Day: April 28, 2011

By Malik Tahseen Raza

MUZAFFARGARH: Mukhtar Mai plans to file in a ‘couple of days’ a review petition against the acquittal of those accused of her gang-rape in 2002.

Exactly a week earlier, on April 21, the Supreme Court had rejected Mukhtar Mai’s appeals against the Lahore High Court’s acquittal of the accused.

The court, in a split decision, set free all but one of the 15 accused in a ruling that drew an angry reaction from rights groups and a cry in exasperation from Mai herself. She blamed the police for preparing a flawed case, and said she was now worried for her life.

It has taken her a few days to recover and be ready for another round of battle in the court. “I want justice,” she reiterated as she spoke to Dawn at her Meerwala office-cum-residence on Wednesday and said that she was going to knock at the court’s door again.

On the day, the small village in Jatoi tehsil offered two contrasting halves that make up the still unfolding story that first caught the attention nine long years ago.

On one side was the heavily guarded base of Mukhtaran that was thronged by civil society members including some journalists. This competed for attention with the outhouses and homes of men she identifies as her tormentors.

Faiz Mastoi, who was nominated as the chief of the panchyat accused of humiliating Mukhtar Mai, was found busy receiving people who had come to greet him on his release from jail.

The man had to be really persuaded into sharing his thoughts on the case with a representative of a media he was so wary of. He appeared to be looking for an end to hostilities.

From his standpoint, he and his co-accused now had the option of moving the court against Mukhtar Mai “for implicating us in a false case.” But then again, he kind of neutralised this expression of acrimony against Mai with statements such as “She is just like a daughter to me.”

The harshest criticism Mastoi reserved for the media. “We are the victims of misreporting by the media,” he pronounced. “We suffered nine years in jail only because of false reporting.”

“I have less than three acres of agriculture land,” he said as he challenged the details that had come out in the media coverage of the case.

“Does this make me a person more influential than the family of Mukhtar Mai which owns more land than me? What is our sin? We have already suffered a lot. Now when the court of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has released us, please let us live in peace.”

That this peace may stay elude him was spelt out in the tone and content of Mukhtar Mai’s message. “Shahbaz Sharif, Rehman Malik, Sharmila Farooqui and Sherry Rehman have all called me by telephone in the last 24 hours,” she said. “They say they are with me.”

Her supporters include many, many more. All she now needs is a convincing argument that can ensure a court reversal.

Source: Dawn

Date:4/28/2011

By Ali Hassan

ISLAMABAD: According to a newly published “A Tax Break for Economic Freedom” by Rakhshinda Parveen, political parties seem in favor to further relax tax regulations for widows and single women in 2011-12 budget.

Women in Pakistani society face gender based discrimination that is further strengthened by feudalism. Only effective legislation with no urban bias can address this issue, read a statement contained in the book made by Hasham Babar from Awami National Party (ANP). Tax system in Pakistan is the worst in the world and is continuation of the one in the British Raj that exploits the people. Senator and acting Chairperson Pakistan Red Cresent Nilofar Bakhtiar stated that she fully supported tax relaxation for divorced, single women (above 40 years), disabled women/girls. Tax system and fiscal policy in Pakistan is faulty/ unfriendly with respect to the poor and women. Mrs Qudusia Arshad Chaudhri (PML-N) stated that Tax system in Pakistan was very lopsided and discriminatory. Ms Fiza Junejo (PML-Q) also stressed on the idea that taxation must improve. Relaxation should be given to women in education and health. Speaker National Assembly Dr. Fehmida Mirza said that special provision must be made for women.

Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi (MQM) supported a tax break for such women and any group who needs such an exemption. Ours is not a truly Islamic society in terms of practicing the Islamic values therefore poor in general and women in particular those in lower middle class are subjected to a number of injustices and they do experience violation of their rights, he said. If a tax break can do some remedy and facilitate their economic empowerment, it should be done. Besides Khurram Jahangir Watto (PPPP) and other politicians have also supported that there should be tax relaxation for the widows and single (unmarried) women.

