Empowering the marginalised: Rural women converge on capital to share problems
Sixth annual conference at Lok Virsa sees hundreds of women from across country.
Rural women converge on capital to share problems. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Rehana Bibi, a mother of seven, travelled for two days by road to come to the capital from Bolan, Balochistan to attend a conference.
“Although we live so far from one another, our grievances are the same,” said Rehana, referring to hundreds of rural women dressed in traditional attires from across Pakistan who had gathered at Lok Virsa for the Sixth Annual Conference on Rural Women’s Day.
The event consisted of cultural shows and informative sessions conducted by women members of the civil society. They may have differed in their appearances, but rural women from all the provinces spoke about similar issues. Regardless of what province they hailed from, the women had the same problems, from domestic violence, lack of education and dismal healthcare.
The Lok Virsa garden was split in two tents — one where culture shows were ongoing and the other where representatives from various national and international NGOs had set up around two dozen stalls exhibiting traditional handicrafts and clothes from the provinces.
The lawn’s centre was lit up with performances of Punjabi dancers with dhol walas that kept the momentum alive throughout the event.
As the festivities were ongoing, informative sessions on peace and pluralism, local bodies elections and women’s participation, legal rights and population growth were being held simultaneously. Prominent human rights workers and government organisations did not miss the opportunity to educate the rural women in the short time span allotted to them.
National Commission on the Status of Women Chairperson Khawar Mumtaz was at the event, accompanied by renowned poet Kishwar Naheed, former judge Riffat Butt, activist Dr Farzana Bari and Sameena Nazir of the Potohar Development and Advocacy Organisation (PODA).
We do not want you to think there is nothing going on in the capital. We are trying our best to push the government to draft laws that help women in rural areas, they said. With the upcoming local body elections, Mumtaz said women must participate and register themselves to take part in the process.
The theme for this year’s conference was “Rural Women: Development, Peace and Pluralism”.
Zakia Begum from Sindh said, “It is women who struggle and we thank these influential women who struggle for us. Even though the ground realities are hard to change, we must not give up”.
Nazir said the event facilitates rural women to meet their counterparts from other provinces and share experiences and come up with a collective strategy.
Pakistan is the world’s sixth most populous country in the world with women accounting for 50.2 per cent of the population. According to a survey by the finance ministry, rural women in Pakistan make up the largest segment of productive workers in rural areas.
Around 79 per cent of rural women are engaged in agriculture as opposed to 60 per cent of men in rural areas. “They invest more hours then men but are unfortunately ignored by policy makers who tend to ignore their contributions,” said a participant.
One of the organisers further said that rural women may work on their native lands all their lives but are never considered farmers. These women are also denied land rights with less than five per cent of women in Pakistan owning land.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2013.
Rehana Bibi, a mother of seven, travelled for two days by road to come to the capital from Bolan, Balochistan to attend a conference.
“Although we live so far from one another, our grievances are the same,” said Rehana, referring to hundreds of rural women dressed in traditional attires from across Pakistan who had gathered at Lok Virsa for the Sixth Annual Conference on Rural Women’s Day.
The event consisted of cultural shows and informative sessions conducted by women members of the civil society. They may have differed in their appearances, but rural women from all the provinces spoke about similar issues. Regardless of what province they hailed from, the women had the same problems, from domestic violence, lack of education and dismal healthcare.
The Lok Virsa garden was split in two tents — one where culture shows were ongoing and the other where representatives from various national and international NGOs had set up around two dozen stalls exhibiting traditional handicrafts and clothes from the provinces.
The lawn’s centre was lit up with performances of Punjabi dancers with dhol walas that kept the momentum alive throughout the event.
As the festivities were ongoing, informative sessions on peace and pluralism, local bodies elections and women’s participation, legal rights and population growth were being held simultaneously. Prominent human rights workers and government organisations did not miss the opportunity to educate the rural women in the short time span allotted to them.
National Commission on the Status of Women Chairperson Khawar Mumtaz was at the event, accompanied by renowned poet Kishwar Naheed, former judge Riffat Butt, activist Dr Farzana Bari and Sameena Nazir of the Potohar Development and Advocacy Organisation (PODA).
We do not want you to think there is nothing going on in the capital. We are trying our best to push the government to draft laws that help women in rural areas, they said. With the upcoming local body elections, Mumtaz said women must participate and register themselves to take part in the process.
The theme for this year’s conference was “Rural Women: Development, Peace and Pluralism”.
Zakia Begum from Sindh said, “It is women who struggle and we thank these influential women who struggle for us. Even though the ground realities are hard to change, we must not give up”.
Nazir said the event facilitates rural women to meet their counterparts from other provinces and share experiences and come up with a collective strategy.
Pakistan is the world’s sixth most populous country in the world with women accounting for 50.2 per cent of the population. According to a survey by the finance ministry, rural women in Pakistan make up the largest segment of productive workers in rural areas.
Around 79 per cent of rural women are engaged in agriculture as opposed to 60 per cent of men in rural areas. “They invest more hours then men but are unfortunately ignored by policy makers who tend to ignore their contributions,” said a participant.
One of the organisers further said that rural women may work on their native lands all their lives but are never considered farmers. These women are also denied land rights with less than five per cent of women in Pakistan owning land.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2013.