March 28, 2014 – Pakistan Gender News

March 28, 2014March 28, 2014

Illiterate mothers

I would like to request the Council Of Islamic Ideology to reframe their statement about girl’s marriage age. I, being a Muslim believe that Allah (SWT) did not want to torture us. The Arabs, being from warm climate and eating food such as dates achieve puberty early. There is no given time for puberty, but like a driving license and getting a NIC card, there must be a legal and responsible age for marriage. I firmly believe that marriage, which is a social contract between two people to spend their life together cannot be achieved at the age of eight or ten or even twelve.

We would like to see our future generations grow into healthy people who can take intelligent decisions. To force marriage on a girl, young enough to be playing with dolls is cruelty and was not prescribed by Islam, if the circumstances are difficult the parents may wed her for her security or sustenance, not to gain profit. If this issue does not get resolved illiterate mothers will produce an illiterate nation which will be an irreparable loss for the country.

SHAEMA SAHER,
Karachi,

The Nation

March 28, 2014March 28, 2014

Lady wardens come back to manage traffic

By: Imran Chaudhry

LAHORE: The City Traffic Police (CTP) Lahore on Thursday restarted its first seven-member lady traffic warden motorcycle-patrolling batch to monitor traffic issues and maintain traffic flow on the major city roads of the city.

Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Sohail Chaudhry inaugurated the ceremony at Liberty Market’s parking lot, where the lady traffic wardens started the patrolling after two to three months’ training.

The headquarters SP, senior traffic officers, officials and a number of citizens were also present on this occasion.

The first batch of lady traffic wardens started patrolling from the Liberty area to Fawara Chowk on Gulberg’s Main Boulevard, and then returned to Liberty Market. Senior traffic officers, officials and other were also with them. A number of citizens who stood on both sides of the road observed the traffic troop along with lady traffic wardens on heavy bikes.

The CTO said that lady traffic wardens namely Saba Noor, Aroosa, Anna Aziz, Sidra Saleem, Sidra Riaz, Sadia and Farzana completed their two-month training under the supervision of qualified traffic officers.

He said that experts from Atlas Honda also provided them complete mechanical training. He added that initially these lady traffic wardens would patrol on specified city roads where they would also perform their duties to maintain the traffic flow in any emergency situation.

The spokesman of the traffic police said that after this new patrolling batch, the second nine-member batch of lady traffic wardens would join them within the next two months. He said that the second batch had also started their training under the supervision of traffic and Atlas Honda experts.
Sources said that traffic officers had assigned patrolling duties to female traffic wardens a few years ago, but transferred all those field wardens to office due to some serious issues faced by female wardens.

They said that traffic officers had again deputed lady traffic wardens on the roads, which was a good sign, adding that now senior and other experts had trained them on how to handle miscreants during duty.

Traffic officials said the female traffic wardens had been driven away for various reasons, but largely because of harassment by men and social pressure that discouraged women from being out there in the streets.

On the issue, a CTP spokesman said that some people had been arrested for harassing female wardens in the past, and if any citizen was found involved in these activities, strict action would be taken against him. He said having women serve as wardens was important, as it sent the message to the public that women could work in jobs traditionally considered for men only.

Women in Struggle for Empowerment (WISE) Executive Director Bushra Khalid said that having women serving visibly in jobs such as traffic wardens was an important step towards making Pakistani society and public life friendlier for women. She said that the female wardens should serve on the roads and that any complaint of eve-teasing should be addressed under the Protection Against Harassment at the Workplace Bill and Section 509 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Daily Times

March 28, 2014March 28, 2014

The right person at the right time

By: Hifza Jillani

At a fairly packed coffee shop, between sipping hazelnut cappuccino and glancing at your watch, you are chattering about a potential feature on midwife myths in rural areas, explaining how you would love a trip down to Arizona and, finally, how you always agreed with Immanuel Kant’s idealism and almost suddenly the person next to you strikes with you with a question, “What about marriage?”

