Losing the War: Silencing the voice against rape
If donors don’t step forward, the organisation will have to discontinue its services.
WAR’s programme coordinator says if WAR was roughly taking up 30 per cent of rape cases in the country before funding cuts, it is now only taking up only five per cent.
KARACHI:
They fought the war when no one else would, giving a voice to the voiceless and help to the helpless. For more than two decades, War Against Rape (WAR) provided healing, counselling and medico-legal help to rape survivors, but now WAR finds itself in a position where it may be forced to quit the field forever, and all because of a lack of funds.
War Against Rape’s (WAR) battle against sexual violence is presently in serious jeopardy. If donors don’t step forward, the organisation - which since 1989 has been fighting to provide justice to rape survivors - will have to discontinue its services.
The organisation has been in deep financial crisis since 2011, when one of its main funders, a Dutch organization called the ICCO cut off its funding because of the global recession. Since then, WAR has been staying afloat on small grants from other donor agencies.
WAR’s programme coordinator, Sanaa Rasheed, said, “There have been no calls for new proposals from donors. In fact foreign donors have shifted their priorities from women’s issues to labour issues.”
The organisation, which provided free legal aid to rape survivors, now only takes up critical cases and is wrapping up previous ones too. Rasheed says if WAR was roughly taking up 30 per cent of rape cases in the country before funding cuts, it is now only taking up only five per cent. “It’s sad we have to let go of cases - especially when the rape of minor children is on the rise.”
As funds dried up, free counseling offered to rape survivors and the data collection programme were also hit. Some staff members have been handed the pink slip. “Litigation is expensive as it requires legal fees and each case lingers for around two to three years,” says Rasheed. WAR’s in-house lawyers have fought numerous high-profile rape cases. They include the Mazar-e-Quaid rape case and the rape of a four-year-old girl by two police constables in Karachi.
As the government does not lend a hand to local NGOs, WAR also faces another issue. “Nobody wants to be affiliated with sexual health or sexual issues. Even today, talking about rape and helping survivors is considered taboo.” When the organisation put up a play in collaboration with the Lyceum school to raise funds, people bought tickets but didn’t show up. Rasheed says this is because they didn’t want to be seen at an event associated with rape.
Root cause
Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research’s (PILER) Karamat Ali says NGOs are feeling pressure as foreign donors have slashed aid because of Pakistan’s negative image. “People are not ready to invest in the country because of rising extremism and intolerance.” According to him, while individuals are not ready to help countries in the Global South, those who do lend a hand do so to the government instead of to NGOs.
Donors from the ‘West’ are now more focused on Indonesia, China, and Africa, says Ali. These days, donations coming to Pakistan are mostly from the US-based United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and European countries such as Germany and Denmark.
Some NGOs don’t face funding problems because they rely less on foreign donors and have found other ways to generate revenues. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan is one of them.
Abdul Hai, a member of HRCP’s Karachi chapter, says it doesn’t rely much on funding, and their organisation has both members and private donors who help sustain it.
However for Rasheed and her colleagues at WAR, this is a testing time. She says the closure of the NGO would be a huge tragedy. “WAR is a place where a rape survivor can walk in easily, and if it closes down, there would be no help for them.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2013.
They fought the war when no one else would, giving a voice to the voiceless and help to the helpless. For more than two decades, War Against Rape (WAR) provided healing, counselling and medico-legal help to rape survivors, but now WAR finds itself in a position where it may be forced to quit the field forever, and all because of a lack of funds.
War Against Rape’s (WAR) battle against sexual violence is presently in serious jeopardy. If donors don’t step forward, the organisation - which since 1989 has been fighting to provide justice to rape survivors - will have to discontinue its services.
The organisation has been in deep financial crisis since 2011, when one of its main funders, a Dutch organization called the ICCO cut off its funding because of the global recession. Since then, WAR has been staying afloat on small grants from other donor agencies.
WAR’s programme coordinator, Sanaa Rasheed, said, “There have been no calls for new proposals from donors. In fact foreign donors have shifted their priorities from women’s issues to labour issues.”
The organisation, which provided free legal aid to rape survivors, now only takes up critical cases and is wrapping up previous ones too. Rasheed says if WAR was roughly taking up 30 per cent of rape cases in the country before funding cuts, it is now only taking up only five per cent. “It’s sad we have to let go of cases - especially when the rape of minor children is on the rise.”
As funds dried up, free counseling offered to rape survivors and the data collection programme were also hit. Some staff members have been handed the pink slip. “Litigation is expensive as it requires legal fees and each case lingers for around two to three years,” says Rasheed. WAR’s in-house lawyers have fought numerous high-profile rape cases. They include the Mazar-e-Quaid rape case and the rape of a four-year-old girl by two police constables in Karachi.
As the government does not lend a hand to local NGOs, WAR also faces another issue. “Nobody wants to be affiliated with sexual health or sexual issues. Even today, talking about rape and helping survivors is considered taboo.” When the organisation put up a play in collaboration with the Lyceum school to raise funds, people bought tickets but didn’t show up. Rasheed says this is because they didn’t want to be seen at an event associated with rape.
Root cause
Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research’s (PILER) Karamat Ali says NGOs are feeling pressure as foreign donors have slashed aid because of Pakistan’s negative image. “People are not ready to invest in the country because of rising extremism and intolerance.” According to him, while individuals are not ready to help countries in the Global South, those who do lend a hand do so to the government instead of to NGOs.
Donors from the ‘West’ are now more focused on Indonesia, China, and Africa, says Ali. These days, donations coming to Pakistan are mostly from the US-based United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and European countries such as Germany and Denmark.
Some NGOs don’t face funding problems because they rely less on foreign donors and have found other ways to generate revenues. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan is one of them.
Abdul Hai, a member of HRCP’s Karachi chapter, says it doesn’t rely much on funding, and their organisation has both members and private donors who help sustain it.
However for Rasheed and her colleagues at WAR, this is a testing time. She says the closure of the NGO would be a huge tragedy. “WAR is a place where a rape survivor can walk in easily, and if it closes down, there would be no help for them.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2013.