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Controversy during constitutional development of Pakistan regarding the meaning of

concepts to be incorporated in the draft cons itution made the task of reconciling the
liberty and fundamental rights of citizens difficult. The point of the previous article was
that efforts at bringing equity among individuals and groups of people with divergent
interests got mired soon after independence in the mcrass of emerging ethnicity and
parochial identities. Very early, it was realised that self-rule and independence are no
guarantee in themselves that interest groups, will not clash with one another. It also
became obvious that the rule of majority does not necessarily ensure fair play and justice,
and that the legitimate freedom of individuals, particularly of those with a differing point
of view, will not be encroached upon,

It will be pertinent to point out that states seek to incorporate concepts of fundamental
rights in their constitutions rights in their constitutions with a view to ensure that
interference with those rights, and the conceptual and normative underpinning thereof, be
made impossible even by the legislature. Thus, constitutions of all civilised countries
bind administration to respect individual rights by imposing limitations, express or
implied, on legislative, executive, and judicial authorities against meddling with
individual liberties and freedoms. Authorities interference with individual liberties were
legitimatise only where they endangered social fabric by turning into anti-social fabric by
turning into antisocial activities or imperilled the well-being and integrity of the
community as a whole.

Fundamental rights granted to the citizens of Pakistan -- extending from civil, political,
economic, social, and cultural rights to the right to the development of one-self, as well as
the right to live in a healthy environment - are in no less degree or kind the same as the
ones guaranteed to the citizens of the developed countries. Reports, however, speak of
gross violations of such rights. The annual reports of the Human Rights Cell of Pakistan,
for example, speaks of numerous human rights violations that took place during
1995. It mentions having received some 5,000 cases of human rights
1

abuses -- a number actually much higher considering that most such cases go unreported.
It speaks of burning of women, rape, extrajudicial executions, death sentences, use of bar
fetters in jails, flogging* and deaths, in police and military custody, but points out that
police rarely investigated charges against law-enforcing agencies.

As mentioned earlier, violation of individual rights in a particular country, whether by its

government or some interest group, is no more a domestic matter. With the developing
global consciousness, as well as the institutionalisation of such consciousness through the
instruments of the United Nations, communities with poor human rights record are open
to outside censure as well as purity measures in the form of sanctions or loss of
international support on matters of vital political or administrative significance.
Therefore, it is becoming more and more importantly for governments of today to set
their human rights records right not only for the moral implications they bear but also for
their political and global repercussion. And in this broader context, Pakistan needs to
straighten its records.

In this and subsequent articles, this writer intends to study human rights issues in
Pakistan and discuss their implications on individuals, groups of people, and on the
national life. In focusing on the groups most vulnerable to the chauvinistic attitudes of
our feudal patriarchal society, this writing will first look into some of the major problems
of women in Pakistan. The writing also proposes to see how far the words of our
constitution and legislature receive practical application.

The crux of the first part of this study is that the women of Pakistan despite having been
repeatedly recognised for their significant role in almost all spheres of economy and
society have not been integrated in development. While an understanding of woman as an
important component of Human Capital had started sometime in 1970s with the growing
realisation of her economic potential and contributions, her inclusion in national
development plans is yet to take place. Meanwhile, there goes on that fierce battle
between the local genre ideologies and <brces of modernity -- between those who,
wishing to monopolise the task of determining the role of women in society-building,
seek to tie women to health and children and the extraneous variables such as the
influence of market forces and political events outside the national economy that affect
the rate and pattern of women's entry into mainstream development activities. There is
than a greater awareness among educated women who desire to carve an identity for
themselves out

JEmporium Current Essays

of their own work, and not of their father's or husband's, which comes in conflict with the
ideals of a feudal patriarchal society. With these paradoxes, while progress has visibly
been made by Pakistani women in all aspects of life, the pace is retarded, and during
some eras altogether arrested, or even reversed.
To understand women's situation in Pakistan, in terms of their effort to come to terms
with the new realities requiring them to old economic dependence on man, what needs to
be considered also is that how the economic development process in the country has
benefited women and in what aspects has it generated unfavourable effects on women's
position and status. Other pertinent questions may be: what are the main factors
facilitating women's entry into mainstream activities in the organisational structure of the
state bureaucracy and political life of the nation? What re the ideological orientation of
women's movement? What are the laws affecting, women's status? Has the health and
medical system undergone improvements to incorporate women's new needs and wants?
How is the state machinery help in solve women's problem? And the most important
question regards the state responsibility to help women realise their potential: that how
many rights achieved on paper are actually enjoyed by the majority of women in the
country.

