties with fulfilling lives, thereby belittling their achievements and connecting their happiness to meaningless superficial concerns.

Colour discrimination in the United States largely affects people of South Asian descent, African Americans and Hispanics.Some anthropologists believe that the African diaspora is as much traumatised by ‘colourism’ as by racism and colonialism.
Studies show darker-skinned people to be at a socio-economic disadvantage even in today’s politically-correct West. South Asian and African-American communities themselves prefer lighter skin, proving that the discrimination is not just brought on from outside but embraced by victim communities themselves — an African-American retailer was sued by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2008 for calling his darker-skinned employee ‘too dark’ and ‘black as charcoal’.

Perceptions of beauty among African-American women favour lighter-skinned Halle Berry over the darker Whoopi Goldberg or Oprah, and while Michelle Obama may be a celebrated dark-skinned beauty, that perception may be influenced by her position as the American First Lady. Darker Asian men have recently come to focus on their complexion encouraged by fairness creams aimed at men. Darker African-American men, by contrast, have had it tough throughout history and been assigned to fieldwork while their lighter counterparts worked indoors. The Christian Science Monitor recently reported about the former Mississippi governor’s pardon controversy — of all the pardons Barbour had granted, two-thirds were for white prisoners when the prison racial make-up is two-thirds black, thus revealing the possible reach of colour prejudice extending into the US justice system.

Though the era of political correctness discourages open expressions of prejudice in many societies, skin-based discrimination still flourishes unhindered. In order to bring down the colour collateral this bias exacts from our women, we must deny it the mental and physical space it occupies in our social-scape so that no accomplished dark maiden need summon the mirror on her wall to weigh her worth. Let us, indeed, adjust our priorities for the better.

Published in Dawn Review as "The World in Black and White" , March 18, 2012.

All-American Americans

The home-improvement store, Lowe's, has pulled its advertising from TLC's "All-American Muslim," a reality series based on the lives of five American Muslim families from Dearborn, Mich.

Lowe's decision was prompted by the complaint of an evangelical Christian group known as the Florida Family Association, who threatened to boycott the company's products because they believed the show projected "propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda's clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values."

Lowe's customers are divided in their support for and against the decision, and protests have also started. Senator Ted Lieu has called the action "bigoted, shameful and un-American." 

This is a free country, one may argue. Lowe's is a private company and unless it is in breach of contract with TLC, it is entitled to making its business decisions independent of any outside influence or interference.

That would be a valid argument, except for a minor detail: Lowe's decision to withdraw its advertising from TLC's reality show is a direct response to the negative campaign against Muslim Americans by an interest group. Hence, it brings to surface a deeper debate – a debate about American liberties and consumer driven social order.   

So, what is this reality show called "All-American Muslim" about? Who are the "controversial" characters that are so out of favor with the Florida Family Association that they threaten their sense of civil liberties and traditional values?

A quick viewing of the pilot episode introduces one to the five American Muslim families. One couple deals with family drama while tying the knot, another welcomes their first baby; a third couple teaches their four children to balance religious and cultural identities, the fourth juggles an all too familiar balancing act of parenting and careers, and a fifth family features an independent and ambitious Muslim woman.

Their professions range from special education aide to respiratory therapist, federal agent, football coach and law enforcement – as diverse in their line of work as they are in the expression of their faith where hijab and low necklines make for an interesting contrast. What, one wonders, could be more representative of the American experience and less threatening to American liberties? "All-American Muslims" should really be called "All-American Americans," and the only controversy they may be accused of evoking is challenging the stereotype. 

When the producers at TLC conceived the idea of a show about American Muslims, it was likely to gain some good publicity and steady viewership, and challenging negative perceptions about a community that is openly vilified.

The five families featured in the show also aimed to discourage hate-filled rhetoric they encounter in public by allowing TV cameras into the privacy of their homes. A 2010 Gallup survey reveals that 63 percent of Americans acknowledge that they have "little" or "none at all" knowledge of Islam, and 53 percent have a "not favorable at all" view about Muslims. The FFA's complaint shows that many of us would rather continue to embrace their willful ignorance than welcome the opportunity to become better informed.

No matter how one analyses Lowe's decision, it comes out as irrational. Perhaps FFA and Lowe's should have read the 2011 Pew Research Study titled "Muslim Americans: No Sign of Growth in Alienation or Support for Extremism" to alleviate their fears. In the absence of solid evidence of the "Islamic agenda" that Muslims have been accused of, there can be no justification for FFA's insinuation.  

Business-wise, the decision seems unwise, and Senator Lieu speaks for many when he says, "As a consumer, I find Lowe's bigotry to be nonsensical."

When experts at Lowe's put their heads together to weigh their options, perhaps they should have done their research thoroughly.

According to the largest advertising agency in the U.S., JWT's 2007 study,  the combined annual disposable income from Muslim households in America is estimated at more than $170 billion, and for 70 percent of the respondents "brands play an important role in their purchasing decisions, compared to 55 percent for the average American." It is sad that Lowe's has chosen to embrace the bigotry purported by the FFA. Unless some steps are taken as redress, it is not hard to imagine where that disposable income will not end up.

Interest groups are at liberty to push for their agendas because this is a free country, but we have a civic responsibility to reject what damages societal harmony. To suspend rational thought and give others the power to exploit us leads to social chaos, and we inadvertently become enablers of hatred. That only makes for a fractured community, not a strong cohesive one. 

Published in Sharon Patch as  'All American Muslims' are Really All-American Americans Dec 2011

Dignity of Labour

Feature

International Worker’s Day celebrates how far we have come in terms of securing social and economic rights of workers around the world, but also a reminder of how much more needs to be done.

The United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families defines a migrant worker as, “a person who is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national.”

The Middle East has been a sought after destination for migrant workers from South Asia since the 70s. An International Labor Organization (ILO) estimate puts the number of foreign workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States of Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and UAE, at 9.5 million, and about 7.5 million of these belong to Asia.

The multidimensional implications and reasons for migration of South Asian laborers to the Middle East are worth pondering. A research paper titled “Migrant Workers and Xenophobia in the Middle East” (UN Research Institute for Social Development) analyzes trends in migration to countries in the Middle East. The report expounds on how the development plans resulting from the oil price boom in the Gulf States in 1973 prompted the GCC countries to attract workers from abroad. Though initially there were Arab workers from the Gulf Cooperation Council states, very soon the demand could not be met without inviting more workers from Asian nations. These workers became the major contributors to the inexpensive, efficient and diligent work force over a short period of time. Their willingness to work on a temporary status also made them the preferred choice of the Arab States concerned about citizenship issues.

