‘Meri Awaz Suno’: Radio shows raise awareness on gender-based violence

These programmes will be aired on Dec 8, 10, 15, 17, 22 and 24

Data from a 2012-13 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) on the prevalence of physical and emotional violence experienced by married women between the ages of 15 and 49 indicates that spousal violence is high in Pakistan.

“Violence against women, especially domestic violence is an area of serious concern for us and a priority area of work for the commission,” said National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) Chairperson Khawar Mumtaz.

Almost 40 per cent of married women have experienced spousal abuse at some point in their life, whether physical or emotional, and one-third reported having experienced some form of physical or emotional violence by their husbands in the last 12 months.

The NCSW is running a series of programmes titled, ‘Meri Awaz Suno’, on the issue of violence against women and specifically domestic violence as part of its campaign against gender-based violence (GBV). The 25-minute programmes will be aired on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10am on radio station FM 101. These programmes will be aired on December 8, 10, 15, 17, 22 and 24.

Women’s rights activists, psychologists, government officials, legal and technical experts will be interviewed. Oral testimonies from women survivors will also be broadcast. The aim is to provide detailed information on the issue, as well as its prevalence and impact on women, children and families.

The programmes will also highlight laws put in place to combat domestic violence by the government as well as other government efforts and support mechanisms which work with women survivors.

The radio programmes are being held with the support of the Gender Equity Programme of the Aurat Foundation and USAID, under the “Countering GBV through Research, Data Strengthening and Standardization” project.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2015.