Q2 Final Outline

Q2- How can we mainstream and spread information on progressive legislative interventions like
the Transgender Rights Bill amd CEDAW. Develop a 4 point action plan.
Redding reading
February 2009, a well-known activist and advo cate by the name of Dr. Mohammad Aslam Khaki brought the
circumstances surrounding these arrests—as well as the broader socio-legal position of “she-males”6in Pakistan
in particular—to the attention of the Supreme Court of Pakistan via a legal petition.
In response, and over the course of several years and several legal orders, the Court acted to remedy the
injustice of transgendered life in contemporary Pakistan.
As a consequence, since 2009, Pakistan has witnessed a flourishing of legal, political, and cultural activism by
transgendered people living all over the country.7
The reasons for this poor reputation are many but, to be sure, Pakistan’s poor record on gender justice and
women’s rights have figured highly.9
More over, it has done so by advancing a relatively radical conception of gender going beyond the male/female
gender binary and the patriarchal practices commonly accompanying this binary. Indeed, Pakistani citizens now
have jive different formal gender options to choose from,
what alternative translations and understandings of “transgender rights”—both in contemporary Pakistan and
elsewhere—can and should be made available?
1999 to 2008, Musharraf liberal ized the airwaves in Pakistan, allowing for the operation of privately owned TV
channels with (historically speaking) few content restrictions. On one of these private TV stations, a talk show
was started in 2005 by a transgendered individual going by the (feminine) Begum Nawazish Ali name and
identity.15 This talk show was the first of its kind in Pakistan—if not South Asia as a whole16—and became
incredibly popular.
the Supreme Court of India took sharp cognizance of how “Indian Law, on the whole, only recognises the
paradigm of binary genders of male and female, based on a person’s sex assigned by birth, which [affects] the
law relating to marriage, adoption, inheritance, succession and taxation and welfare legislations.”38Ultimately,
the Supreme Court of India’s concluding directives to India’s central and state govern ments resonated with
much of the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s similarly multiple directives39 and included commands for Indian
state authorities to not only improve the formal legal situation of transgendered people, but also
their broader social and cultural position.40
At first blush, at least, this kind of “toilet debate” seems to have little in common with the issues of access to
education, jobs, the franchise, and inheritance/property rights that have been a prominent part of the recent
Pakistani conversation.
In the contemporary Pakistan discussion of transgender rights, as well, there has been an idea/concern—one
with long historical roots—that transgender communities recruit new members by kidnapping male children
and, subsequently, castrating them.53
Similarly, one key concern that the Pakistani Supreme Court has had for transgender individuals has been these
individuals’ disinheritance by their natal families.58This disinheritance, while widespread, is increasingly prob
lematic in Pakistan because it occurs despite clear and firm Islamic legal prescriptions about the inheritance
shares necessarily due offspring.
To begin to see all of this, one important place to look is June 2009, four months after Dr. Khaki first filed his
legal petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan concerning the rights and welfare of transgendered people. In
this month, the Supreme Court issued one of the first of a series of Court orders in what would turn out to be a
protracted, multi-year litigation of the various issues raised by Dr. Khaki’s petition.
As part of this June 2009 order, the Supreme Court ordered Pakistan’s various provincial governments to con
duct a census of the numbers, names, and locations of “she-males” (as the Court initially termed them61) living
in each province
Evidencing a degree of hostility and suspicion toward the “gurus” who typically govern “she-male”
communities,62the Court also directed the provincial governments to “ensure that in future if any child is
handed over to the ‘Gurus’, their particulars should be noted and intimated to the [provincial government] for
the purpose of further probe with regard to the status of such child and also to know whether they are voluntarily
handed over or under compulsion.”63
And in a memo dated August 13, 2009, the Social Welfare, Women Development and Bait ul Maal Department
of the Government of The Punjab reported to the Supreme Court “data regarding She-Males”64as part of a
larger communication to the Supreme Court including “proposals and suggestions for social uplift of She-Males.
