By Maham Javaid
Much has been predicted close Imran Khan, the incumbent prime number government minister of Pakistan, together with his promised “Naya (New) Pakistan” inward the days leading upward to together with since the July 25 election. Some say he has naively promised the impossible; others say that the passage of fourth dimension volition verify his caliber. One daunting inquiry close his upcoming tenure – inward part propelled past times personal-life decisions together with his world comment close the negative purpose feminism has played inward Islamic Republic of Pakistan – is how women volition fare nether the Khan-led Islamic Republic of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. Time is, inward fact, a tested method to run across how someone delivers, but a faster litmus exam would endure to divulge what Khan together with his political party achieved for women during the 5 years of ability they enjoyed inward the provincial authorities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, i of Pakistan’s 4 provinces.
A meaning slice of women-centric legislation inward the terminal one-half decade was the domestic violence nib that each province was meant to pass. Sindh was the start to transcend this nib inward 2013, amongst Balochistan hot on its heels inward 2014. Much to the PTI’s chagrin, the Punjab authorities also enacted the nib inward 2016. Only the PTI-led authorities inward Khyber Pakhtunkhwa failed to transcend this crucial nib during its 5 years of leadership – a fourth dimension menstruum during which the momentum for women’s rights legislation was already acquaint cheers to activists together with political leaders, although that’s non to say that crimes against women were drastically reduced.
To defend his party’s failure to pas the bill, Khan told newspapers, “We desire to empower women inward the province together with for that affair nosotros referred the nib to Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) to construct consensus thus that it would non larn controversial, similar inward Punjab.”
After all, women-centric laws, much similar women’s bodies, ofttimes larn contentious battlegrounds for politicians. And tragically, past times continuing to delay the bill, the PTI authorities did non alter this condition quo.
In fact, Aimen Bucha, an activist together with lecturer at the Beaconhouse National University inward Lahore argued that “Khan’s determination to move on delaying the nib ceded to a greater extent than infinite to conservative voices such equally CII.” Decisions similar this pick out that gendered legislation may non endure equally of import to the PTI, equally showing back upward for the religious right.
Bucha says that piece women-centric legislation is vital, it must endure remembered that legislation is a tool that political parties utilization to solidify their political position; this was seen amongst the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz together with Islamic Republic of Pakistan Peoples Party’s landmark women-focused legislation on acid crimes, domestic violence, together with sexual harassment at the workplace. However, the PTI has no such breakthrough legislation to their credit.
While the PTI’s overall surgical physical care for inward regards to women’s legislation does non signal the launch of a “Naya Pakistan,” at that spot are approximately silvery linings. One of these was the PTI provincial government’s determination to allow women to have royalties from foresting. Every fourth dimension a wood inward Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is harvested for commercial sale, the authorities is due to pay threescore percentage of the income from the sale to local residents. The PTI authorities ensured that this coin was non only going to a few influential men but also to local women. Lahore-based academic Sarah Khan describes this determination equally a form out of “real, cloth economical empowerment” for women.
Furthermore, Amina Durrani, the plan manager of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Commission on the Status of Women (KPCSW), points out that the PTI authorities turned the tables on girl’s instruction past times injecting large amounts of coin into sending teachers to “tough areas” to access girls. She says the PTI was also successful inward installing an ombudsperson for the harassment inward the workplace law – although this is a feat that other provinces achieved much earlier. Sindh appointed its ombudsperson inward 2012, almost half dozen years before Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Durrani also talks close how the PTI created the first-ever Women Empowerment Policy Framework, which plant at the district degree together with may evidence to endure a successful model. Lastly, she mentions that the PTI authorities was responsible for establishing a Widows’ Foundation together with a handful of shelters for women, for recruiting together with preparation woman mortal police pull officers, together with the issuance of the sehat sahulat cards, a provincial wellness insurance policy. The PTI authorities is also credited for strengthening the KPCSW, the governmental organisation that Durrani plant for.
Shabina Ayaz, the resident manager of the Peshawar chapter of Aurat Foundation, a women-focused nongovernmental organization, whose project is to monitor legislation focused on women, laments that this terminal i may really endure the PTI’s entirely service to women. “PTI’s legislation towards women inward the terminal tenure was express to the amendment they passed to grant the KPCSW fiscal together with administrative powers,” she said.