Paradoxically, Pakistan is one of those few countries in the world where the highest
executive office, that of a prime minister, is being held by a women, but where women
have a status lower than that of minority. Against all proclamation of equality of man and
woman in the constitution of the country, societal patterns stress on subservience of
woman to man. Not only that, the unjust system receives support through discriminatory
legislation also. And while the present government's liberal intentions give much courage
to the battling feminists, .its inability to call off such discriminatory legislation against
women, introduced during the military regime of Zia-ul-Haq, are disappointing. Thus, the
atmosphere of harassment of women, produced by the late Zia-ul-Haq, in an attempt to
impose strict do's and don'ts on women, through state machinery and with the help of
electronic media, continues. Low literacy rate in the country and economic privations can
certainly beheld accountable for drawing people into the folds of ideology-, even if
against all logical thinking. Nevertheless, the prevalent political environment of
liberatism, as well as the government's tacit support and some active measures in support
of women's demand for greater empowerment and emancipation, has provided protection
against the erstwhile state persecution of NGOs and articulate individuals vocalising
women's issues. It is noteworthy wonder that such

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articulation was strongest during Zia's regime when rebellion against attempts at strict
regimentation of women's day to day life was strongest.

What needs to be see in this study is the impact of the antiwomen legislation of Zia's
time, the present government's efforts to change such legislations, and the role of the
feminist movements in this direction. It is true that equal rights by law do not always
mean better conditions for women, but implementation of equality in actual practice is
definitely better assisted when equality is pronounced categorically, rather than denied
expressly. Similarly, working of feminist movements and organisations and do not always
reflect a wakening and mobilisation of women at grassroots level, but such struggles by a
numerically small number of a women does promise a trickle-down impact for the
women in remote parts of the country through n process of general awakening.

As mentioned in the previous article, women's position m Pakistan -- like many other
Third World countries - is generally determined by a double set of determents: social
norms and economic forces; or, to put it differently, relations of gender and the economic
structure of the society. To be able to grasp the two interlined and inter-dependent factors
affecting women's social aisd economic status, one needs first to understand the
patriarchal
• structure of society, a well as its implications on gender relations, which in tun have a
bearing on the overall economic activity in the country.

Patriarchy, meaning the rule of father or patriarch, is a social structure where a male head
of the family controls all other members of the family, a well as all family property and
economic resources. When man believes to be superior to women, he considers the
women of his family to be his property and considers himself justified in making
arbitrary decisions about their lives or keeping a vigil over their day-to-day conduct - this
last task, of course, can best be performed by confining them to the seclusion of homes.
Where this thinking guides social practices and legislation, women find their lives
controlled by men, who, far their own convenience, condition women's thinking to their
double standards of morality and norms that give more rights and freedoms to men that to
women. It is pertinent, however, to note at this point, that in Pakistan, women' struggle
for greater empowerment has never been, save in recent years, against patriarchal system.
Their movements have, for the most part, restricted themselves to onlydemanding greater
rights and concessions for women. 268

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Juxtaposed with feudal patriarchy, which prefers to confine women to homes, are the
economic realities of today when the spiralling prices of commodities of evcry-day use
and a backbreaking rate of inflation make it hard for a middle-class man to provide for a
comfortable living for an average family. In such a situation, need to reconsider 'and
redefine women's economic role are more pronounced than ever. However, as indicated
previously, women of Pakistan, despite having been repeatedly recognised for their
significant role in almost all spheres of economy and society, have not been integrated
with national development.