In ordering this kind of counting and accounting of Pakistan’s transgen dered citizens, the Supreme Court of
Pakistan’s recent actions echo Fou cault’s observations about the modern state’s biopolitical need to “qualify,
measure, appraise, and hierarchize [its citizens], rather than display [the state] in its murderous splendor
This set of observations is confirmed by other actions around the same time by the Supreme Court of Pakistan,
and also by other parts of the Paki stani state. In this respect, the Supreme Court of Pakistan issued an order in
November 2009 (in the litigation instigated by Dr. Khaki’s petition) relating to Pakistani transgendered persons’
official registration as well as the issu ance to them of official governmental identity documents. In this order,
the Court ordered the Pakistani government’s National Database and Registra tion Authority (NADRA)—the
governmental bureaucracy responsible for issuing, to every adult Pakistani, a National Identity Card (NIC)74—
to “adopt a strategy . . . to record [a transgendered individual’s] exact status in the [identity document] column
meant for male or female after undertaking some
medical tests based on hormones
Moreover, in case anyone was mistaken that the Supreme Court was genu inely concerned about a real problem
with “fake eunuchs,” the Court repeated its concern with those “who in fact are not [eunuchs] but by using such
status are committing the crimes and [as a result of which] the actual [eunuchs] are being blamed for the same”
in a later December 2009 order in this litiga tion.79In short, it appears that one goal of the Supreme Court's
mandate that NADRA issue more gender-nuanced NICs was to better identify individuals and, also, mitigate
individuals’ (alleged) attempts to commit any sort of con fusing, destabilizing, and potentially dangerous
“identity fraud.”
In a manner not unlike their British colonial predecessors, then, the Paki stani state has also seemed interested in
counting and identifying its citizens— admittedly along somewhat new axes—for the purposes of ensuring
“clean, virile, muscular, moral, and loyal bodies.”80As a consequence, an important “when question” is raised
pertaining to when precisely transgendered people living in the geographic areas now constituting Pakistan
became the object of state notice and (ostensible) solicitude. And to this issue, the redeployment of colonial
governance tropes and techniques does put into doubt whether there is much “new” in the Supreme Court of
Pakistan’s “recent” notice of transgendered people. Indeed, one might be tempted to describe or translate this
notice here as just “the latest postcolonial iteration of the colonial gaze.”
nstitutional, and religious recognition.
The scholar David Ayalon, for example, narrates the employment of eunuchs by Muslim households belonging
to notable figures in the history of Islam, including the first caliph in the Umayyad dynasty, Mu'awiya (d.
680 CE), and also the renowned jurist al-Shafi’i (d. 820 CE). With regard to
Ayalon also relays reports (of unascertainable reliability) that Mu'awiya employed eunuch soldiers in his
army,89 a military role that Shahzad Bashir’s work indicates was consistent with other manifestations of eunuch
power in other notable historical Islamic regimes.90
Enforcing transgendered individuals’ Islamic legal rights to inheritance has been one focus of the Supreme
Court of Pakistan’s interventions in 2009 and beyond.97Additionally, it is not only the Supreme Court which
has been concerned here with the legal conse quences of death, but also non-state Islamic legal actors in
Pakistan, with some such actors also recently expressing sympathy for the Islamic rights of inheritance and,
also, proper Islamic funeral rites for transgendered Muslims in Pakistan.98
The second section suggested that recent developments in Pakistan are actually not so recent, and actually just
the latest instance of South Asian authorities—whether colonial or postcolonial—attempting to both tame and
police unruly subjects.
For example, more research needs to be done on the issuances of NIC iden tity documents in Pakistan.
Important questions vis-a-vis these documents include how common are requests for non-cisgender NICs? What
kind of difficulties do non-cisgender persons in Pakistan face from governmental authorities in choosing their
NIC gender? How easy is to change one’s gen der on one’s NIC after its initial issuance? Answers to these
questions would impact the analysis in all three of the above sections.
Important questions vis-a-vis these efforts include how are transgendered Pakistanis classified gender-wise for
the pur poses of inheritance shares? What precedence do Islamic notions of and tests for gender have vis-a-vis
the (elective) gender listed on (transgendered) per sons’ NICS when it comes to deciding inheritance shares?
Are there instances of inheritance disputes being relitigated on the basis of a gender change? Answers to these
questions would impact the analysis in the first and third sections, at a minimum.