Yes, the person next to you could be an acquaintance, an old childhood friend or a guy you are out on a date with. So you don’t believe in soulmates? Are you scared of commitments? Do you have issues?
I could just write a book on how awkward it has been for me trying to explain to people, sometimes even strangers, that really there is no answer. By the time women reach their 30s (in Pakistan, by the time they are 20), they are often at loggerheads with people who are certainly on a mission to get you ‘settled’. All the hype and hoopla around finding the one and getting hitched makes us all forget that there is so much more to life than just ‘settling in’. God forbid, under the feminism fire, I am not trying to demean the institution of marriage by any way. I think marriages are beautiful and a successful society-made function to make us love our lives as we go. However, what I truly do demean here is the fact that we take marriage to be this essential survival kit for a woman and sometimes even for men. Yes, it gives us a new name, a new fame, a new family and all those fairy-tale moments that every girl dreams of as soon as she gains consciousness in this life.

But do we really have to commit ourselves to some man just because we can earn some sense of social acceptability. I beg to differ.

I solemnly swear that I will not ‘settle’ for something, unless it is larger-than-life itself. I might sound quite stupid for saying this, because what I just said may well be contradicting to what I said a while ago. Correction: it is stupid to get married just because I love weddings; it’s sensible to get married if it is the right time, right decision and above all the right person.

Setting aside all the serious talk about really finding someone who we can’t live without, I for one want to experience life alone while I can. Someday, I want to get married too. I want a huge wedding with a pretty-looking cake at a former royal palace at my hometown where the army of my cousins can dance the night away. However, I first need to develop myself and become the person I was meant to be. I really don’t understand how some people have got it all laid out for them at the age of 22. I haven’t.

Express Tribune

March 28, 2014March 28, 2014

Project starts for child’s mobile birth enrollment

ISLAMABAD: In an effort to augment the present low birth registration rate with the help of cellular technology, Telenor Pakistan and UNICEF Pakistan are jointly launching a pilot project to mediate child’s right to identity through mobile birth registration. A ceremony to formalize this partnership was held here Thursday.

Currently, the rate of birth registration in Pakistan is quite low due to various socio economic factors. Time, cost, travel, process hindrances and general lack of awareness all contribute towards exacerbating the situation.

This unique pilot project aims to help create an enabling environment by making the process of birth registration user-friendly, and provide facilitation to citizens and other stakeholders through the use of technology and innovations.

A one-of-its kind initiative under Telenor Pakistan Corporate Social Responsibility umbrella, the project will not only aim at increasing demand for registrations in selected Union Councils of Sindh and Punjab but will also induce a proactive approach towards bringing birth registration services to the public.

“We at Telenor Pakistan aim to empower societies by extending the benefits of telecommunications through innovative measures to the masses,” said Aslam Hayat, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Telenor Pakistan. Dan Rohrmann, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan said, “This project has tremendous implications for the right of every child in Pakistan as birth registration is an important instrument to realize children’s right to health, education and other services in particular protection against violence, abuse and exploitation.”

The Nation

March 28, 2014March 28, 2014

Maternal, child health and LHWs

Sir: The Punjab Assembly passed a bill on March 20, 2014 called, ‘The Punjab Reproductive, Maternal, Neo-natal and Child Health Authority Bill 2014’, which gives the status of permanent government employees to Lady Health Workers (LHWs). Now 48,000 LHWs and around 1,947 supervisory staff will be awarded regular posts. The regularisation of these healthcare providers will have a great impact on motivating and enhancing their functions. Pakistan is among the five countries with the highest child mortality rate: 86 per 1,000 under-five mortality and 42 per 1000 newborn mortality, as of 2012. The lives of most of these babies could have been saved if they had access to some basic healthcare services.

Though the LHW program is an excellent initiative in primary healthcare, the current scenario of maternal and child health indicates that the manner of its implementation leaves much to be desired. Lack of skill and health education among workers, insufficient equipment, low remuneration are some common obstacles facing them, which need to be addressed and call for specific attention by our leaders, policy makers and implementers. The responsibility of the government does not end by just passing a bill, rather it is the first step towards providing essential and appropriate healthcare to all. It is now compulsory for all provincial and federal government to invest in a strong health workforce that is fit to prevent and treat the causes of maternal, newborn and child mortality.

BILQUEES BANO
Islamabad

Daily Times