The report acknowledged that the Asian governments supporting their recruitment agencies were enthusiastic for their workers to take this opportunity in order to ease the pressure of unemployment and to contribute in stimulating economies of home countries. According to this research paper, “in 1999 total remittances to Sri Lanka from workers abroad totalled $1 billion, which constituted around 20 per cent of foreign goods imports for the previous year and more than the trade deficit of $0.7 billion.”

Initially, the workers were satisfied since many of them were able to enjoy a relatively higher standard of living because of better-paid jobs than they would have at home living on $2/day. However, the report acknowledged that despite being hard working and efficient, Asians ended up with the raw end of the deal because as temporary contract workers they were not protected under any UN or ILO conventions, or local labor laws. Moreover, their dangerous and difficult jobs also became associated with these migrant workers to such a degree that locals refused to accept them, despite compelling poverty and unemployment. The governments involved have often been accused of not making a serious effort to improve conditions for migrants for fear of affecting the demand, and hence their economy.

Migrant workers, whether working as gardeners, domestic workers, construction workers or porters who left their homes in search of better futures have complained to Human Rights Watch activists of shattered dreams and hopes. The plight of these workers has been highlighted in reports by the Human Rights Watch over the years. Migrant workers from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, lured by recruiters with promises of easy work and good living conditions, found realities on ground to be quite different. Since workers from poor families are usually illiterate they were ignorant of the loopholes in contracts that signed over their rights to legal redress, as well as agreeing to years of hard labor. Male migrant workers mostly work in construction, manufacturing and agricultural fields, while women prefer domestic work. A day’s shift for a worker may go up to 12 hours/day in hot and humid environment for an average of $8/day.

A report titled, “Dubai in a Jagged World” by Ahmed Kanna, a post doctoral fellow at the University of Iowa, describes how the passports are confiscated and workers housed in “closely watched camps, sorted into wage categories that seem to parallel their nationalities and shipped from these ‘company accommodations’ to their work sites in cramped company buses, their only means of transportation outside the camps.” Critics claim Dubai has largely ignored recommendations of UN on the issue of migrant workers, while companies remain resistant to reform when it involves spending money.

In some companies in Sharja, workers have shared shattered dreams living without proper plumbing, electricity or food, and ultimately, work. Faced with dire choices, absconding seems like an attractive option but it is effectively checked by confiscation of passports. Absconding used to be a big problem in Bahrain where accommodations are believed to be much worse, and unpaid wage issues causing serious tension. Employers blame the global economic downturn for delays in payment or for companies going bankrupt, and simply dump the workers without passports and wages. Though it is illegal in Bahrain to withhold wages and authorizes government to prosecute employers, it is a long and costly process and the workers choose instead to leave the country with help from their embassies. Human rights organizations are active and supportive of the migrant workers difficulties in dealing with abusive employers or recovery of wages and passports, but it is not an easy task and the results are not always in their favour.

Women from South Asia constitute a huge percentage of migrant workers. Their condition is much worse as they work mostly as domestic workers, confined in homes and completely at the mercy of their employers. They suffer sexual harassment and abuse on a large scale, with no mechanisms for redress. A study supported by the UN Research Institute for Social Development described how “domestic workers in Lebanon live under conditions that have been likened to slavery. The structural arrangements, including the threat of violence, restriction of movement and exploitative employment conditions, have led to significantly widespread abuse of these women, who constitute a particularly vulnerable group, comprise the bulk of foreign workers from Sri Lanka and the Philippines.”

A major issue faced by women is testing HIV positive at the time of renewal of their contracts. A report titled, “HIV Vulnerabilities of Migrant Women: from Asia to the Arab States” released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Joint U.N. Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) exposed the magnitude of the problem. This report was the result of serious concerns expressed by Pakistan at the WHO forum in 2007 regarding forced deportations of women workers from Arab countries after testing positive for HIV. It acknowledged that the women “leave for work under unsafe conditions, live in very difficult circumstances, and are often targets of sexual exploitation and violence before they depart, during their transit and stay in host countries and on return to their countries of origin”. Nothing effective has apparently been done so far to provide security from sexual abuse and violence to these women, and they continue to suffer.

To bring some hope into the lives of all those serving under difficult circumstances, strict monitoring is required at every step, starting with recruitment agencies, while regulation and monitoring by labor-sending and labor receiving countries to maintain a level of respect for the rights of the work force is essential for change. Indeed, no celebration of achievements would be complete without continued support for restoration of the dignity of labour for South Asian migrant workers.

SouthAsia, May 2010.

Debate over Basic Rights

Declaration of the Rights of the Child, Principle 9, proclaimed by General Assembly Resolution 1386 (IXV) of 20 Nov, 1959 states in unambiguous terms that “The child shall be protected against all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation”.

In practice, however, abuse of children’s human rights is rampant in many parts of the world. In poor countries, there exists a serious form of abuse called ‘child labour’. Every child deserves to grow up in a healthy environment, free of exploitation and fear, in order to effectively realize his full potential, develop into a responsible adult and be a productive part of the society.

Children’s participation in work that does not interfere with their education, health or normal development clearly cannot be classified as child labour, but when they are exploited and made to work beyond their capacity in conditions unsuitable for their age and health, child labour becomes a shameful reality none can ignore.
Child labour is defined by the International Labour Organization as: "work situations where children are compelled to work on a regular basis to earn a living for themselves and their families, and as a result are disadvantaged educationally and socially; where children work in conditions that are exploitative and damaging to their health and to their physical and mental development; where children are separated from their families, often deprived of educational and training opportunities; where children are forced to lead prematurely adult lives."