Human Rights and Transgender People in Pakistan
There is no known grassroots activism among lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transsexuals and transgender (zenana)
communities in Pakistan. This lack of activism, the silences around sexualit(ies), and deeply closeted status of
most gays and lesbians in Pakistan (many of whom live double lives to avoid revealing their sexual orientation)
makes it difficult to accurately assess their living conditions and human rights situation.
“Transgender individuals in Pakistan have typically faced a myriad of dangers from police, family, community,
and religious authorities, and had to leave the country.”
Shahzina’s father, Tariq Hussain, rejected his daughter’s marriage, accused Shumail of kidnapping his daughter
and committing fraud, and used police officers from their hometown to harass the couple.
At a hearing before High Court Judge Khawaja Sharif, Tariq Hussain testified that Shumail was not a man,
prompting the judge to order a medical examination for Shumail. The examination revealed that Shumail had
undergone gender re-assignment surgery, but the judge nevertheless pronounced Shumail “a girl” and accused
the couple of perjury for lying about Shumail’s gender and also about the legality of their marriage (same-sex
marriages are not allowed in Pakistan). On May 28, 2007, Shumail and Shahzina were each sentenced to three
years in prison and fined 10,000 rupees ($166) for perjury. On June 22, Babar Awan, a Supreme Court lawyer,
filed an appeal for the couple, arguing that since Shumail had undergone gender re-assignment surgery and his
physical characteristics conformed to social and cultural expectations of masculinity, there was no perjury. On
June 28, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case and ordered the couple released on bail set at 50,000 rupees
($825) each.
Some individuals working for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) focused on human rights and women’s
rights generated email articles and letters to the media. However, most of the moral support has come from
psychiatrists, psychologists and medical practitioners, some of whom have held seminars and meetings, written
articles and letters to the press, and participated in three discussions on television. Clearly, a door has now been
opened for public discussion about a traditionally silenced issue. As Ms. Khan notes, “Those giving support are
very committed to a public debate on gender identities, a debate which in many ways has already started.”
that they do not have a same-sex relationship, Section 377iv of the Penal Code penalizes “unnatural offences”
iv
between heterosexual and homosexual couples. Pakistan maintains criminal sanctions against sexual activity between
consenting adults. Pakistan’s Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860) in Section 377 which deals with ‘unnatural offences’ states: "Whoever
voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life,
or with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than two years nor more than ten years, and shall also be liable
to a fine."
On the other hand, if the court rules that Shumail is a man, then there is uncertainty about how the more
conservative members of the community, including the media, will respond to the couple.
“They need to be very quiet about this ... there is danger even after the court makes a ruling.” She adds, “If we
can bring about a change in the law in Pakistan that will allow a change in gender identities and legal identities
and marriage between transsexuals and their partners, this will have a positive fallout on other Muslim countries
and in South Asia.”
1. Repeal Section 377 of the Pakistan Penal Code in order to decriminalize sexual conduct between consenting
adults, sexual expression, and gender expression.
2. Recognize the changed gender identity of individuals who have and have not gone through gender
reassignment surgery and accord them the same legal rights as other citizens.
Protect and promote the right of all women in Pakistan to choose their own marital partners so as to end forced
marriage and family violence against women who defy family expectations.
3. Provide human rights training to all law enforcement officers to improve overall police treatment of
gender and sexual minorities with the goal of preventing collusion between police officers and
members of community and family who intimidate and coerce LGBTI people into heterosexual roles.
4.
• Transgender people are people whose gender identity is different from what they were
thought to be at birth — when ur born a doc decides given the genital u have if u are boy or
girl — despite that identification given by biologicla makeup, but there are ways that our
gender identity is diff from our biological identity we were born with
• Class-aspect imp ; if we see imp rich people experimetning with their sexuality, would that
be translated in the lower classes?
