Levelling the playing field: Empowering women through legal education

Laws are enacted but implementation remains an issue, say speakers

KARACHI: If I hadn't studied law, I wouldn't have known about laws. When I started practicing as a lawyer, I did two things; I gave lectures at community centres and wrote articles in women magazines. I wanted our women at home to know about their rights.

Sindh Human Rights Commission chairperson and the first female judge of a high court, Justice (retd) Majida Rizvi shared her journey as a female lawyer during an event, titled 'Legal Prospects for the Protection of Women's Rights in Pakistan' on Tuesday.

The event was organised by Shaheed Mohtarma Benzair Bhutto (SMBB) chair and faculty of law at University of Karachi's arts auditorium on the occasion of International Women's Day.

Rizvi said as she began writing weekly articles for a magazine, she realised most women find law a very dry subject, so she started educating them through stories.

I started receiving threats because I was empowering women by telling them about their rights, she claimed.

'They would say humari auraton ko kharab kar rahi hai [You are spoiling our women.]" However, the feedback she received revealed the extent to which women were appreciating Rizvi's efforts.

People need to be made aware of their rights and the media can play a prominent role in this, she remarked. "Mindsets of people need to be changed. Legal education is lacking in schools and classes. Laws have been passed in the past and will continue in the future too. We see no programmes on laws on television. A common man and woman should know about these laws in simple words."

Speaking about the role of civil society, she said even though it has become active in recent times, there is an element of indifference among people. "We don't stand up for others, as we think that if something has happened to someone else it can't happen to us."

She also highlighted many problems in courts with regards to discipline and attitude of lawyers, corruption, political pressures and presence of ethnic mafias in district courts.

"Laws are constantly being made. The question is of their implementation," she said while speaking about the recent laws such as the Protection Against Harassment at Workplace, Sindh Child Marriage Act and the recent Hindu Marriage Act.

This was also reiterated by former Justice Dr Ghous Muhammad. "They [the women] should be empowered by laws. The dilemma is that laws have been promulgated but their implementation has been far from satisfactory," he claimed.

He also spoke about the status of democracy in Pakistan. "I would say it is buy [by] the people, off [of] the people and far [for] the people. This is the kind of democracy we have," he said explaining his spin on the definition of democracy.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2016.