MQM Senator Abdul Hasseb Khan, while talking to Daily Times, said that those who could not afford the basic amenities must be granted some relaxations regarding tax in up coming budget. He said that feudalism and tribalism were mothers of all ills. After 64 years, feudalistic exists in the country, the women face multiple challenges due to prevailing feudalistic set-up, he said.

Dr. Arbab Alamgir Khan from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) said that he fully supported more tax exemption for divorcees, single women (above 40 years), and disabled women/girls. He said that his party would ensure concrete steps on the issue.

Pir Dilawar Shah (ANP) said that nothing could be more cruel and unjust than taxing a disabled woman or a divorcee. In our culture, the burden of blame and shame lies always on a woman, he regretted.

Yaqoob Bizanjo from Balochistan National Party Awami (BNP-A), Haji Khuda Bux Rajar from Pakistan Muslim League Functional (PML- F), Pir Muhammad Aslam Bodla from PML (Q), Laiq Muhammad Khan from Mutihida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), Raja Muhammad Asad Khan from PML (N), and Umar Cheema from PTI also agreed to the proposal to relax the widows and aged single women in upcoming budget.

Source: Daily Times

Date:4/28/2011

By Ishaq Tanoli

KARACHI: The prosecution on Wednesday closed its side after examining 10 witnesses in the JPMC trainee nurse rape case.

The then medico-legal officer at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Dr Abdul Jabbar Memon, has been charged with sexually assaulting and making an attempt on the life of a student of the nursing school at the JPMC on July 13, 2010 at the residential area of the hospital.

The witness, Dr Pardeep Kumar, appeared in court on Wednesday and deposed that he had conducted the medical examination of the accused.

As soon as the witness completed his testimony, the public prosecutor, Kaleemullah, informed the court that apart from the victim who had turned hostile, the prosecution examined 10 out of 20 witnesses and decided to close its side, as the remaining witnesses were just formal witnesses and their evidence would not make any positive or negative impact on this case.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (south) Abdul Razzaq adjourned the hearing till May 7 for the statement of the accused.

A case (FIR 332/2010) was registered under Sections 324 (attempted murder) and 376 (punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code against the accused MLO at the Saddar police station.

The accused was released on bail in Nov, 2010 after the victim, a key prosecution witness, had refused to identify or depose against him before the trial court.

Warrant against IO out

An accountability court on Wednesday issued a non-bailable warrant for the arrest of the investigation officer of a corruption reference for failing to comply with the court`s order.

The National Accountability Bureau filed a reference (11/2009) against Muzaffar Ali Soomro, an additional commissioner income tax, for accumulating moveable/immoveable properties during his government service which were incompatible with his known legitimate sources of income.

On the last hearing, the court directed the IO, Chaudhry Mohammad Asghar, to appear in court and produce a document. However, he did not turn up on Wednesday.

Judge Syed Kausar Ali Bukhari of the Accountability Court-II issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him and directed the NAB to arrest and produce him in court till May 5.

Meanwhile, a judicial magistrate on Wednesday granted bail to a young suspect in a case pertaining to impersonation in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam.

Sixteen-year-old Mohammad Sarwar Khan has been booked for fraudulently appearing in the ongoing SSC (Class-X) annual examination on behalf of a candidate.

Source: Dawn

Date:4/28/2011

THIS is with reference to the news item ‘PA told: teachers harass UoP girl students’ (April 19). Although there was an immediate denial from the registrar of the University of Peshawar and the Peshawar University Teachers’ Association (PUTA), there is a need to seriously investigate allegations made by a member of the provincial assembly.

A large number of girls do not continue higher education after graduation from local girls’ colleges. It is because parents fear that their daughters might have to face dubious elements in case they allow their girls to get education in university. The government, civil society and media should make efforts to create awareness about the Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2010.

Similarly, the University of Peshawar should also create awareness among students, as well as among teachers. Girl students must know their rights and where to lodge a complaint if they face such a situation.

ARSHAD MAHMOOD
Islamabad

Source: Dawn

Date:4/28/2011

Zubeida Mustafa

ON April 11, the Arts Council auditorium in Karachi resounded with festivity. The first National Convention on Home Based Workers (HBW) was being held there. The disturbance caused by crying babies and chattering women did not detract from the gravity of the serious stuff that was under discussion.