• But its intersting to see this elevation of transgender people within religious spheres which
directs us towards this perfection in the world God has created == secures the position of
the transgender person and saves them from social threats - but doesn’t really happen in
Pakistan because political religiosity is quite different from actual religious interpretations
• It is interesting to look into the Guru-Chehla structure and also the etherisation of the
transgender community == the islamic aspect of it, how transgender people are seen as
spritiual beings or seen as having supernatural powers like having the ability to curse or
bless people
• If you’re absolving them of any threat - in our culture transgenders aren’t discriminated
against and are spiritual beings — but this is still etherisation because you’re creating
myths around them so to say, because you’re not seeing them as having rights or duties
because they are citizens and beings, and not as people with spiritual powers
• Also imp to see the distance bw the two identities - on one end you’re seeing them as
spiritual beings or as above human needs or having powers to bless or curse people - then
the real side where we’re also pushing them into unregulated sex work === in pakistan its
not even considered to be sex work and unregulated because there are no laws and
legislations and no securities — no ways to protect people who are part of this system
which is maintained by the cultural, social, economic implcations of the entire system ==
its just easier for it to be unregulated, because its saving you from spending too much
money
But this is dangerous because of diseases that can be spread, or no work hours === nobody
talks about this and seeing sex work as prostituoin as a tabooo == but keeping it unregulated
is pushing people into a sphere of vulnerability its wrong and if you have made a taboo out of
an entire community that has no way of getting formal or informal employment then they will
be pushed towards unregulated sex work which is sort of the gvot pushing you to being the
target of gande
most people who are queer are then made dangerous and seen as deviant and a threat to
society, not trusted with children or vulnerable people in society == it is biopolitics ;
contralling bodiies to make them more governable, job of the state is to know who people are
and limiting deviancy == the census example imp how these bodies are controlled by a form
of gendered mapping, how transgender people are made to live in closed communities ==
imp aspects to see how queer is synonumised with being queer and being abnormal, being a
threat to normal society
• We have gone thru legislative interventions
• We have had legislative interventions for transgender community and other minorities
• But the problem is with implementation - even with Transgender bill there are many
people in the transgender community who dont know about these provisions
• This is detrimental to introducing any law in society == implementation
• Even if you are extending a kind hand to them you’re not seeing them as equals - they need
your help cause system has been disadvanating them but not cause they are physically
unable to take care of themselvesves == this association of weakness with the transgender
community is very artificial and is structural and is economic, legislative, social == its not
stemming from they way they look or feel but how you make them feel
• So even with this there’s a problem of falling into this fallacy of exceptionalism where we
feel like its the responsibility of transgerer people to uplift themselves cause others have
done so = that’s very unfair , despite belonging to same mirnoty group, those groups aren’t
homogenous just cause of oppression based on their identity - but even in that group
people dont belong to the same sociip-economic idenentiy ; some may belong to a
powerful family and may be able to bend the norms but most aren’t able to== that’s hwy
most transgendered people get pushed into sex-work or blue collar jobs If they’re lucky -
but they dont rise up cause of these conceptsMany NGOs trying to educating transgender
people - physically speaking theres nothing wrong about them which makes them unfit for
the economy or the social discourse - NGOs trying to educate them so they can break the
barriers and enter the workforce
NOTES
• Transgender Safe houses and

Protection centres
• Rehabilitation and counselling
• Vocational training and
encouragement for employment
• Establish a council that will
protect the rights of the
Transgender community in Pakistan
• Make a separate Quota for them or
make them part of the
disadvantaged community
• Requirement to sensitize
stakeholder departments at federal,
provincial and district levels
• Promote Transgender sensitive
advocacy campaigns
• Ensure offenders and people
breaking the clauses of the act are
punished
RoadMaponImplementationof.pdf
The mechanism of grievance addressal at NCHR, NCSW and Federal

Ombudsman is inefficient. First, these are federally located offices and much
unfamiliar for the illiterate transgender community. Secondly, an appeal
against decision at NCSW or Federal Ombudsman can only be made in
Supreme Court of Pakistan which is the highest court, which makes repeal
process extremely difficult and expensive. It has been a year since
commissioner for transgender issues has been appointed at Federal
Ombudsman, however, no impact so far has been seen and situation of
harassment of transgender is similar post promulgation of the Act.