One reason for women's less than what is possible role in the country's economics
activity has been that their effort to come to terms with the new economic realities
requiring them to review their centuries-old dependence on man have not been
affirmatively encouraged by the state. And examples affirm that in the process of
economic development, in countries like Pakistan where the dynamics of capitalism and
imperialism shape the complexities that reinforce the subordination of women, prosperity
benefits women only of policy makers specifically take note or the interests of won. In
case of Pakistan, however, political expediency has often taken precedence over the need
for the state's encouragement to women's struggles for greater economic independence,
and thus for greater contribution s well as share in national development. In fact, national
development process has not taken women along itself; rather, there have been political
developments (to be discussed in greater detail in the next article of this series) that have
contributed to the already existing marginalisatidh of women in the p'frocess of national
development.

Whereas the historical perception of women as dependants has always led to policies that
tend to marginalise women and tend to confine them to subsistence, rural sector, or in
urban areas to jobs generally less challenging and thus less well-paid, political
developments unfavourable to women in general, and government's policies have also
been unhelpful to the women's situation. This argument proves true when examined from
several different angles. For example, capitalism views as the head of a household, who is
therefore paid a wage that covers subsistence for himself, his wife, and his children,
whereas in the same economic system, woman is seen as merely supplementing the
family income, and there fore can be aid less for a productive v.ok of equal value. This
view countries, in several countries besides Pakistan, although statistics speak of as many
as 2 to 40 per cent of all families in many countries living primarily on the earnings of
women or as single-parent families

headed by women. Thus, it is clear that the assumptions of the capitalist patriarchy, and
the resulting gender-discrimination, adversely affect the economic conditions of such
women. Moreover, such working-women. Moreover, such working women carry double
the burden than makes because of their unpaid work at home, Woman's responsibilities
have also become unhelpful for her ability to put in more effort in achieving professional
excellence and thus moving up the professional ladder.

Unless the government intervenes through affirmative action, women's situation can
hardly be bettered in the ongoing process of modernisation. Modernisation programmes
themselves are in several ways the reasons for the marginalisation of women and their
removal from the work force. In rural areas that come under government's schemes of
greater agricultural production, increased mechanisation has caused many women lose
their traditional jobs in the fields, and since the society does not encourage technical
skills for women, they are forced to go unemployed. Also, where men have met with
economic success in the process of modernisation, women of the families have been
confined to homes as status symbol. The situation where properly assessed and realised
has raised concerns in quarters favouring improved conditions for women with the idea
that modernisation, and progress in general have been gender-specific and have not
always meant better economic or social conditions for women.

Also remains precarious in economic terms the condition of a majority of middle-class

urban women who stay at homes and depend on the male heads of the household for their
subsistence. Lacking,in skills, they face economic privation in case of the death or
disability of their male earning member of the their male earning member of the family.
Also, with a general tendency of disregarding the unpaid household work as not the "real
work," such women can hardly claim their coatribution in the economic uplift of the
family, and thus hardly figure where important decision-making, particularly in economic
matter, is done. This explains in part the tendency to deprive daughters of the right to
inherit family property, even though laws are explicit in that regard.

Having to give .up the right to family inheritance is. a ,

violation of women's legal right which the urban women share nith

their rural counterparts, the women cultivators in villages who do

;.- much of the work but have little formal entitlement to the land the^

\ cultivate. Highlighting the unwillingness of the male members of ihe'

f family to part >uth the family property, several evil practices are

| prevalent in villages, such as those of keeping the daughters270

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271

unmarried and trying to sanctify their virgin stage by declaring their marriage to Quran,
or, in a bid to prevent transfer of the family property to other families, restricting their
marriage to cousins only, which in several cases results in poor matches.