She added that “In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to a greater extent than thus than inward Punjab or Sindh, political parties are hesitant to transcend laws that empower women, together with PTI is specially partial to the religious clergy. They don’t accept women’s laws also seriously.”
Party Privilege
While legislation is important, it can’t singlehandedly improve the condition of women. Political parties aiming for alter also demand banking concern tally their leaders’ views. “Imran Khan’s recent statement close feminism together with his refusal to engage amongst Blue Planet close said controversy does non bode good for women inward the country,” said activist Bucha.
Academic Sarah Khan agrees amongst this idea. “Political parties inward ability own got the privilege to shape world opinion, together with historically many parties own got abused this privilege,” she said. She believes that one-liners, such equally the i Khan uttered close “feminism degrading the purpose of a mother,” impact world opinion, which inward plough affects the means women are treated across the country.
“If Imran Khan is really worried close the province of working mothers, thus should PTI non own got used their Election Manifesto to speak close maternal leaves?” asks Bucha. Despite the fact that the PTI manifesto acknowledges that Islamic Republic of Pakistan is 2nd to worst inward gender parity according to the World Economic Forum, it devotes a unmarried page to gender equality.
It is also of import to annotation that a political party cannot endure separated from their followers. “PTI’s followers own got built a reputation for attacking women inward online spaces,” said Bucha. H5N1 ruling authorities inward Islamic Republic of Pakistan tin flaming no longer pretend that dealing amongst online harassment is non nether the state’s ambit. The government, for improve or for worse, has the ability to principle social spaces together with the PTI needs to accept responsibleness for its followers — non to cite its ain members.
Just this week, Aamir Liaqat, a PTI fellow member of the National Assembly, tweeted a film of Senator Sherry Rehman together with 2 manful mortal politicians along amongst suggestive Bollywood lyrics. Liaqat after deleted the photograph together with issued a half-apology, but equally one paper stated that his tweet stands witness to the “need for PTI to evidence that at that spot is no room for casual misogyny inward the Parliament of Naya Pakistan.”
What You See May Not Be What You Get
The media ofttimes focuses on how political rallies for Khan’s political party own got a larger presence of women equally compared to other political party’s rallies, but this presence does non necessarily interpret into women having representation. In fact, when political party tickets were existence awarded past times the PTI, at that spot was much dissatisfactionamong the women workers of PTI, who claimed that the tickets had non been allotted for merit together with difficult work.
And equally far equally women voter representation is concerned, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the entirely province inward the dry ground amongst 5 constituencies amongst less than 10 percentage woman mortal voter turnout. Academic Sarah Khan thinks that apart from everyday patriarchy together with conservatism at that spot may endure approximately other reason. “Women inward Khyber Pakhtunkhwa produce non experience engaged inward the political physical care for because political parties responsible for reaching out to them own got failed inward doing so,” she said.
Durrani of the KPCSW says that the number of non-participation of women is non only restricted to the 5 constituencies that stood out. In fact, Haji Banda, a neighborhood inward the urban urban nub of Peshawar, had 987 women registered to vote, out of which i showed upward on election day, despite the women polling agents at the polling station. In the sew to the election, Durrani couldn’t recall the PTI’s workers attempting to encourage women voters.
On the other hand, “Jamiat Ulema Islam together with Muttahida Majlis Amal [both rightwing religious parties] held a convention together with carried out mobilization campaigns to encourage women to vote,” said Durrani. However, she concluded that equally long equally the civil gild remains persistent inward the struggle for women’s rights, the PTI authorities volition deliver.
“PTI has non failed inward price of women-centric legislation but it has laid itself upward for a difficult task: They own got promised change, together with women inward this dry ground demand change,” said Bucha, summing upward the PTI’s previous performance.
During the terminal authorities inward Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PTI met amongst a rigid opposition together with it was said that this prevented them from passing many of import laws. This fourth dimension around, at the provincial level, PTI volition human face upward a really weak opposition, but at the middle PTI volition endure met amongst a robust opposition. If the past times is to serve equally witness, Pakistani women may expression scant changes for the improve – unless possibly Khan’s ain voters start belongings him accountable.
Maham Javaid is a freelance journalist. Her operate has appeared inward Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, Refinery29, Timeline, together with The Nation.
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