Day: October 1, 2012

SUKKUR: A 16-year-old and her friend were shot dead by cousin in the Allah Dino Junejo village on Sunday, said the Dokri police. Ghulamullah Junejo suspected that his cousin, Z, was in a relationship with Nadir Ali Junejo.

He went over to his uncle’s house and found Z alone and opened fire at her. Then he went to Nadir’s house and killed him. The bodies were taken to a hospital but no case was registered. Neighbours claim that Ghulamullah and some men broke into Nadir’s house a couple of months ago. Nadir and his family fought back as Ghulamullah tried to rob the house.

The Express Tribune

As many as 30 participants from public and private organisations participated in the latest three-day training. Government officials, lawyers and members from judiciary as well as civil society resolved to effectively implement the anti-sexual harassment laws, said a press statement released by Mehergarh on Sunday.

The organisation had organised a workshop for officials from Ministry of Capital Administration Development (CADD), Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), lawyers, and representatives of civil society organisations from all four provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Participants of the workshop resolved to effectively implement the Anti-Sexual Harassment laws in their respective domains. The parliament had passed two laws in 2010 namely the Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2010 and PPC Section 509, which have made sexual harassment a punishable crime.

Mehergarh has since taken the lead in implementation of the laws and has managed to create hubs of resource persons in different sectors to effectively implement the laws through conducting training of trainers.

As many as 30 participants from public and private organisations participated in the latest three-day training which familiarised them with the laws and the mechanism to enforce them. The training took place at Mehergarh’s training facility in Islamabad from September 28 to 30.

The participants vowed that they would be the torch bearers to spread the awareness and understanding of the anti-sexual harassment legislation in their organizations and the society.

Towards the end of the training the participants exhibited strong understanding of the laws. Speaking at the event after distributing certificates, Abdul Latif Laghari, Senior Joint Secretary at Ministry of Capital Administration and Development who is also the Co-Chair of the Federal Implementation Watch Committee, said that they will “make Islamabad a model city in implementation of Anti-Sexual Harassment Laws”.

The Express Tribune

NOWSHERA: Two girls died and three others sustained injuries when the roof of a house collapsed in Kachi Line in Risalpur on Sunday. Faiz Muhammad Paracha said he was asleep when the roof caved in.

As a result, his daughter Sarwat, a schoolteacher, and grand-daughter Zamira were killed while 26-year old Qayyum, Samina Bibi, 24, and Shaista, 18 were injured.

The News

By: Akhtar Amin

PESHAWAR: Registration of cases under the new law of “Enforcement of Women Ownership Rights Act” 2012 has been started in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where women are deprived of rights in the inherited property in most families.

The first case, “Mst Nazakat Sultan v/s Sardar Imtiaz Hussain,” etc in accordance with the new law was registered and is under trial in the court of district and sessions judge.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government took the lead in empowering the women and protecting their rights in the inherited property by passing the law on June 5, 2012. Under the law the violators would be punished by imprisonment of up to five years and a fine not exceeding Rs50,000.

The law says: “No person shall violate, curtail or obstruct the right of ownership or possession of women in the inherited property.” The provincial Anti-Corruption Department after completing procedural formalities including forensic examination of the power of attorney registered an FIR on September 4 against Sardar Imtiaz and his brothers under the new law.

An official of the Anti-Corruption Department said the respondent brothers were facing charges of fraud and forgery to allegedly deprive their sisters of their inherited property through use of a fake power of attorney.

A member of the Human Rights Commission, South Asia, Abdul Samad Marwat, told The News that filing of cases under the new law was encouraging and good news for thousands of women who are being deprived of inherited property.

He said the unlawful practice was being observed across the country and women were even deprived of their right of marriage due to fear that they would demand their right of inheritance. He said judiciary was the only hope for the women to get this right.
About the likely non-implementation of the law, he opined the women could easily get inheritance right if they started filing and pursuing cases. The federal and provincial governments have made necessary enactments and amendments in section 498-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), 1860 to bring it in line with the provisions of the said act.

The new laws cover a wide range of rights for women, including granting them constitutional protection in claiming their rights in inheriting property and making it a criminal offence if they are deprived of their rightful share in the inherited property.

The News

There is no denying this: women form over 50 percent of the total population of Pakistan but remain marginalised in the country’s politics. One of the main reasons is that in certain parts of the country – especially in the tribal areas, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan – candidates and political parties proactively enter into agreements restraining women of particular areas or polling stations from exercising their right to vote. The ban can extend from a few polling stations or villages to an entire constituency.

In certain cases, candidates from mainstream political parties, whose manifestos expressly guarantee women empowerment, have also been found imposing such bans, justifying them on the basis of culture barriers, religious restrictions and immobility issues for women travelling to distant polling stations. To block these and other hurdles in the way of women casting their vote, the Election Commission of Pakistan set about drafting a law seeking an amendment in the Representation of People Act, 1976, and calling for re-polling at any polling station where at least 10 percent of votes are not cast by women. The draft was sent to the law ministry for approval by parliament, which had to turn it into law within the next few months in order for it to be in use during the upcoming general election.

This was a welcome move and one that deserves nothing but applause. However, as is the lot of women in the country, our political parties have managed to undo the good done by the ECP and turned down the proposal. Unfortunate as it is, all hope is still not lost; the ECP has other mechanisms in place to secure women’s right to vote. For instance, from a legal standpoint, an accord between candidates that bars women from casting their votes amounts to a conspiracy to commit an illegal act under Section 171-J of the Pakistan Penal Code and a corrupt practice under the Representation of the People Act, 1976. Thus, even now, without this new law, the ECP has the power to cancel an election in a constituency where women are not allowed to vote, and must exercise this power when the elections roll in. In the final analysis, however, assuring women the right to vote is not the ECP’s job alone. The present government and all political parties need to start mass awareness programmes and workshops at the district, tehsil and village levels through local party chapters and supporting NGOs.

Additionally, political parties need to make the issue of women voters a part of their manifestos and punish candidates found trying to block women from casting their ballot. Finally, the media must also play its role in increasing awareness about the pressing issue of women disenfranchisement.

The News