Women suffering in conflict

Majority of the women remain sidelined owing to cultural and societal mindsets

Undervalued and marginalised, women’s empowerment continues to be a monstrous task. Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN, Maleeha Lodhi, recently stressed the need to recognise the disadvantages women face in regions plagued by conflict at the Security Council Debate on Women, Peace and Security. She shared examples from Kashmir and Palestine where women and girls were soft targets and easily exploited by agitators of war. Ms Lodhi’s words resonate with the plight of women in Pakistan and also come at a time when hundreds of UN peace workers have been alleged to engage in sexual misconduct, child rape, and gender violence while on assignments.

The cooperation of the international community at large is, indeed, necessary, especially from the nations that have a significantly powerful status. Incorporating women into the peace process is crucial, but not solely because Ms Lodhi says they can act as mediators. Not all women are good mediators. The correct approach is that women are capable of leading other roles, too, but that they have not been entrusted with opportunities. Female participation needs to be nurtured and although somewhat counterintuitive coming from Pakistan having its own women’s issues, we fully support the claim.

While Pakistan has had its share of women in leadership roles, be it a female prime minister or ambassador, the majority of women remain sidelined owing to cultural and societal mindsets. In almost every area of public life, women have prescribed a special set of rules. Examples of differential treatment include separate lines in some public spaces, discrimination and derogatory attitudes shown towards female drivers, and the popular glare in public when women uncharacteristically engage in an errand that men usually do. Both, in Pakistan and globally, attitudes towards women have to be modified. Whereas within the country, we need less protectionism and more encouragement of women to participate in the public sphere, they require facilitation in countries of conflict due to grave human rights violations, such as rape and physical abuse.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2018.

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