While the policy-makers claiming to have women's problems close to their heart realise
that property can benefit women only if their interests are specifically about women has
hampered such effort. Myths regarding the natural and essential role of motherhood and
domesticity for women, coupled wkh the general perception of them as profligate
consumers, rather than economic agents, have often been fundamental to policies that
serve to undermine their social and economic function. Owing to this thinking, women as
recipients of cssistancc in development projects are obviously sidelined and are at a
disadvantage. When government views with concern the problems of youth, such as the
availability of employment, education, and recreation, priority is given to the needs of the
males. It is because of this tendency that plans for female youth re virtually un.heard of.
Even the women employed on the margins of urban economy remain constrained by the
absence of resources and opportunities. Demanding protective legislation makes women
in forma! sector too costly for the employers, and either costs them their job or causes
them to be marginalised by their employer. And the other option of homeworking i,s
associated with all the disadvantages of informal work.
Amnesty International put Pakistan government on the defensive a couple of months back
when it reported that Pakistani women were suffering from widespread human rights
violations. In
1985, ten years prior to Amnesty report, the Pakistan Commission on the Status of
Women had reported thai women here were "treated as possessions rather than self-
reliant, self-regulating humans. They are bought, sold, beaten and mutilate, even killed
with impunity and social approval. They are dispossessed and disinherited in spite of
legal safeguards and the vast majority are made to work for as long as sixteen to eighteen
hours a day, without any payment." Asserting that such is not the condition of the
majority of women in Pakistan, does not absolve the country and society of the charge of
abusive attitude toward women. Heinz Klein and Rcnate Ncstvogel also pointed out in
Women in Pakistan, "the diluted level of pubic outrage [against such incidents] does
highlight Pakistan's emphatically patriarchal society wherein women's lives are normally
determined by their male relatives...."

True to the observation regarding the social dependence of Pakistani women are the
statistics regarding their economic

dependence --- of course, economic and social dependence are interlinked. Currently,
both the official labour force participation rate of Pakistani women and the female
literacy rate (16 per cent i:nd 4.8 per cent) are amongst the lowest in the world besides
the gender differences are sharp. The situation persists since independence despite the
fact that successive governments of Pakistan - save the military government of Zia-ul-
Haq that reinforced anti-woman traditions through negative legislation - have positively
been committed, at least in policy, to women's uplift and to ensuring their greater
participation in national development.

Analysts argue that gender imbalances ir« both fields of education and employment are
due to inaccurate statistics and research data that usually inform and direct the
government's policies. The inaccuracies are born social attitude of males who tend to
deny that their women actually "work", since there is a social prestige for those men who
are capable of earning enough to keep their women unemployed and secluded at home.
The misconceptions born of myth and stereotype of ideal women, non-working, home
based, and child-rearing, have also much to contribute to the situation. Thus, when
schooling and employment facilities are provided, women's needs are underestimated The
process of mass mechanisation and technological shifts in rural production ran be taken
as an example, where the government-assisted training facilities are basically meant for
men, leaving manually working rural women unemployed and poor. It is therefore not
surprising that it the last ten years, women workers have remained & small 1 per cent of
the labour force and that between 1973 and 1981, the number of working women actually
decreased.

To understand the current situation of women in Pakistan, one must start from examining
the government's official policy toward women and see how far it has helped alleviating
women's sufferings. The Constitution of the counts y has always bee in favour of
improving women's condition and protecting their rights. In the
1973 Constitution, it has b?en laid down vide article 34 that steps shall be taken to
ensure-full participation o women in all spheres. Article 35 of the Constitution lays do'ra
that the Siate shall protect the marriage, the family, the mother, and the child. Article 37
(c) of the Constitution guarantees just arid human working conditions for women and
children with respect to their age and^sex, as well as" maternity benefits for employed
women. Prostitution has been prevented under Article 37 (g) of the Constitution. V

In 1979, the government -of Pakistan Created a scpanfte women's division in the country,
with a view to protect women's272

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interest. The Women Development Division has been implementing special plans and
programmes - through respective departments, public representatives, and non-
government organisations - based on the priority needs of women, such as training and
enhancement of women's skills, income-generating projects, construction of working
women's hostels, community centres, health care facilities, day care centres, legal aid
centres, and grants in aid for women's development. Prior to this significant development,
the Family laws Ordinance in 1961 was a major development in favour of women as it
regularised marriages and restrained polygamy.

