South Asia is considered to be the least gender sensitive region of the world. Across the region gender discrimination exists in all spheres, and we recognize that denial of rights of women is at the core of social inequity and injustice. Women do 60% of worlds work but get 10% of worlds wages and own less than only 1% of land. The root cause of their exclusion and powerlessness lies in the deeply entrenched patriarchal institutions; local customs, beliefs and social and political systems. Increasing violence against women, trafficking, lack of access and control over land and other natural resources, discriminatory wages and control over earnings, lack of reproductive choice and sexual freedom, and political participation are common phenomenon in all South Asian countries including Pakistan. This gets further compounded with the growth of fundamentalism and by globalization and privatization, and increased incidences of violent conflicts in the region.

The work in field of Women's Rights will involve the promotion of womens rights to self determination and creation of opportunities for womens rights for social, economic political, legal and environmental fulfillment. It will work to change the existing unequal gender relations by removing all ideological and institutional barriers to womens rights and entitlements.

Action Aid Pakistan is an international organization which addresses Women's Rights as one of its key themes. The issue of women's rights in Pakistan will be addressed by looking at the underlying structures and systems, such as globalization, patriarchy, fundamentalism, militarism, nationalism and state structures which lead to womens subordination in society and violence against them in the private and public spheres.  The understanding of women's issues will be guided by feminist principles and values which will also form the basis of the strategic interventions. 

The three overarching issues that this portfolio will address include the following:

Violence Against Women:

Violence against Women is rampant in Pakistani society and spans the entire spectrum of human activity from the private to the public spheres.  It takes various forms ranging from mild verbal abuse and sexual harassment to severe beating, burning, mutilation, ritual killing and murder.  It may psychological, emotional or physical or a combination of all three.  In most cases of violence, the nearest male relatives, including fathers, brothers and husbands, are the perpetrators.  The violence can occur on the smallest pretext and the offenders may often be habitual wife-beaters.  Women's economic dependence and social norms and values often prevent them from challenging the violence or leaving the home which is the most dangerous place for them. 

Violence against women ranges from cultural including social and cultural beliefs about womens inferiority, social taboos and cultural practices such as Karo Kari, wulwar, swarah and haq bakshwana which have taken modern forms but derive legitimacy from tradition or culture; structural which inheres in the very structures and systems such as the family, school, the state and its laws as well as in other social institutions; and domestic violence which is the most widespread form of violence against women and the incidence is extremely high with estimates ranging from 40% homes to 90%.

Women's Empowerment: Economic, Political and Social

Economic powerlessness is the basis of women's subordinate social status and lack of access to other forms of power.  Women own less land and resources and have less access to credit than men.  Women earn a fraction of men and are often not paid equally for the same amount of work.  Economic justice and power are the bases of political, social and cultural forms of power.  Our women strategy will aim to enhance womens economic power with a view to creating economic justice.

Challenging Fundamentalisms:

Religious fundamentalisms of all kinds have plagued Pakistani society since the beginning but this trend intensified during the era of Islamization in the 1980s.   Women have been one of the worst affected by the Islamization process in that discriminatory laws were passed which proved to be detrimental for women.  Women have been the prime targets of fundamentalist agendas which seek to limit their public roles and confine them to the domestic sphere.  Women's rights to speech, movement, expression and their freedom to choose the marriage partner have all been seriously threatened with the rise of fundamentalist political parties especially in the North Western Frontier Province.  Culture will be addressed as a sphere and also used as a tool (theatre, storytelling, song, music, poetry and dance) to raise awareness of issues of religious tolerance especially as regards women.


Contact Manager: aqsa.khan@actionaid.org