January 2, 2017 – Pakistan Gender News

January 2, 2017

Challenges working women face

By Hina Butt

The fact that women are increasingly joining the workforce is a source of satisfaction for many who have been advocating women empowerment for long. There is no denying that the trends in the society have changed considerably in the favour of women. Today women are not only accepted in as diverse fields as military or sports, but their achievements are also being celebrated. The last decade alone has seen the first women fighter pilot as well as a girls’ soccer team, both of which would have seemed a bit farfetched propositions in not so distant past. While all this is extremely attractive one must also take stock of the continued and persistent challenges that are still faced by many of our sisters and daughters as they try to play their rightful role in the growth and development of our country.

Arguably the biggest challenge with regard to women empowerment in our country is the longitudinal distribution of opportunities. The openings are not evenly divided. There are issues with localities, family setups, class and downright utter discrimination that prevent most of the women from realising their true potential. And even those who, by some stroke of good fortune, get these chances find out later that their family, as well as the society, has invariably attached some conditions to their working.

The definition of proper behaviour haunts every woman alike, whether she is a housewife or an economically independent individual. It is shocking but true. We are still far from realising that all efforts towards empowering women will remain futile if we do not change our attitudes towards the ‘roles’ that we think women ought to play within their homes and outside.

To ensure that women get the fair chance to excel we will also have to fight the perception that is still very much prevalent in our society that women who work are doing it at the cost of their God-given and socially-endorsed duty to serve their families. We need to help the domestically challenged working woman.

Although we have accepted that women need to get professional degrees we still have to make our collective mind to give them equal support to pursue their carriers like men. Take the example of the female graduates of our medical colleges. We all know that getting into one of the government sponsored medical colleges requires a lot of effort and only the brightest and the most hardworking of our students get admitted into them, majority of whom are obviously girls. Imagine for a moment the standards of a society that a few years later judges these remarkably accomplished ladies by the roundness of their Rotes. And this is not a rhetorical exposition; the percentage of lady doctors opting not to practice is alarming. Sadly, it is true for other professions as well.

The primary reason why most of the girls opt for medicine instead of engineering as a profession is some archaic calculus in the mind of their families that starts to factor in the duties and responsibilities of the life after marriage. There are no prizes for guessing the future of a country that plans the career paths of half of its workforce with such a clear bias.

This mindset also mutilates the idea of positive discrimination. Women are allowed to work but some jobs are not deemed suitable for them. Some may argue that this is out of respect or courtesy but most of the times it is because of the reason that women are not considered competent enough. When a certain food inspector in Lahore started sealing restaurants left right and centre because of the poor hygiene of their staff and the general state of uncleanliness, much of the wonder and surprise came not because of the unprecedented display of proactive-ness from a civil servant but because that civil servant happened to be a lady. It’s a pity that the country that chose a woman twice at its chief executive still thinks that outdoor jobs are something that a lady ought not to do.

Giving time to family is important and it must always come first but women alone should not be made scapegoat all the time. I am in no way suggesting that we need to change our family structure but a little accommodation for the women who are trying to focus on their careers will go a long way in leveling the playing field in their favour.

Women do not always need positive discrimination; at times only fair and equal treatment would do. Having said this I still believe that we are headed in the right direction. At least we are making our girls doctors, engineers and lawyers. I am sure that the time will also come when we would start seeing them as doctors, engineers and lawyers first instead of duty-bound housekeepers assigned only to look after the daily chores within their homes and raise children.

The Express Tribune

January 2, 2017

Four booked for gang rape

By Arsalan Altaf

ISLAMABAD: Four men are suspected of the alleged gang-rape of a 30-year-old woman* in an Islamabad suburb on Saturday.

The woman, a resident of Islamabad’s Ghauri Town, told the police that a man named CT* promised her a job as a school teacher a few days ago after claiming to own a private school in Sihala. CT called the woman to Sihala for an interview in the afternoon.

The victim said that CT took her into a house near level railway crossing in Sihala. Once inside the house, CT started making inappropriate overtures and tried to get her to have a drink with him, but she refused. A while later, three other men showed up and also began drinking. One of them introduced himself as MNA T*, the other as SHO K* and the third as I*, a Muzaffarabad judge.

The victim said that the suspects threatened her and forced her to drink, before they “took turns to rape me throughout the night”.

The victim says that she managed to flee the house at 6am, when all four suspects were asleep. An hour later, the police had registered a rape case and launched an investigation.

The police have arrested CT, the main suspect, and the victim was taken to Polyclinic hospital for a medical examination.

Sihala police said that the other three suspects had given the victim fake identities. He said all four suspects were Sihala locals.

To a question about suspected affiliation of T with the ruling party, another police officer said that according to the complaint, T claimed to be a PML-N lawmaker, but this was a false claim.

