Womens Movements in Pakistan: History

Pakistan is a Muslim country, where people not only take pride in strictly adhering to Islamic values but are ready to sacrifice of Islam. It was the third most dangerous country for women due to high violence, rape, honor killing, etc. Women's rights in Pakistan was often questioned in Pakistan, women had no rights or privileged in Pakistan's patriarchy society. Pakistan women have been constantly being isolated from society. Women rights have been at the heart of a series of international conferences that have produced significant political commitments to women human's rights and equality.

Women had never been treated as human in Pakistan, they faced rape, acid attacks domestic violence, honor killing and a lot of more. The women had decided to raise voice for their rights.

Women's right for the movement right started in the 19th century. Women played an active role in the movement an issue of women's right, they had addresses a number of issues affecting their position including education, purdah, right to vote, legal rights, etc.

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They had become role models for other women in other nations. They came forward and worked for noble causes side by side with men, formed a branch of the Muslim. They met up with wives of British officers and convinced them that their cause was just. League, traveled to another village. They had participated in meetings, freedom movements, ran radio stations. It all started in 1949, then in 1973 women had rights consolidated to them by Plistans Islamic Republic constitution which outlawed gender discrimination on all levels.

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In 1981, the omens movement shifted from reacting to government legislation to focusing on securing women's political representation in the nation , working to raise women's consciousness, countering suppression of women right .In 1981 , Benazir Bhutto became the first female prime minister of a Muslim Country. In 2016, Punjab protection for women against violence, provides women with protection against a multitude of crimes.

The women that were beyond Pakistan movement were Amajadi Begum,Abdali begum ,Fatima Jinnah , Begum Raana Liquat Ali Khan , Lady Nusrat Haroon and Begum Jahan Ara Ahahnwaz. Begum Muhammad Ali Jauhar, was the only women of India Muslim League working committee and she was also the first women to address the public meetings. Abadi Begum was the mother of Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar and Maulana Shaukat Ali. She encouraged her sons to in fighting for freedom. Miss Fatima Jinnah, she helped Quaid in his struggle and also worked as a link between women and the Quaid-i- Azam. She was the right hand of Quaid and associated herself of every stop of Pakistan Movement. Begum Raana Liaquat Ail Khan she was formed women's voluntary service and women's national guard. She founded the all Pakistan women's association, first NGO of all Pakistan. Lady Sughra Hidyatullah was let the president of the all India Muslim women league. She was a worker of Pakistan movement. Begum Jehan Ara Shahnawaz was the first Muslim women to make a speech in London's Guild Hall, represented the Muslim women at the three round table conferences. WAF ( women's action form) had also played a central role. IT was the most prominent group.

I' be talking about women's, education , right to vote , legal rights, the violence of women's movement in Pakistan.

Violence

Domestic violence can take many forms, including emotional, sexual and physical abuse and threats of abuse. There's violence against women such burring, acid throwing and murder often recorded as accidents. Pakistan is patriarchal society and women are often deprived of their rights to make their own choices. 90% of all women in Pakistan will face domestic violence at some point in their lives. 80% of all violence of all acid crimes globally are against women. Women are speaking up and are working hard to break the tradition and have equality for all. For example, women driving, coverings, education, voting , wage , and violence. Women tried to cope the violence by emotion, problem- focused (help from formal intuitions) and emotionally focused.

Typically women of educated classes suffer more emotional and psychological abuse. Honor killings, some Islamic fundamentalists believe that only the murder of an offending family member can honor be restored to rest of the family. Honor killings predominantly affect women. The husband or the family douse the women with gasoline n fire leading to death by burring her alive. Due to not large enough dowry etc. Acid attacks are to "teach them a lesson", reasons can be an insufficient dowry, refusal of a marriage proposal, disobeying the husband. Severe physical injured even death, it can lead to poor mental health like anxiety, phobias, PTSD , suicidal ideation, substance abuse.

In 2006, the President tried to liberalize some of these laws to protect women , but the enforcement of his reforms has been limited and adultery is still a crime. In 2010 Protection of Women Act Laws was separated rape and adultery finally. They had defined rape as a men having " sexual intercourse with a woman against her will or without her consent". This included intercourse and a person under 16 yrs old. Also in 2010, Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act was passed. In 2011, the government enacted the Acid Crime Prevention Act. Anyone would be punished for anywhere from 14 years of life imprisonment. Then another act was passed in 2011, Prevention of Anti-Women Practices. It was to protect women right inherit property and prohibit forced marriages. Domestic violence (Prevention and Protection Act) was passed in 2012. The act prohibits violence.

Education

Pakistan has amongst the widest education inequalities in the world. Girls in Pakistan are told to do house job and be trained to do housework. Women in Pakistan don't have those high opportunities of education and employment opportunities if you don't belong to an upper and middle-class family. Muslim women have lots of rules to follow, like avoid going to balconies, not walking in the middle in the road, they can't leave the house without any male relative and having to wear clothes that cover their entire body to except the eyes. After That, Pakistan made lots of school for girls. The objectivities of education policy in Pakistan aim to achieve equality in education on between girls and boys and reduce the gender gap in the educational system. There were Modernist and Conservative. Modernist allows their women to acquire education and hence get respectable employment. Where Conservative, they consist of people who are against women and education and employment and fall back on religious authorities to support their views and movements. One of the Education reform movement spearhead by sir sysed Ahmed Khan who believed that Muslims must educate themselves in modern education in order to overcome orientation and margination in various spheres in life. Relevant to women. During 2011 women became fearful of going to school after the Taliban began restricting women education and attacking anyone who tried. Taliban was a group of Pashtun tribesmen, they were a political group that enforces the Sharia Law that covers everything from their moral religious laws to their hygiene. They didn't allow women to go to school for religious reasons. Malaal was shot in 2012, she was 14 years old. She was returning from school will she was shot because she was camping for women's rights to education. But speaks the importance. During this period of time, women would go to other women of the province through the opening of educational institutions and be convening traditional Muslim families to let their daughters get an education.