The current Eighth Plan focuses on improving educational status of women, expanding
health facilities, providing more openings for income generation, removing
discrimination in education and employment, and creating awareness on rights and
responsibilities of women, in (he area of education, the target for participation rate of
girls has been fixed 81.6 per cent in 1997-98 as against 53.7 per cent in 1992-93. In order
to achieve this objective, improvement in the service condition of female teachers
through proper training and higher allowances; relaxation of upper age limit, experience,
and qualification; provision of transport; and provision of nutrition incentive to girl
students will be ensured. Better access to water and sanitation, women's nutrition,
expansion of population welfare services through better supervision and community
and NGO participation are the core policy areas. Besides provision of employment in
primary health related institutions, there is school feeding programme to improve the
nutritional status of about 206 million girl students throughout the country with the help
of NGOs. There is the target of brining of about 70 per cent of the rural population under
family planning coverage; thus 12,000 women will be employed as family planning
workers in the rural areas. There is a target for training 25,000 women in the field of
secretariat' work," computer-operation, communications, pharmaceutics, hairdressing,
wax moulding, precision-casting, and electronics. About five million women will be
provided training in the sewing and socio-economic centres, and about one million poor
patient? will be assisted through the medical social service projects. All these
programmes will require both government and NGO assistance. The government- support
for NGOs will be provided for expanding their activities in the rural areas. During the
Eighth Plan, Rs. 2.1 billion will be spent for women development programme; Rs. 1.575
billion will be spent on regular programmes and R. 0.525 billion will be spent for the
NGO support programmes.

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seeks in the

to remove the overt light of constitutional

The Eight ?]-„ ,

discrimination against a'S° -SCcks to rcmove the overt provisions related to the i^T" '"
*Je Hght of constitutional this objective, affirmatj clof.nicnt of women. In order to
achieve protect women's rights f \ apProach "•" be .adopted to facilities, inheritance a J°
education, employment, credit

discriminatory laws arm Pro.Pertv- lt a>«o aims at reviewing prime ministeV directed ,
P^actices aSamst w«men. last year, the sector jobs for women, b, ,°f, A.QUOta °?ce Per
ccnt of a!! Public government is also tnin V dirCCtlve has yet to materialise- The to
review the provision8,- C amendments in the Constitution

Assembly and the Sena, forrrcservat'°n of seats in the National

Government also finally K ' Cr0>™ a"d thcse efforts' Pakistan the Elimination of
all%bccame a signatory to the UN Convention

(CEDAW), the major in!°rmS.,SCr'mination A§ainst Womcn equality, though with

res^™* nal instru™r,t for ensuring gender

vr\ uiions.

Although the toe^u,,,. k

women judges in the h£L U en Imtiativcs iike induction of

police stations, but in £her-ceurts and setting up more women's measures can hardly hav
prefnce of discriminatory laws, such grassroots level. significance in the life of women at

Pakistan intoe'thaS^1-0118 a?d Human Rights Commission of of violence, particularly «

>S an alarm'"g increase in the incidents

in police lock-ups. Of all f CnmeS; agai"St women' including raPes and violence against
HO \S Inst<tutionalised discrimination
scarred women's lives th™"' ,Ud°°Jd Ortlinance is said to have Human Rights organisatin
Tn ' accordi"g to the country's prisons are charged unde"n ? ^/Vf!!' °f VV°men in the
COUnlry'S women to produce four ^ ,"dood Ordinance ~ the law requires a and
interpretations of thi " T "Itnesrses to 8et a raPist convicted, fornication, punishing wl
Ordmance frequently confuse rape with

that, reportedly, on an M mStead °f rapists- This ma* exPIain across the country, and
^'cr.^e\ictt women are abdurted daily

suffered some form of se,,! C previ°US year' 1725° M0men women were burnt alive >ual
abuse-, Moreover, the fact that more indicates that the increasih ^alftan in 1995 than in
any otheTyear,

are coming to occupy. Cn -^ • StatUS'the "omen of this countrv paper does not gener^'^'^
that much of what is planed on

corruption and widesprel .'• mratPnallse' °"ing to large scale promises of

betterment*dfincmcicncy '» bureaucratic offices, the believed ° womcn s position are t\ot
generally-