Child labour is largely acknowledged by development planners and practitioners as a problem of the poverty-ridden societies where it is widely accepted and commonly practiced. Since South Asian nations are mostly underdeveloped, Asia’s children end up being at a distressing disadvantage. Social trends in some South Asian countries are also different regarding the accepted age of achieving ‘adulthood’ – in terms of constituting a part of the workforce children as old as twelve years of age are considered physically capable of performing tasks suitable for adults. Where large sections of populations live in extreme deprivation, child labour is not seen as a violation of the child’s rights but as a means of survival. However, lured with false promises of attractive work prospects, many poor children end up working in exploitative environments and hazardous conditions and become victims of abuse, working up to twelve hours a day, six days a week, with no minimum wage limit or rest periods. They also suffer serious illness and injury as a result of it. A report by the ‘Anti-Slavery Society’ of India states that it has found evidence of many children suffering in horrifying conditions where they ‘live in a den…are beaten with sticks and iron rods and not even allowed to see their parents.’ The vocations of these unfortunate children may include working in brick kilns and factories, rock crushing, mining, domestic servitude, prostitution, or forcible recruitment as child soldiers to fight in conflict areas.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has estimated, in a 2002 study, the percentage of children aged 5-14 in Asia and the Pacific who are economically active as being 19%. These children form almost 60% of all the child labourers worldwide. Since poverty seems to be the main reason behind the problem of child labour plaguing these Asian countries, it is only reasonable to assume that poverty alleviation schemes should make a difference in the lives of these children. However, poverty alleviation is not a simple task of ensuring two square meals a day. Some sustainable development projects have to be initiated in order to make a sustained positive impact on their standard of living and to keep them out of the labour markets till the right time or age. Provision of basic education along with vocational and practical skills is widely acknowledged as an effective means to break the cycle of poverty.

Fighting child labour also requires a constant adaptation in strategies because of the appearance of its ever-evolving forms among different communities – a combination of various factors encourages the growth of this menace and hence a combination of strategies is required to combat it. Factors identified by ILO as being conducive to conditions resulting in an increase in the number of child labourers are: parental poverty and illiteracy, social and economic attitudes and circumstances, lack of access to education, lack of awareness, and adult unemployment or underemployment. To counter this phenomenon, strengthening the capacity of countries and communities to deal with the problem and promoting a worldwide movement to combat child labour needs to be put in place. Creating awareness of the rights of a child, providing social protection and education, passing on benefits of economic growth to the poor, strict legislation and inculcating respect for labour standards can bring about a significant reduction in the incidence of child labour. The International community, committed to abolishing child labour through a progressive and systematic approach, has taken many initiatives in this regard. The UNICEF, UNDP, UNESCO, the World Bank, (IPEC) ILO, the Global Task Force on education, along with many NGOs at local and international levels have unequivocally stressed the need for free and compulsory quality education, as defined in the ILO Convention 138, as a crucial component of any effort against child labour. The ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child labour (IPEC) has stressed that prevention and elimination of child labour should be an essential part of education policy worldwide. These agencies are providing financial as well as technical assistance wherever required, working with volunteers from various sections of societies as well as private organizations, NGOs, the media, judiciary, universities, community-based setups, private businesses etc.

Various initiatives of these organizations have shown remarkable improvement in the status of children in the Asian countries. For example, in 1995, 43% of the garment factories working under BGMEA (Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association) had employed children. By 2003, after the inception of the BGMEA/ILO/UNICEF project against child labour, the number was reduced to 1%. Similarly, with assistance from UNICEF, the Sri Lankan Government has taken productive steps to help war-affected children and youths reintegrate into the society.

Some private organizations are also making a noticeable contribution by involving and mobilizing communities to take charge of their own development. One such private voluntary organization called ‘World Education’ helps equip people with skills like planning, budgeting, fundraising, financial accounting etc. In India, which houses the largest number of 'working' children in the world - about ? of the world's total, World Education in partnership with local organizations has helped develop education programs focused on practical life skills. From 1999 -2002 World Education also worked on a pilot project known as ‘Women’s Empowerment through Literacy and Livelihood Development’ (WELLD) which led to development of curriculum integrating literacy with savings and credit group formation. This has helped women make informed choices about their livelihood. In Pakistan, World Education is part of a group of organizations seeking to strengthen education system, and aiming to improve status of young and adult literacy and education policy planning. It is also providing technical assistance.

According to IPEC, for the purpose of rehabilitation, the shift back from workplace to formal schooling systems is often difficult to manage and proves to be unproductive in the long run. To make a smooth transition, some non-formal education (NFE) systems are a necessity which act as a bridge between the child worker and mainstream education. Non-formal educational programmes which are relevant and easily accessible to poor families have enabled many child workers to come up to their age-appropriate grade level. Mainstreaming of former child labourers is extremely important as it is vital to preventing them from rejoining the labour markets prematurely, and improves their prospects of finding better jobs later on.

The initiatives taken by various humanitarian organizations in an effort to abolish child labour in the underdeveloped world must be supplemented by a strong political will of respective governments so that the injustice being done to the large number of children is dealt with effectively. Protecting these children is the only way to ensure a better tomorrow.


SouthAsia Magazine, Debate over Basic Rights July 2008

Surviving in a Man's World

“Violence against women is a violation of human rights that cannot be justified by any political, religious, or cultural claim.” ( Amnesty International )

Are women’shuman rights given the importance they deseve?

Discrimination against, and exploitation of, women is rife in many societies of the world be they developed, developing or under-developed. Unfortunately, violence against women is also the most socially tolerated form of abuse in cultures across the globe.

“This year, more than 15,000 women will be sold into sexual slavery in China. 200 women in Bangladesh will be horribly disfigured when their spurned husbands or suitors burn them with acid. More than 7,000 women in India will be murdered by their families and in-laws in disputes over dowries. Violence against women is rooted in a global culture of discrimination which denies women equal rights with men and which legitimizes the appropriation of women's bodies for individual gratification or political ends.” (Broken Bodies, Shattered Minds: Torture and Ill Treatment of Women, Amnesty International, 2001)

The UN High Commission on Refugees advocates that "women fearing persecution or severe discrimination on the basis of their gender should be considered a member of a social group for the purposes of determining refugee status." (Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women)

TYPES OF VIOLENCE:

Domestic violence- A personal matter?

Domestic violence violates a woman’s right to freedom of thought and action, and to physical integrity. Unfortunately, it is often viewed as a ‘personal matter’. A woman may be beaten up or tortured for something as simple as being negligent in performing household chores. Domestic crimes are allowed to go unchecked frequently in patriarchal societies. It is important to understand that when the law fails to provide protection to the victim, the state also becomes a party to inflicting torture upon its own citizens.

The Condemned Bride

In most under developed countries, women are not given an equal status to men in political, social, and economic spheres. Hence, suppression of women is common. Rejecting a marriage proposal, or bringing a small dowry for many women in India, Pakistan or Bangladesh might result in serious repercussions. These women may be set on fire or acid burnt – and die of third-degree burns - or blinded and severely disfigured for life. The statistics for women dying at home from such ‘accidental’ deaths are found to be the highest among young married women.