“He is not an MNA, nor
is he a prominent leader,”
he said.

The PML-N media cell in-charge in Islamabad said he did not know of any party official by that name. He noted that criminals sometimes make such claims and use political parties’ names.

*Names withheld to protect identities

The Express Tribune

January 2, 2017

‘Honour’ killing: Man murders mother, stepfather

HYDERABAD: A man allegedly killed his mother and stepfather on the pretext of ‘honour’ in Kotri, Jamshoro district, on Saturday.

The police identified the deceased as Afroze Sahito and her husband, Ali Ahmed Abro, and the suspected killer as Shakeel Sahito. The couple is survived by four children aged between seven and one years.

The couple, hailing from Jacobabad district, married against the consent of the woman’s family nine years ago. After registering their marriage in a court in Lahore, they shifted to Kotri’s Ghareebabad Colony, where they introduced themselves as Magsi by caste.

According to Ali Ahmed Abro’s brother, Ali Hassan Abro, Shakeel Sahito came to the couple’s residence a few days before the incident and said that he has forgiven the couple.

“He stayed at their house and requested my brother [Ali Ahmed Abro], who was a mason, to help him find a menial labour job,” maintained Ali Hassan Abro.

He added that a few days after his stay, Shakeel Sahito and his accomplices, including Peeral Jamali, Ghulam Mustafa Sahito and Nadeem Jamali, murdered the couple.

The Express Tribune

January 2, 2017

Female journalists face gendered forms of surveillance, study finds

By IKRAM JUNAIDI

ISLAMABAD: Female journalists face more surveillance by their audience and readers than by the state and intelligence agencies, research on the ‘Surveillance of Female Journalists in Pakistan’ has found.

The pilot study of gendered surveillance, conducted by the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF), found that this surveillance begins when they start their professional careers, as audiences try to keep more of a check on female journalists than male journalists. The focus of this surveillance remains on their gender and appearance rather than their work.

Seven journalists from various media platforms were interviewed during the course of the study.

The research focused on the gendered forms and various sources of surveillance – from the state to the audience to political groups. Women interviewed by the study said they were surveilled by state authorities and subjected to constant social surveillance in the form of abuse on social media.

In addition to mapping the kinds of surveillance female journalists face, the report also explores the impact of this kind of constant monitoring in terms of its psychological toll, self censorship and retreat from digital spaces.

Saba Eitzaz, who works for BBC Urdu, said social surveillance online has had “a tremendous psychological effect [and] I felt violated”.

Award-winning journalist Kiran Nazish said: “It’s not just one person telling you that you don’t belong here, it’s a number of people, and that constant refrain can be very intimidating and one starts to feel cornered.”

Maria Memon, an anchorperson, said: “Even if I was told that I could tweet about anything without repercussions, I don’t think I would do it because I don’t think that surveillance is completely avoidable.”

Other journalists interviewed included Amber Shamsi, Sarah Eleazar and Ramish Fatima.

DRF Executive Director Nighat Dad said the study took around two months to complete.

She said: “Gendered surveillance is a free speech issue – it lets women know they are being monitored, and discourages them from reporting and participating in digital spaces.”

Luavat Zahid, one of the authors of the study, said: “The issue was very close to my heart because I have worked as a journalist and faced the same kinds of problems. People try to do character assassinations of female journalists, but male journalists are barely affected by character assassination.”

Main findings

DRF’s study found that the experience of surveillance for female journalists is gendered, and therefore different from the experience of their male colleagues. While there is no conclusive evidence of whether women face more surveillance, the form the surveillance takes include sexualised threats and attacks on character and appearance. The report said this gendered form of surveillance is true for both state and social surveillance.

The report identifies the first form of surveillance as surveillance by the state, government institutions and intelligence agencies.

State surveillance is troubling given that it is backed by state machinery, which makes for effective, systematic and efficient monitoring.

On the other hand social surveillance, experienced by all the journalists, is carried out by the audience, political parties, non-state actors, fellow journalists and personal contacts. Some journalists reported that they experienced more social surveillance than state surveillance.

Many of the journalists observed that when it comes to controversial matters, both women and men face equal levels of surveillance, but the form tends to be gendered.

Some journalists said that when the state is attempting to intimidate or discourage them from publishing or reporting particular matters, sexualised threats and personal revelations are often employed.

DRF also found that surveillance has a profound psychological impact on journalists, leaving them paranoid and, at times, traumatised. Many of the journalists said they are guarded about what they say online for fear of surveillance, and thus had to self-censor their opinions and at times, their reporting.

Recommendations

The report recommended that the state and media houses take concrete steps to protect female journalists from particular kinds of gendered surveillance.

It also said that social surveillance needs to be identified as a serious issue, so steps can be taken to control it and to support journalists who face it on a daily basis.

Dawn