Parents would spend money on education for their sons but they do not spend money on their daughters. Young girls face household obligations, child marriage, and honor killings. National Assembly of Pakistan in 2013, said that they will provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five-sixteen in such a manner as may be determined by law. There's is also UNICEF and other organizations that are helping with gender parity. They aim to deal with discrimination, violence, and gender-bias girls.

Overall, The first step in Pakistan women movement was promoting education. The progress was slow but it had happened.

Voting

Voting in Pakistan was only a men thing. Until 1940, Muslim women who supported independence from India and Britain were encouraged to attend political rallies and seek an active role in government. In 1947 Pakistan was officially farmed became an independent. In 1957 women participated in the political process and representation reached a major milestone in 1957. Women seats in government, women allowed to vote. The education was held in 1970 on the premiere that women should have equal rights and representation in society, he had won. Then there were issues then Button re-elected in 1976 women enjoyed more freedoms, like voting rights.

Women are allowed to vote in some places in Pakistan but some places it is still a big issue. There are women still fighting to get the right to vote. But they get beaten up or ignored. There's a lot of organizations until helping them get the right to vote in their society.

But in 2018, women were voting finally after so many years. But they were banned because Taboo was having gunfights on polling day made it to difficult. Many women are still bored from voting by their husband and village elders. But Pakistan government is slowly realizing that Pakistan cannot become a modern, democracy without equal participation of women.

Rights

Women in Pakistan have been having a hard time for the protection of women's rights and gender equality. Their lives are governed by customs, traditions and are always controlled by a male. There have been various attempts at social and legal reform to improve Pakistan women's lives in society. There have been organizations in Pakistan for women, like (APWA) All Pakistan Women Association. It was one of the earliest organizations formed whose aim was to secure the moral, social and economic welfare of women and children in Pakistan. There is also Women's Front, it was a group of left-wing women students of a University, it campaigned for gender equality and equal rights for women. Also, there was PAWLA, Child Welfare, Pakistan Red Cross but one of the most important ones was WAF( Women's Action Forum)

In 1981, WAF was formed, Women Action Forum to give strengthen women's place in the society. WAF held a lot of protests to help women get legal equals in the society as men do. This had created public awareness of law in the society about women. There was a public protest in 1980, there were a lot of things happening to make women uncomfortable and uncertain if they wanted to do this. 1983 women's organizations responded to call Punjab women's lawyers and there were told that they would not be able to go to high court. Some women were beaten by the police and others had reached the high court. Women were being taken seriously by politicians by the government and by society at large.

There has always this idea " cultural tradition", that the men of the house have all the property, land on his name. The female has no right on the property or land. When everything should be equal between them. But in 2000, this had changed by women protesting and now women have access and control over property's as well.

Conclusion

Women's movement in Pakistan has been a very big change, women now enjoy a way better life than there used to before. There are still organizations out there in Pakistan helping women achieve their equal rights in some places that don't accept that women should be equal to men. But most places have accepted that women should have equal rights as men do. Child marriage in Pakistan was a very common thing, they would marry their daughter as fast as they could. But thankfully that you have to be over a certain age to be married in Pakistan now. Dowry has stopped in some placed of Pakistan as well. With Dowry a lot of acid attacks, violence against women was happening. Honor killing has been stopped as well, as women fought for it and then the government had passed a bill in 2004 under penal provisions as murder. Women are allowed to attend schools after that long session of fighting for there educational rights. There also allowed to participate in the economy as working etc.

Citations

  • Harrison , Frances.1989."Women's Movements in Pakistan." Contemporary Review , June.
  • Naumana, Kiran.2013"political Awareness among Women in the Punjab: A Case study of their role in the Pakistan Movement". Pakistan Journal of Women's Studies=Alam-e-Niswan=Alam-I Nisvan 20(2):51
  • Lancet, The.2006 "Pakistan recognises women's rigths."The Lancet 368(9551):1938.
  • Anita M.2003"Interpreting islam and women's rights : Implementing CEDAW in Pakistan." International Sociology 8(3) : 581-601.
  • Siobhan.2005 "As nearly as may be. "Debating Women's human rights in Pakistan. Social & Legal Studies14(3):341-358.
  • , Sara.2015"Rights , women and the state of Pakistan." Contemporary Justice Review 8(2): 334-351.doi:10.1080/10282580.2015.1057706.
  • Holden , Livia. 2017 " Women Judges and Women's right in Pakistan." O?ati Socio-Legal Serie 7(4): 752-769.
Updated: Jul 20, 2021
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Womens Movements in Pakistan: History. (2019, Nov 27). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/womens-movements-in-pakistan-history-essay

Womens Movements in Pakistan: History essay
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