August 25, 2014 – Pakistan Gender News

August 25, 2014

Man accuses teacher of crippling his daughter

ABBOTABAD: A father has accused a government school teacher of crippling his daughter after physically assaulting her over a minor mistake in her classwork.

Muhammad Arshad, a resident of Tharyati Bara Hotar village, told the media his daughter Iqra Arshad was a tenth grade student Government Girls High School Bara Hotar. Three days ago, his daughter was in class where school principal Naseem Abbasi was teaching the students.

A minor mistake by Iqra caused Abbasi to lose his temper and, as a punishment, he sent the student to stand outside the classroom. Arshad said the angry principal made his daughter stand in the scorching heat for over two hours after which she fainted.

“Instead of taking her to the hospital, the short-tempered teacher kicked her and beat her with a stick, accusing her of pretending to not be able to stand,” said Arshad.

When the father heard about Iqra’s condition, he took her to Benazir Shaheed Hospital. Doctors there have started treatment, however, at the moment Iqra is bed-ridden and seems to exhibit signs of paralysis.

Dr Naveed, a medical officer at the ward, said Iqra might have developed some muscular problems and should recover in a month.

Arshad has filed a complaint against the principal at Bagnotar police station but the police have not registered the case yet. According to the father, Principal Abbasi belongs to an influential family and has instead filed a complaint against Arshad.

Express Tribune

August 25, 2014August 25, 2014

Man arrested for killing wife, her friend for ‘honour’

SUKKUR: A man was arrested for killing his wife and another man in a village near RD-186 Nara Canal on Sunday on suspicion of their maintaining an extra-marital affair.

Officials at the Januji police station of Salehpat taluka said that Pathan Shambhani shot dead his wife, Gul Bano Shambhani, 35, at his house and then shot dead Zulfiqar Shambhani, a resident of the same village. The police said the two bodies were taken to the Rohri Taluka Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

Later, the bodies were handed over to the heirs, they added.

DAWN

August 25, 2014August 25, 2014

Police foil child marriage bid; ‘groom’ flees

By: Malik Tehseen Raza

MUZAFFARGARH: The Rohillanwali police arrested a man attempting to marry a 12-year-old girl in Jarh Ratheib near Rohillanwali on Sunday, 45km from the city.

Munir Ahmad, 35, was being married to 12-year-old Aasia. SHO Munir Chandia said he was told by a local that some people had arranged the marriage of the underage girl with Ahmad, who had recently divorced his first wife. Ahmad’s first wife was said to be Aasia’s maternal aunt. Allegedly the girl’s parents had sold her to Ahmad.

Police conducted a raid and arrested the girl, her parents as well as those of Ahmad, while he managed to flee from the scene. Police registered a case and formed teams to arrest Ahmad.

Know more: Little headway in child marriage laws

Meanwhile, a seminar was organised by Rahnuma FPAP to create awareness about ending child marriage in the district. It was attended by members of the civil society, lawyers, religious persons, media representative and politicians who discussed aspects of the Child Marriages Restraint Act (CMRA) 1929. Although CMRA declared child marriages illegal, punishment under the act was minimal.

Sheikh Abdul Basit Zaheer, a focal person, said child marriage was widely practiced and was reinforced by customs that commoditised girls. There was no law on marital rape in the country, he added. Through the proposed initiative, he said they would raise collective voices of the civil society with the support of the media across the country to revise the CMRA and make it more punitive. He said it would also be advocated to make 18 years the minimum age for marriage for both boys and girls.

He further said awareness campaigns should involve members of the National Assembly equally with provincial ministers for excessive results. The provincial authorities could be approached to crate an efficient mechanism to reduce violations in child rights.

At the end participants passed a resolution stating the government should amend CMRA 1929 and also enforce the law strictly.

DAWN

August 25, 2014August 25, 2014

Women’s labour rights

It is about time a discourse regarding women’s labour rights began in Pakistan. The recent meeting held by HomeNet Pakistan and partners of the Gender Equity Programme to discuss the lack of consideration for women in existing labour laws is welcome, indeed. With more women becoming educated and being eligible to enter the workforce, there is a need to revise our laws to accommodate and facilitate female workers. According to the Ministry of Labour and Manpower, the annual growth rate of females in the workforce is 6.5 per cent. The long drawn stereotype of men being primary breadwinners and the role of women as being one confined strictly to the household is slowly fading. There are single mothers, wives whose husbands are disabled and unable to find employment and women who have been widowed. These situations have rendered women with no choice but to find work and take on the role of being primary breadwinners. The advent of having more women in the working world engenders the need to revise labour laws to accommodate them.

As the situation currently stands in Pakistan, women are sometimes considered the lesser equal halves in practice. They are automatically assumed to be physically and mentally weaker than men and are often considered less intelligent than their male counterparts. Furthermore, there is no consideration given to the fact that nature has given women the responsibility of bearing and rearing children, a role that is physically and mentally challenging in itself. Since many labour laws were created when the country’s workforce consisted of a mostly male population, a revision is crucial.

Until our laws support women’s rights in the workforce, we cannot achieve true progress as a nation. Implementing revised labour laws would encourage more women to enter the labour force if the laws acknowledge the familial and childbearing responsibilities that most women in the Pakistani culture have to plan for in life. If we can recognise that women are an asset to the country especially if educated and ensured their rights, our country would advance towards efficiency must faster, as women would bring in many talents that men were not able to bring in the past.

Express Tribune