Killing in the name of “honour”

In Eastern societies, women are considered to represent the family honour. When suspected of violating that honour, they are savagely punished by their own fathers, brothers or husbands. Once accused, they are treated as ‘guilty until proven innocent’. In Pakistan, when they are accused of the crime of ‘Zina’, which is punishable by death with stoning under Shar’ia law, there is little hope for them to get justice. Sometimes, young girls also become targets of lifelong violence by rival tribes when offered in compensation for settling feuds; or targeted for revenge as a result of a wrongdoing committed by their men - the gang-rape of Mukhtar Mai in Meerwala, Pakistan, is a case in point.

Miseries of women in prison

Women in jails become victims of further abuse at the hands of the guards because of their total dependency on them. They are pressurized to provide sexual favours to avoid punishment, or to avail relaxation in certain rules. Sometimes they are also denied medical and psychological support to force them to be more compliant to the demands of prison staff.

Trafficking of women

According to Human Rights Watch, trafficking is “…the illegal and highly profitable recruitment, transport or sale of human beings into all forms of forced labor and servitude, including trafficking into forced marriage…In all cases, coercive tactics, including deception, fraud, intimidation, isolation, threat and use of physical force, or debt bondage, are used to control women.” Without the assistance of corrupt officials, this practice cannot survive. Provision of false documents, and protection provided, help and encourage the perpetrators of this crime. There is further abuse and trauma when the victims are treated as criminals or illegal aliens.

Women’s sufferings during war times

Wars take a huge toll of the killed, maimed and tortured from women. Through a planned strategy, physical and psychological violence against women is carried out during wartimes to achieve objectives like creating terror or extracting information; or simply suffer as spoils of war. Women’s rights organizations have found that, for these victims of war-ravaged communities, domestic violence is directly proportional to the increasing family tensions arising from the atrocities of war. Countless women in war zones across the globe are bearing the brunt of wars facing economic and domestic problems, and continue to suffer the worst forms of torture and sexual abuse.

Mental Health Problems of Victims of Violence:

Being a victim of violence can be the cause of severe trauma and emotional stress, resulting in serious mental health problems. Post traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and panic attacks make the victims seriously mal-adjusted in their environment, requiring professional help. They may exhibit uncontrollable crying spells or rapid mood swings, and might appear completely divorced from reality at other times. Loss of sleep and appetite, flashbacks, nightmares and low self-esteem hinder normal functioning and extensive psychotherapy is often the only recourse available to help the victim return to a normal existence.

Rehabilitation:

The rehabilitation of victims of physical abuse is a difficult task that requires long-term commitment .

Inge Genefke, Rehabilitation and Research Center for torture Victims (RCT), Copenhagen, states:

“The aim of torture is to destroy a person as a human being, to destroy their identity and soul. It is more evil than murder…. Today we know that survivors of torture can be helped to regain their health and strength, and in helping them we take the weapon from their torturers.”

After the crime has been reported, proper medical examination must be carried out immediately to establish the veracity of abuse. All available evidence must be meticulously recorded and treatment of injuries done on a priority basis. For all this to take place, however, an efficient medico-legal system needs to be put in place – which is not the case in most under-developed countries, since women’s human rights are not considered high on Governments’ priority lists.

Too often the victims vanish after reporting, either forced into hiding to escape threats of the perpetrator, or shifted by the family members to avoid attention to the ‘tarnished’ family name. The result is that the charges have to be dropped. The victim must be provided reliable security options and the abuser taken into custody, so that he is not in a position to silence her through intimidation.

While the process of law takes its course, the victim should be provided extensive psychotherapy to address the feelings of shock, denial, guilt and anger.

Counseling of close family members and friends is also extremely important, as their moral support is crucial in helping the victim through the period of crisis.

Prevention of Abuse:

Prevention of abuse is a collective responsibility. All members of a society must play their role sensitively for effective prevention of violence.

Media must play its role in educating public opinion by creating awareness about public responsibility on this issue. Victim’s right to privacy must also be ensured at all costs. Giving a clear direction to social censure about shifting stigma from the abused to the abuser, may bring down many instances of abuse.

Sale of acid to public should be strictly monitored, and every instance of burning should be meticulously investigated to rule out foulplay. To help the burned and disfigured women restart their lives, reconstructive surgery should be made an affordable option for the victims through sponsorship schemes from government and private sector.

Special attention must be paid to empowerment of women through focus on literacy. Today, two-thirds of the world’s illiterate adults comprise of women – a fact that speaks volumes about the lack of commitment, and need thereof, of governments around the world.

Punishing corrupt officials, who falsify documents and protect gangs of traffickers, can effectively check this menace. Poverty-reduction schemes and vocational-training programmes run by government agencies and the NGOs should target, specifically, single-parent families headed by females, and orphaned young girls.

Governments must be urged by international human rights organizations, to protect women’s human rights during times of armed conflicts around the world and be held accountable for lapses by the UN Bodies.

Peoples of all nationalities should join hands to support Human Rights Organizations in their fight against gender crimes and provision of the rights of the oppressed around the world. It should not be viewed as a choice, but a responsibility.



Published Dec, 2007; SouthAsia Magazine

Dispel the Darkness

“Education for all is important for three reasons. First, education is a right. Second, education enhances individual freedom. Third, education yields important development benefits." John Daniel, UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Education.

How committed are the South Asian nations to promoting education for all? How focused, indeed, are they on building their future?


At the Millennium Summit in September 2000, an important Millennium Development Goal (MDG) was drafted that focuses on increasing literacy among children around the world. It asks the member States to “ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.”

Unfortunately, a look at the status of education in some Asian countries depicts a worrisome trend and it is feared that they might not be able to achieve this goal within the stipulated timeframe. The drop-out rates are on the rise among children from poor families, girls, street children and other marginalized groups.

According to UNESCO, Asia has the world's largest share of children not receiving an education. UNESCO’s Education For All Global Monitoring Report 2007 states that Pakistan ranks second in the world with the highest number of out-of-school children. Of these 6.5 million out-of-school Pakistani children, “80 per cent were never enrolled, 10 per cent dropped out, while the remaining could get to school at some later stage.” India ranks third with 4.5 million such kids. India also houses the largest number of 'working' children in the world - about ¼ of the world's total. The official Indian Government figures estimate the number of working children to be at about 59 million, though Oxfam estimates speak of 100-150 million.

