The representatives of different NGOs working for the protection of women rights have demanded of the government to make legislation for putting an end to the sexual harassment of working women, domestic torture on women and all forms of discrimination against the womenfolk.
They also demanded technical training as well as educational and health facilities for the girls/ women, apart from setting up day care centres in industrial areas for women labourers. They also urged the government to issue soft loans to enable women to start their own businesses. They further called upon the government to repeal the Hudood Ordinance and other discriminatory laws against women. They also demanded implementation of the labour laws on women associated with the agriculture sector.
They made these demands while talking to Business Recorder here on Tuesday with reference to 'International Women's Day' being celebrated in Pakistan like other parts of the world with a pledge that all out efforts will be made to give due status to women in the society.
They also asked the government to introduce the 'Prevention from Domestic Violence Bill' and also take practical steps to help the women attain greater political and economic rights.
It may be mentioned the celebration of March 8 as International Women's Day traces its beginning as the first recorded organised action by women on 08th March 1857 in New York City, when hundreds of garment and textile women workers staged a strike against inhumane working conditions, long working hours and low wages. However, March 8 was 'officially' recognised as International Women's Day after United Nations declaration in 1975.
Most March 8 celebrations have focused on significant gains in the struggle or basic human rights, such as speech, assembly, education, and freedom from violence, among many others.
"Women in Pakistan are confined to abusive relationships and lack the ability to escape their captors due to social and cultural pressure. Cultural attitude towards female chastity and male honour serve to justify violence against women, which is very common in Pakistan", experts said.
According to them, a United Nations research study found that 500/0 of the women in Pakistan are physically battered, and their men fold mentally and verbally abuses 990/0. 'Violence against women in Pakistan includes 'Karo Kari' (honour killing). In some areas Karo Kari is practiced. A woman suspected of immorality is declared a Kari while the Karo is a man declared to be lover. A woman suspected of adultery or infidelity is liable to death penalty at the hands of her husband or in-laws. Usually the killer goes scot-free as he is regarded to have committed the crime in order to retrieve the lost family honour, which a woman is, expected to uphold at all costs', they said.
Another wrong practice ie Watta Satta (exchange marriage) is also a tradition in many families in Punjab and Sindh whereby a girl is married off to her sister in law's brother. Such an arrangement often leads to a complicated situation, since a women ends up becoming a mere object of revenge in the instance that her brother mistreats or physically abuses his wife, who in turn is her husband's sister. Male sadistic urges may be satisfied by totally humiliating as well as disfiguring his wife. Women who are victims of this particular form of violence are usually young and attractive, they said.
According to them, battering or domestic violence or intimate partner abuse, is generally part of the patterns of abusive behaviour and control rather than an isolated act of physical aggression. Partner abuse can take variety of forms including physical violence, assault, such as slaps, kicks, hits and beatings, psychological abuse, constant belittling, intimidation, humiliation and coercion sex. It frequently can include controlling behaviour such as isolating women from family, friends and monitors her movements and restrict her access to resources.
They further said in different population based surveys from around the world, 10 per cent of women reported of being hit by an intimate partner at some point of their lifetime. Physical violence in intimate relationship is almost always accompanied by psychological abuse and in one-third to one-half of cases by sexual abuse. The experience of abuse erodes women's self esteem and put them at a greater risk for a number of mental disorders like depression, PTSD, suicide, alcoholism and drug abuse.
They stated that conflict between partners is well known to affect children. Children who witness marital violence face increased risk for emotional and behavioural problems including anxiety, depression, poor school performance, low self-esteem, nightmares and disobedience. Boys turn to drugs and girls become severely depressed and sometimes totally refuse to get married. Children under-12 has learning, emotional and behavioural problems almost six to seven times more compared to children of non-abusive parents, they added.
They further said that women's perception of their role by other members of the society has had effects on their mental health. The social system based on oppressive exploitative nature of the Pakistani male, both authoritative and patriarchal, has negative effects on their identity, reproduction and sexuality. The poor educational facilities for women have led to lower literacy rate in women. Legal literacy, which is crucial to the process of acquiring critical awareness about rights and the law, is almost negligible.
Health professionals told this scribe that around one in 38 Pakistani women dies from pregnancy related causes as compared to one in 230 women in Sri Lanka, while around one half of women are anaemic throughout their pregnancies. Approximately, 80 per cent deaths of women in the country are due to direct obstetric causes, while Hepatitis is the most frequently cited indirect cause of maternal death in the country.
According to them, reproductive tract infections including sexually transmitted diseases can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, infertility and chronic pain and also increase women's susceptibility to HIV infection. Cancers of the breast and reproductive tract also constitute a significant proportion of cancers seen in Pakistan.
They further said that untimely death or disability of a woman adversely affects the health of her children and household productivity. About 25 per cent of children are born with low birth weight due to maternal problems. Ten per cent of children do not reach their first birthday, while high fertility, with an average of six children per woman, has resulted in high population growth.
They maintained that malnutrition is a major public health problem in Pakistan that disproportionately affects women and girls. More girls than boys die between the ages of one and four; in fact the female mortality rate here is 12 per cent higher than for boys. This is a direct consequence of the lower social status accorded to women and girls, who as a result tend to eat less and face additional barriers when accessing health care.
They further said the women, girls and infants most often die of common communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, diarrhea, pneumonia and tetanus, which could have been easily prevented and treated. The high prevalence of communicable diseases and malnutrition is not only related to poor living conditions, but also to the lower social status of women and girls. In addition, because of social stigma and gender norms, as many as 50 per cent of women suffer from recurrent reproductive tract infections, they claimed.
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