Women are grossly underrepresented in Pakistan’s judiciary and in the legal profession, which not only leaves the interpretation of the law bereft of women’s perspectives, but also makes it harder to prosecute gender based violence.
Published in The Friday Times, May 23rd, 2024
Pakistan’s first democratically elected Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a charismatic leader of international stature, will be forever remembered for introducing the first-ever Constitution that had the consensus of all the nation’s political parties. Bhutto was executed at the age of just fifty, during Dictator Zial-u-Haq’s martial law regime, on April 4, 1979. Bhutto’s passing also served to crush hope for downtrodden people in Pakistan, and plunged the country into a decade of tyranny and terror.
Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2024
PAKISTAN ranks low on the Gender Gap Index in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, 2023. On women’s political empowerment, it ranked 95th out of 146 countries, with only a handful of women occupying senior, managerial, policy- and decision-making posts. The main factors preventing women from achieving gender parity in politics are a patriarchal system, systemic gender discrimination, socioeconomic disparity, and hidebound cultural norms.
Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2024
Allegations of outright fraud and statistical manipulation have meant that the results of the 2023 Census are seen as illegitimate by civil society in Sindh and Balochistan, owing to the headcount in the provinces being systematically underreported.
Published in The Friday Times, September 18th, 2023
The case of 13-year-old Rizwana, who was brutally tortured by her employer, the wife of a civil judge, in Islamabad, is a reminder of the despicable acts of violence and abuse perpetrated on our young domestic workers who are still minors. The girl is still receiving medical care. A case against her employer was registered only after a hue and cry were raised on social and mainstream media…
Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2023
Shazia Nizamani pays tribute to the contributions towards women’s empowerment made by Shaheed Benazir Bhutto on what would have been her 70th birthday…
Published in The Friday Times, June 15th, 2023
The recent local body elections in Karachi stand as a shining example of democratic progress, granting the citizens of this vibrant city an unprecedented opportunity to cast their votes without fear or coercion. Gone are the days when Karachi would be held hostage during elections, robbing its residents of their freedom to choose….
Published in The Express Tribune, June 15th, 2023
In a recent incident at Sindh University, Jamshoro, 75 students were arrested in a police crackdown. A case of terrorism and sedition was registered against them. Just a day earlier, the Lahore High Court had struck down the sedition law, citing its inconsistency with the Constitution.
Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2023
Pakistan’s first-ever digital population and housing census, which was rolled out on 1 March 2023 claimed to be transparent and was supposed to give more accurate data about the country’s population, is proving to be an absolute farce riddled with flaws…..
Published in The Friday Times, May 3rd, 2023
A lack of planning for contingencies and poor enumerator training threatens to derail the legitimacy of Pakistan’s first-ever digital census….
Published in The Friday Times, February 28th, 2023
ANOTHER day, another shocking incident of gender-based violence (GBV) in the country. In November, in a heart-wrenching incident, a seven-year-old girl was raped and murdered in Quaidabad, Karachi. There were extensive injuries to her body….
Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2022
IN 2018, Pakistan introduced its first ever National Food Security Policy. Its goal is to increase food availability, accessibility, and sustainability by making the agriculture sector more productive, modern and climate-resilient….
Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2022
This article highlights how natural disasters and calamities disproportionately affect women and girls, and calls for gender-responsive actions in rescue, relief, and rehabilitation plans….
Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2022
IT is no secret that oppressed and vulnerable communities in Pakistan are routinely targeted. Religious minorities, women, students, children, transpersons, and people of certain ethnicities periodically find themselves at the mercy of forces out to ‘homogenise’ society….
Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2022
IN most countries, including ours, women are given token representation in political parties and institutions eager to appear progressive, while maintaining structural barriers that prevent their elevation, despite their merits, to senior positions….
Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2022
IN recent years, cases of violence and sexual harassment against women and girls have increased considerably in the country. Cases have been reported from everywhere from homes to marketplaces, but there has been a marked trend of female students speaking out against harassment at public and private universities across the country….
Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2022
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