Out-of-school children – whether not enrolled at all or drop-outs – often end up in the child labour markets, working in some of the worst working conditions imaginable. This includes working in brick kilns and factories in bonded-labour with no fixed hours or minimum wage-limit, as well as being forcibly recruited to fight in conflict areas and sold into commercial sex tourism.

Girls comprise about 57% of all out-of-school children and 2/3 of adults without access to literacy are women. In a majority of developing countries, girls suffer serious forms of discrimination. In Pakistan, over half of the population comprises of children, roughly a ¼ of which are girls. Sadly, only 25% of these girls manage to finish primary school. UNESCO supports girls’ education in developing countries by sponsoring their access to, and retention in, primary education and by encouraging education policies and strategies of governments and NGOs that aim to provide girls and women with equal opportunities of learning and decision-making regarding their future.

The United Nations (UN) estimates the number of street children to be around 100 million. According to Asian Development bank (ADB) reports, the world’s largest number of street children resides in South Asia. They constitute the marginalized group of many Asian societies and are often neglected by governments when implementing welfare schemes. The Human Rights Watch has found that India has 18 million street children, the world’s largest concentration (HRWA 2000). Other Asian nations offer similar trends. In Afghanistan, more than two decades of war has resulted in huge populations of orphaned street children struggling to survive - about 37,000 based on a headcount in 2002. Nepal is home to about 30,000 street children according to a 1996 estimate. These street children constitute a big part of the statistics of children who are either out-of-school or are drop-outs.

Some experts estimate that half of the 104 million out-of-school children live in countries that are in, or recovering from conflict. Education in crisis situations can provide children with a sense of normalcy, but in the first Global Survey on Education in Emergencies, research shows that “over 27 million children and youth do not have access to education in 10 countries affected by conflict.” In Sri Lanka, in the North-Eastern Province alone, it is estimated that 2,000 children have been involved in the guerilla warfare as child soldiers, and face difficulties readapting to age-appropriate living conditions. In such areas, UNESCO not only provides emergency educational assistance but also helps local aid agencies and governments to establish makeshift schools, improve learning conditions and provide other necessary materials.

One major hurdle, in the provision of basic education to children, is limitation arising from some form of disability such as physical handicaps, cognitive, motor, visual or auditory disabilities. According to UNESCO the number of children under the age of 18 with disabilities around the world has been estimated to be between 120 and 150 million, and more than 90% of such disadvantaged children in developing countries do not attend school. Although humanitarian aid agencies insist upon special initiatives for the disabled, many South Asian nations are lagging far behind in undertaking the necessary initiatives.

For the Asian nations still struggling in the education sector, the drop-out rate is a bigger problem than enrolment, though both offer serious cause for concern. According to UNESCO’s Education For All Global Monitoring Report 2007, “the net enrolment ratio (NER) in Pakistan is less than 80 per cent as compared to other developing countries where enrolment ratios jumped to over 85 per cent by 2004”, says the report, adding that “NERs increased significantly in South and West Asia from 77 per cent to 86 per cent, with the exception of Pakistan and Nepal.”

A UNESCO 2004 study reveals that Asia tops the school dropout league. An Asian Development Bank (ADB) report suggests that in South Asia, for every 100 children who start grade one, less than 60 will complete grade five within the prescribed time. The Primary school drop-out rates for some Asian countries are:
Pakistan – 55%
India – 53%
Laos – 47%
Burma – 45%
Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh - 35-38%

Despite efforts of the UN and Aid Agencies, as well as governments and NGOs, the drop-out rates clearly establish that much more needs to be done. Some of the steps that may be taken to improve enrollments and decrease drop-out rates are:

• It is important for enrolment and sustainability that States make primary education free and compulsory According to the new edition of the EFA Global Monitoring Report, “Primary-school fees, which are a major obstacle for universal access, are still collected in 89 countries out of 103 surveyed.” It must also be accessible to all, without any form of discrimination - as the Salamanca Statement urges: "... schools should accommodate all children regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic or other conditions."
(Article 3, The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action, Salamanca, Spain, 1994)

• It is important to fight all kinds of injustice done to the girl-child. Recently, one religious cleric in Pakistan declared girls’ education as un-Islamic. As a result, parents of more than 2,000 girls in that area stopped sending them to school. It is important not to allow anyone to manipulate religious sentiment, and impress upon parents and other community members the value of an educated female as a useful community member who would also pass on the benefits of education to the future generations.

• There is a need for a large number of qualified teachers in Asia. In 75% of Indian schools there is only one teacher for several classes. In Pakistan, officially, there is one teacher per 35 students in primary schools and one teacher per 48 students at secondary level, but a serious problem for Pakistan government is the presence of ‘Ghost’ schools in remote areas where teachers simply don’t turn up. Bangladeshi pupils are found to be in the most crowded classes, with just one teacher for every 57 pupils. Cases of physical punishment also result in increasing drop-out rates. UNESCO officials stress the need for properly trained teachers with adequate command over their respective subjects and teaching skills. Neglected groups must be targeted specifically in all social uplifting schemes with approaches having flexible non-formal teaching methodologies rather than promoting standard schooling.

• Improving the quality of curriculum would increase its value and, hence, sustained participation. The education curriculum must include teaching of technical skills and life skills to give children a chance at practical and productive livelihoods. That would also encourage parents to get their children enrolled.

• Poverty alleviation schemes involving government and NGO sector should focus on countering the effects of lack of basic necessities such as food, clothing etc. Creating awareness about the importance of support and guidance from parents and the relevance of formal education would also go a long way in solving the drop-out problem.

If the efforts of organizations committed to spreading education around the world are supplemented by a stronger political will of governments, there is no reason why the MDG on literacy cannot be achieved by 2015. It would be a very small investment in terms of the far reaching development benefits it would yield.


Published in SouthAsia Magazine
Dec, 2007

Working Women's Woes

Women’s human rights deserve more importance than they are accorded in many societies. Every woman deserves her dignity and respect at home and in the workplace as much as any man – if not more.


The term, ‘Human rights’ refers to the basic rights to which all human beings are entitled. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), states that all human beings are… “ endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

Ours is a world that is evolving and changing in ways which effect traditions, cultures and peoples across the globe. For women, emancipation and empowerment seem to be the order of the day. The only route leading to that goal is through economic independence. More and more women are looking for work outside the home with the aim to share the burden of financial responsibilities as well as to gain some measure of control over their own lives. But all good things come with a price.

