Speakers at the conference on "Women, Religion and Politics" said that political parties should give equal opportunities to women to enable them play their role in the progress of the country. They were speaking at the seminar organised by Heinrich Boll Stiftung and Shirkat Gah-Women Resource Centre on Saturday. The two-day conference discussed challenges pertaining to women's participation in politics in Pakistan.
Distinguished speakers and session chairpersons included Khawar Mumtaz - CEO Shirkat Gah, Sherry Rehman - Former Federal Minister for Information, and MNA Bushra Gohar Executive Co-ordinator Simorgh Women Resource and Publication Centre, Neelum Hussian talked about women's spaces in a patriarchal context. She made references to her research on the philosophy of 'dars' and 'mazaar' culture and how both provide public spaces and authority to women in different ways.
Research Fellow at Centre Of South Asian Studies University of Cambridge Humeira Iqtidar examined two basic questions: why do women join Islamist parties and what impact does it have on their lives when they join these parties.
She gave instances of some women's personal choice to observe Hijab (veil) and how this affects their lives and their relationships with the men of their family. She referred to her interaction with the women think tanks in Jamaat-i-Islami and Jamaat-ud-Dawa, as part of her research.
She concluded by saying that while secularism has so far been viewed as measuring the increase or decrease in religion, it is important to analyse the changes in the quality of religious belief.
In her address, Dr Farzana Bari talked about the impact of terrorism in Pakistan. She shared her research findings in terms of women's limited mobility during 'talibanization' process, which also impacts men in their day to day tasks at home and businesses. She concluded saying that women suffer the impact of terrorism disproportionately.
Member National Assembly and leader of the Awami National Party Bushra Gohar said politics is the art of possibilities but unfortunately, in Pakistan, it is the art of compromise. She said PPP, which claims to be a progressive party, it is in their government that the ministry of religious affair has issued an order that women without veil can't go to Hajj.
Speaking on the occasion, former MNA Shaheen Attiq-ur-Rehman said that the local government system is the best system to empower women. She urged all the political parties to give representation to the women who belong to the working class.
She said issues of women should be solved at the local level and local body system is the best platform for the solution of these. She pointed that only 21 percent of the women are literate in rural areas in Punjab and only seven percent of the women are literate in rural areas of Sindh.
Former MNA Begum Mehnaz Rafi said there is no left-wing party in Pakistan. She said that all political parties should take practical steps for the empowerment of women. About 200 participants from all provinces of the country included academics, current and former government representatives, national and provincial parliamentarians, civil society representatives, media personnel and human rights activists attended the conference.
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