For long, women have been an invisible force in Pakistan as they have sustained the family quietly while keeping a low profile.

But the reality is now emerging that as workers in the informal sector their role is no less significant even though they continue to remain in the background. Ume-Laila Azhar, executive director of Homenet Pakistan, one of the organisers of the convention, informed participants in a media briefing that in 2007 a fifth of Pakistan’s GDP came from the informal sector comprising 20 million workers of which 12 million were women.

With globalisation and liberalisation of international trade, this sector has been growing over the years as has been the number of women who enter it. Their desperation, and with it, their exploitation has also been increasing. All this figures nowhere in official records because the home-based worker is not counted as a member of the labour force by the government.

Without any social security or support but in need of resources to provide for their family, women turn to home-based work as it is easier to access. It doesn’t demand stringent qualifications and education. They embroider and stitch garments, make bangles, roll incense sticks, make paper bags, process food and even make some items for the electrical goods industries.

Their versatility is beyond belief.

But also beyond belief is the hard labour they put in for a pittance. Zahida from Karachi and Zarina from Hyderabad left the audience flabbergasted when they spoke of their remunerations. A dress that sells for Rs1,000-plus fetches them barely Rs5 but requires hours of work. It is no better in other manufacturing sectors or in other Third World countries. Remember the sweatshops of Bangladesh?

Obviously, this situation has been created by women’s economic needs, the inhumanity and avarice of manufacturers/middlemen out to earn hefty profits by exploiting helpless workers and the unwillingness or inability of weak governments to exercise social controls and regulate conditions for labour.

The home-based workers’ case is an enigmatic one. ILO’s C-177 convention defines them as persons who carry out remunerative work in their home or any other premises but not at the workplace of the employer. The nature of their relationship with the manufacturer is tenuous; they never meet and the middlemen ensure this lack of contact, making regulation difficult.

That is why the primary demand of civil society organisations such as HomeNet Pakistan, Aurat Foundation, Sungi, etc has been that the government should formulate a national policy for home-based women workers as stipulated by C-177. This is said to be at the drafting stage.

If the government and society had a conscience they would have paid some attention to these workers who have not been able to lobby for their cause for obvious reasons. They are the poorest of the poor, burdened with family cares, in dismal health, lack education and training, have no awareness and are disempowered. Trapped in their state of isolation they have no contacts with other workers. Hence they lack collective bargaining capacity and social security. With long working hours – as many as 14 hours a day – and very low pay they are open to brutal exploitation.

So a strategy is needed to bring about change. In an interview with the American magazine The Nation, Egyptian feminist Nihal el Saadawi observed correctly, “You need collective power, and that is why we always organise and network. Organising is power.” This message has reached the women in Pakistan.

That is what home-based women workers are now trying to do with the help of civil society organisations. At the convention on April 11, the main demands were for the government to ratify C-177, recognise the rights of home-based workers to organise and bargain collectively, fix minimum wages, guarantee occupational safety, avoid health hazards and provide social security and maternal protection. They demanded the ratification of C-177 that the government has signed. The government has yet to stir but the convention was a clear demonstration of the will of women workers to organise themselves and fight for their rights.

They have set up their organisations all over the country which now work under an umbrella organisation, the Home Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF) which has 4,000 members in Sindh alone. It has affiliations with the national trade unions. The Labour Education Foundation has arranged adult literacy classes for workers as the importance of education is now widely recognised.

These are positive signals. The slogans that were raised at the convention were assertive and reflected the workers’ aggressive mood. But they also made a political statement. A slogan popular with the audience was: ‘Jub tak aurat tung rahay gee/ Jang rahay gee jang rahay gee’ (‘As long as women are oppressed, they will be at war’).

The challenge for these workers is to make themselves heard by making themselves visible. As it is, workers do not enjoy all the rights they are entitled to under the numerous international agreements to which Pakistan is a signatory.

The writer is the author of Tyranny of Language in Education: The Problem and its Solution.

www.zubeidamustafa.com

Source: Dawn

Date:4/28/2011