An estimated 1.2 billion women worldwide constitute a part of the international work force. In Asia, almost 74% women are employed. Yet, owing to gender discrimination, almost 60% of the world’s working poor are women. Trend analyses across a wide range of studies indicate that many women are now marrying late and postponing childbearing – as observed in Japan and Singapore – in order to establish themselves in their respective fields. The factors responsible for this trend may be economic or personal. In Malaysia, about 70% of university students are women. These women want to bring about a change in an organized manner. Women belonging to the marginalized sections are also gathering courage to stand up for their rights in the society and the workplace, demanding an end to all forms of discrimination.

According to the Government of Pakistan (GoP) figures, there are 14% working women in the country. They are competing and succeeding in diverse fields and making an important contribution to the struggling economy. In all socio-economic groups and educationally-advantaged as well as disadvantaged sections of the Pakistani society, the concept of women working outside the home has gained popularity over the years despite widespread gender bias and discrimination, and pressure from religious fundamentalists. Though reasons vary for women of different backgrounds for rejecting their traditionally accepted roles, the resulting exposure provides an increased level of awareness of their rights and responsibilities – besides a heavy burden of accompanying physical and verbal abuse. For these working women, workplace harassment is a reality none can deny.

Worldwide, harassment is considered to be widespread and requires strict monitoring and legislation in order to develop effective strategies for dealing and coping with it. Although men can be victims of harassment, women constitute a major part of the group vulnerable to it.

Harassment has many subtle and covert forms as well as more aggressive and overt ones. The subtle forms of harassment include disinformation, spreading scurrilous stories about colleagues, disrupting their schedules, withholding important information etc. – all done to affect the victim’s work performance and make her look incompetent. These seemingly harmless and subtle forms have a devastating affect on the victim’s life, threatening her physical and psychological well being.

The other and more serious form of workplace harassment is ‘sexual harassment’, which is defined as unwelcome physical or verbal conduct of a sexual nature in the workplace. It may include crude jokes, vulgar language, suggestive gestures, inappropriate physical touching or contact. For reasons of clarity, sexual harassment may be divided into two types which include: ‘quid pro quo’ and a ‘sexually hostile environment’.

Quid pro quo (Latin for ‘this for that’) harassment refers to conditions involving exchange of economic benefit for sexual favours, while a sexually hostile environment would be one where a frequent repetitive pattern of sexual innuendos, jokes, or sex-role stereotyping is carried out by co-workers or boss. Although both forms are in theory distinct claims, the thin line between the two is many a time unambiguous and the two forms often occur together, one being the natural outcome of the other.

In Pakistan religion plays a pivotal role in everyday life. Unfortunately, it is a version of religion interpreted by a small group of people who are self-proclaimed authority-figures on matters spanning various spheres of social co-existence. These conservatives urge women to continue to play traditional roles of housekeeping and child-rearing, and not be influenced by western women whom they see as too liberal-minded, aggressive and unfeminine - a challenge to the accepted social hierarchy.

It is interesting to note that these same men who cite the Holy Quran as their source whenever urging women to observe ‘purdah’, completely ignore the same Book’s instructions where men are strictly told not to ogle and ‘cast down’ their eyes in the company of women.. Women who are educated and seek personal satisfaction or economic independence, or for those who are compelled to work because of economic constraints, the work environment is made uncomfortable by their male colleagues. Due to strict gender segregation practiced and advocated in many eastern/Muslim societies, men generally have less gender sensitivity and view women as objects of desire rather than as equal co-workers.

On another level, their competence and unbending independence frightens them and challenges their male chauvinistic instincts. Sometimes, a feeling of insecurity upon their failure to interact with intelligent women on an equal intellectual level compels them to embark on such ego-salvaging endeavours. They subject their female colleagues or subordinates to lewd, rude stares, suggestive gestures, offensive touching and even demand favours of sexual nature openly. Due to the power exerted by the harasser – power of position at the workplace or by virtue of the concept of socially-accepted male superiority - the sexually harassed woman is generally unlikely to complain. Studies have shown that only 10 to 15% women actually go ahead and report their abuse. Factors like economic dependence or sense of humiliation play an important part in compelling them to remain quiet. Many women fail to bring charges because of the fear of retaliation from the person in authority, or because they do not have enough trust in legal recourse.

The effects of harassment are devastating. Victims suffer psychological distress in the form of humiliation and loss of dignity. There is also damage to professional reputation and career when they are forced to choose between their self respect and their job. In some cases even their personal safety is compromised. Abuse of women’s human rights is generally the most socially tolerated form of abuse in a society such as ours. Sexual harassment, like most other forms of abuse, is also considered to be the woman’s fault, and accepted by the victims as the price they have to pay for leaving the protected environment of their home

Many developed Western nations have managed to put in place a robust infrastructure to deal with harassment, and a gradual process of cultural change is bringing about the necessary deeper attitudinal change. The US Equal Employment Opportunities Commission actively engages in imparting training to educate employees and employers about their rights and responsibilities under the EEO statutes.

Employers are expected to create a work environment where employees are aware that any unpleasant conduct that falls in the category of sexual harassment will not be tolerated and could result in the aggressor’s discharge from service. Preventive measures are encouraged and maintaining confidentiality stressed. Employers are made aware that failure to adopt a pro-active stance on this issue can result not only in costly lawsuits, but also in a decline in employee morale and productivity, and spoiling the company's image. The employees, for their part, are expected to report abuse in time using any grievance system available.

The important steps to be taken in order to discourage harassment of women in the workplace start with establishing preventive measures, maintaining confidentiality of the complainant’s identity, and supplemented by remedial measures in the form of drafting strict legislation and it’s enforcement. Although cultural attitudes take a long time to change, determination of the affected women to stand up for their rights in the workplace and refusal to tolerate or comply with this social injustice will go a long way in bringing about this change. Educated, sensitive and sensible men can also play an important part in making the workplace a professionally satisfying and socially comfortable environment for their female colleagues.


Pubished in SouthAsia Magazine
Available at : NDU Library
Sept, 2007.

Existing Without Hope

Mental illness affects people around the world, transforming their lives into a continuous struggle for preservation of their dignity and human rights in societies that do not always understand them.

