Women’s rights and access to justice

Letter November 26, 2014
There is dire need to build demand for justice by enhancing capacity of affected women to advocate for justice access

ISLAMABAD: Only the other day, several women activists and feminists from various parts of the country gathered in a five–star hotel in Islamabad for an event held to discuss the plight of women. None of them could speak about women’s lack of access to justice, which is among the most important determinants of poverty among women in the Pakistani society, in particular, in rural Pakistan. In poverty-stricken areas, access to justice is further reduced by the rotting state of governmental infrastructure.

In this dismal backdrop, there is a dire need to build demand for justice by enhancing the capacity of affected women to advocate for access to justice. There should be accessibility, adaptability, availability and acceptability, as well as an increased supply of justice for women, by bringing about pro-women government policies, judicial system reform and changes in cultural practices at national, local and community levels, especially in Sindh and Balochistan, where the state of affairs is most dismal.

Hashim Abro

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27th, 2014.

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