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights" states the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Throughout history, mental illness has been associated with factors like weakness of character or possession by demons. As a result, the mentally ill have been isolated, neglected, tortured and even burnt alive; their lives destroyed by stigma and taboo.


The progress in medical knowledge encouraged a scientific approach to mental health problems and resulted in a slow and steady change in attitude. Many people began to view mental disorders as illnesses akin to other diseases that required treatment, not condemnation; though many societies still continue to show disdain for the mentally ill, and their mental health services remain insufficient and ineffective.

Understanding mental disorders is a difficult task in terms of the dynamics of the disease and the heavy emotional and psychological toll it takes on family life. Care for the mentally disabled is a serious human rights issue because of its effect on societal harmony and stability and potential for exploitation and abuse. In many mental health facilities, rehabilitation is not always seen as the chief aim of treatment. Human rights violations against people with mental disorders occur in communities throughout the world – in mental health institutions, in the wider community, and at individual level.

The World Health Organization (WHO) strongly urges communities to ensure respect for human rights and dignity in all mental health facilities, and outside. According to WHO reports based on testimonies of the patients and their relatives, it has been observed that many patients face severe discrimination and endure appalling living conditions in the mental health facilities. The following are excerpts from some of the letters addressed to WHO:

1. "Among the professionals who dealt with my son's psychological illness, I frequently encountered irritation and threats aimed at him ('if you don't shape up' or 'I'm really having a problem with you today'), as if his psychological problems were subject to his direct control. In the 15 months of cancer treatment that my son also received, I never heard a nurse or doctor express any anger or irritation with my son for the symptoms of his illness."(Source: Weissman MM. A piece of my mind: stigma. JAMA, 2001, 285(3): 261-2.)

2. "I experienced homelessness at one stage coming out of the hospital. I had nowhere to go. I had no choice. My family at that point was struggling with their own view of my condition and there was no place in the family for me. If my family had been educated, taught how to help me, supported and helped, then my story would be very different. (Source: Stop exclusion – Dare to care. World Health Day brochure. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2001.)

3. "The conditions there are miserable… dirty patients; dishevelled and very skinny [patients] surrounded me asking me for some bread. As for the building, it is pitiful to look at: many broken glasses, walls without painting for many years …The toilets, totally out of order, without running water. Most of the time cooking is done with water caught from the rain.…"

The report goes even as far as to quote a health worker as saying, "Why are you fighting that much? This place is but the waste of society."

(Source: Letter 78, original in French. Voices from the shadows: a selection of letters addressed to the World Health Organization 1994 – 2002. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2004.)

Investigators from Mental Disability Rights International have found that inmates of mental health facilities who tried to escape were given severe punishments such as confinement for hours in cold, bare rooms without clothes; while over-drugged, unkempt and neglected patients pleaded for provision of basic needs like a glass of water. (A report by Mental Disability Rights International, September 2004)

WHO sources give a depressing analysis of the situation of mental health management worldwide: almost 64% countries have been found to have no legislation regarding mental health, or at least one that is less than ten years old. About 30% of countries don’t have a separately allocated budget for mental health; 20% countries spend less than 1% of their health budget on mental health; 32% countries have no community care facilities and vast differences are observed in the number of psychiatrists available to the populations ranging between more than 10 per 100,000 to less than 1 per 300,000. In Pakistan, though the fiscal year 2006-7 has seen a significant increase in the health budget, only 1% is estimated to be spent on mental health.

Researchers have found that factors such as low income, low education and difficult marital and family relationships expose women to abuse and make them more vulnerable to mental disorders. Accor-ding to WHO sources, the probability of developing anxiety and depression are higher among women as compared to men, and these findings are constant across a series of studies conducted in different setups. A study by World Bank (1993) that focused on disability from neuropsychiatry disorders among women found that up to 30% women were affected in the developing countries as compared to 12.6 % men.

Pakistan Association of Mental Health (PAMH) declares that of the estimated 44% Pakistanis suffering from clinical depression, the majority are women. In Pakistan, many of the plans working towards social uplifting of women’s health focus on their reproductive health and their psychological and emotional needs are generally not given due importance, as is the norm in patriarchal societies. Women as care-givers have multiple roles to play at home. The burden of responsibility for the household including efficient running of home and fulfilling the needs of immediate as well as of extended family members requires a lot of energy. This burden is further multiplied for working women who have no one to share the burden of domestic duties along with the demands of their job. A culture of suppression prevents women from finding healthy outlets to their frustrations. It is not surprising then that they become over-stressed and succumb to nervous breakdowns.

A serious trend manifest in the behaviour of the mentally disturbed is a tendency for deliberate self-harm. According to WHO sources, mental disorders are associated with 90% of all suicide cases; the last 45 years have seen a global increase of suicide rates by 60% and about 1 million people died of suicide worldwide in 2000. It is also among the top three leading causes of death of individuals aged 15-44 years. WHO finds that though traditionally suicide rates were highest among the male elderly, now the younger age-group mentioned above are at higher risk of suicide in a third of developing as well as developed countries, though reasons and methods vary.

In Pakistan women remain particularly vulnerable to suicide because of numerous factors including social and cultural pressures, domestic and sexual violence, and undiagnosed or untreated mental illnesses. Stigma and discrimination by society allow these mental health problems to go unchecked. The HRCP (Human Rights Commission of Pakistan) report for 2005-6 declares that total suicide and attempted suicide cases increased from 2,712 in 2005 to 3,919 in 2006. There were around 200 women suicide cases reported within the first six months of 2006 along with 181 cases of attempted suicide, most of the victims being under 30 years of age. A 2007 trend analysis report by the HRCP also found young married women to be at highest risk.

Attempted suicide is underreported because it is a criminal offence in Pakistan punishable by up to one year imprisonment, and many successful suicides are also reported as accidents due to stigma. Hence, actual figures elude statistical collection, posing a challenge to effective data gathering.

Effective treatment of mental disorders requires a multi-pronged and multi-tiered approach involving government and private sector, community health services, family support groups and access to individual counselling facilities. Increasing awareness about the rights of the mentally ill, countering stigma and discrimination, training of primary health professionals, improving standards in psychiatric institutions, restriction of access to common methods of personal harm, etc. may be some of the strategies applied in this regard.

People suffering from mental disorders are either not aware of their rights or are not in a position to claim them. It is thus the collective responsibility of communities, institutions and governments to ensure that their dignity and human rights are upheld, and they are helped in order to resume their normal lives again.

Published in SouthAsia Magazine,Aug 2007.

Winds of Change

Human societies have, traditionally, been male-dominated owing to the male’s superior physical strength. However, as higher intellectual concerns gained importance, women began to assert themselves and change became inevitable in the status quo, with some cultures being more receptive while others resistant.


Over the last hundred years, Western societies have seen a change in attitude, with emancipation and empowerment of women bringing about a major revolution in their status. Unfortunately, Eastern societies by and large still remain mired in centuries-old traditions strongly emphasizing stereotyping of gender roles. However, despite widespread gender-bias in these societies, women are surprisingly resilient and competitive. Many Eastern nations including Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Philippines and Turkey have, or have had, women Heads of State, and Bangladesh stands out with a female PM as well as a female head of opposition.

Conversely, when we look at the wider picture closer to home, the status of women presents a dismal picture. They are encouraged to be submissive, dependent and subordinate with the majority having little or no control over any kind of economic or political decision-making, as well as in everyday issues like marriage, dress code, access to basic health facilities and career aspirations. Men, on the other hand, enjoy a privileged existence. A male child has priority over his female sibling in access to food, education and health. Not surprisingly, the percentage of males outnumbers that of females in Pakistan, a trend opposed to that prevalent in the rest of the world. The Demographic and Health Survey of Pakistan in a report (1992) declares the ratio of men and women in the country as 108:100 – one important cause of this discrepancy being the high mortality rate in childbearing young women.

A major obstacle in the way to empowerment of women is gender bias leading to economic dependence. The UN Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) ranks Pakistan as 100th among 185 of its registered countries. Social constraints prevent many capable women from pursuing active careers and achieving economic independence. According to recent Government of Pakistan figures, the percentage of working women in Pakistan is only 14% - a bleak picture for the future of a country that badly needs as many working hands as possible in order to not only improve its standing among the developing nations but, actually, to survive.

The predicament of the lower class woman is worse than that of the middle or upper class female, though all suffer due to unjust social practices. They are battling domestic violence, Karo-Kari, marriage to the Quran, Swara, Wani, honour killings and much more, besides other less severe forms of discrimination from close family members. Due to economic pressures, female employment is much higher among low-income groups than in the middle or upper class. Unfortunately, these working women do not benefit from their hard work, as they are not independent decision-makers in the use of their earnings.

For the middle and upper-middle class female, social pressures generally dictate career choices. Medicine and teaching appear to be the most sought after fields, albeit per force. Though both provide excellent career opportunities for women having an aptitude for these professions, many enter these fields for lack of other available options. As a result, they experience little or no job satisfaction and are unable to contribute productively. Only a small percentage of women rebel against conformity, defy tradition and venture into male-dominated fields, risking the wrath of their own family as well as censure from society. These women have to struggle hard to secure their rights in the workplace. The attitude of male colleagues is often discouraging, as they become wary of competition from those widely acknowledged inferior. Women who aspire for higher management positions meet stiff resistance; while for those who manage to climb the corporate ladder despite all odds, success is attributed to unjustified means rather than competence.

Recently however, a change has been observed with women – though still a minority – competing and succeeding in diverse technical fields, joining private organizations or working as entrepreneurs, and getting noticed for their silent contribution to the dwindling economy. They are also making a mark in the political arena with a record number of representation as women legislators in the political decision-making bodies that were traditionally considered male-dominated power houses.

One encouraging factor for women in Pakistan, resulting in an increase in participation in non-traditional fields is the burgeoning of the NGO sector over the last few years. It has provided a wide range of job opportunities to women with good salary packages. The ‘glass-ceiling effect’ felt and resented by a large number of women working in many of the government and private organizations, in which the power hierarchy does not allow women to go beyond a certain level despite fulfilling all pre-requisites, has been challenged by these NGOs who offer jobs on the basis of qualifications. They install women as programme coordinators and send them out in the field to prove their worth, rather than settling for locally-accepted select set of positions. In this regard, the foreign donors having humanitarian, or female-friendly, agendas are playing an important role.

In the Pakistan Armed Forces, women have been working as doctors and nurses in the Army, Navy and the Air Force. Recently, more steps have been taken to contribute towards their empowerment by introducing the first ever induction of female cadets in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) as fighter pilots. In the Army, besides working in the Army Medical Corps (AMC) that proudly boasts of having two female Major Generals, now other options are also being made available. The creation of 34 new vacancies for women, initiated in 2006 in the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) has been widely welcomed. The newly inducted female cadets, after getting two-years training at PMA, will be adjusted in the ISPR (Inter Services Public Relations), AEC (Army Education Corps), ASC (Army Signals Corps) and the Army’s law department – the JAG (Judge Advocate General) Branch.

The Pakistan Armed Forces are generally considered female-friendly organizations and their command structure caters to the social needs of females. Female officers are not posted to what are known as ‘hard-areas’ to avoid social problems. Female officers, who are spouses of Armed Forces personnel, are also posted to stations accommodating both simultaneously. However, the trend in the society of bias towards female colleagues extends itself here too and, sometimes, senior male colleagues are observed dealing with their female subordinates with undue harshness. Credit for a job well done is, many a time, not generously given while male colleagues attribute even genuine appreciation from superiors to mere indulgence.

The latest developments in the amendment of the misused Hudood Ordinance, it is hoped, will prove to be a step forward for women of Pakistan. Despite having certain good aspects to it, this 27-year old law failed to provide protection to women against injustices. The perpetrators of Hadd crimes compounded the misery of victims by manipulating loopholes present in this law. The Protection of Women’s Rights (Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, passed by National Assembly on November 15, approved by the Senate on November 24 and signed by President Musharraf on December 1, aims to address grievances of oppressed women by putting an end to exploitation. However, strong opposition to the Bill’s implementation is expected, since any amendment in the controversial Ordinance is perceived and projected as un-Islamic and representative of some ‘Western agenda’ by some parties. These hardline religious parties need to deliberate on this issue with an open mind and understand that the purpose of WPA is to change man-made discriminatory laws and unfair social practices, not to challenge the Hudood set in the Quran.

Despite all odds, Pakistani women have come a long way in the last sixty years and will continue to move forward in order to secure the rights denied to them by an intolerant and biased society but promised by the Constitution of the country, as well as the religion it claims to represent. The winds of change are blowing on the horizon and it might be wise for all concerned to make way for the emancipated, motivated and self-aware woman of today.


Published: SOUTHASIA MAGAZINE - FEB,2007