It should also be noted that Pakistan Criminal Law, does not recognize rape
of transgender as rape. Further, the first investigation report or FIR of rape is
only to be filed after Superintendent of Police (SP), a 18th scale officer has
heard accused and victim parties. This is a procedure where bribery, political
influence comes into place and also reluctance on part
of police to file rape case. The usual practice is to file an FIR based on
Section 377. The issue with such FIRs is that
• 377 penalizes consensual sex and transgender rape victims can be punished
• A weak case is set against accused since 377 is ambiguous for rape cases of
adults
While the right of inheritance is given to transgender community it follows

the Islamic rule of half of inheritance of man to woman. Hence, transwoman
will have half of the inheritance. One years’ experience has told us that not
many transgender wish to register as transwoman as they will have to give up
half of their inheritance. Also, from human rights point of view, it seems
absurd to disenfranchise woman half of the inheritance based on gender.
Also, transgender from religious minority can also not hold highest public
office which in theory is compounding the stigma they shall face belonging
to two minority statuses. Also, no quota has been kept at higher educational
institutes, legislative assemblies and employment opportunities for
transgender community; this was due to lack of clear evidence on population
size of transgender community. However, based on mapping estimates a
quota should have been kept. Otherwise, availing space in educational or
employment opportunities of an ostracized community by an unequal
competition is not practical. Also, in legislative assemblies
There must be reserved seats for transgender community to mainstream them

and include at national decision making which is not ensured under this Act.
Also, HIV which is prevalent in 7.1% of transgender of the country is not

mentioned as a special health need. There is also no special protection or
health insurance for transgender people living with HIV under this Act.
There is a major role that human Rights organization and community leaders
can play. We also notice that there is a dire need of empowerment and
engagement of transmen alongside transwomen or hijra community so that
their specific needs are also addressed. We cannot have an inclusive
transgender rights movement without intersex and transmen. There is a need
of coordinated, community led to ensure implementation of the said Act.
. The purpose of the cell is to gather data on gender based violence and
extend legal help to victims. This data should be later used for advocacy
campaigning with parliamentarians to pass Criminal Law Amendment Act at
Federal Level. It should be noted that when Transgender Protection Act was
drafted another amendment in Criminal Procedure Code for transgender
protection against violence was also drafted and tabled in Senate of Pakistan
on 21-08-2017 as private members bill by Senator Rubina Khalid, but since
potential opposition of the amendment from conservative circles, it was never
moved in the house.
iv. Provincial Level legislation for Transgender community
The current Act only pertains to Federal territory and hence the obligations of
the government mentioned in the Act are not a legal binding on provincial
government. Also we have seen that policies without protection of law can be
changed anytime. This is evident when there was no law for transgender
registration and NADRA changed its policy of registration by demanding
medical examination though not previously required. To ensure these policies
are not affected by change in government and political scene, there needs to
be legal binding on provincial governments. Hence, needs of provincial
legislation remains in long term.
CEDAW
For the purposes of the present Convention, the term "discrimination against women" shall mean
any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of
impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their
marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental
freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.
To establish legal protection of the rights of women on an equal basis with men and to ensure
through competent national tribunals and other public institutions the effective protection of
women against any act of discrimination;
(d) To refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination against women and to ensure
that public authorities and institutions shall act in conformity with this obligation;
(e) To take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women by any person,
organization or enterprise;
(f) To take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws,
regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination against women;
(g) To repeal all national penal provisions which constitute discrimination against women.
States Parties shall take in all fields, in particular in the political, social, economic and cultural
fields, all appropriate measures, including legislation, to en sure the full development and
advancement of women , for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of
human rights and fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality with men.
(a) To modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to
achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on
the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men
and women;
(b) To ensure that family education includes a proper understanding of maternity as a social
function and the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing
and development of their children, it being understood that the interest of the children is the
primordial consideration in all cases.
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the
political and public life of the country and, in particular, shall ensure to women, on equal terms
with men, the right:
(a) To vote in all elections and public referenda and to be eligible for election to all publicly elected
bodies;
(b) To participate in the formulation of government policy and the implementation thereof and to
hold public office and perform all public functions at all levels of government;
(c) To participate in non-governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public
and political life of the country.
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure to women, on equal terms with men
and without any discrimination, the opportunity to represent their Governments at the
international level and to participate in the work of international organizations.
(c) The elimination of any stereotyped concept of the roles of men and women at all levels and in
all forms of education by encouraging coeducation and other types of education which will help to
achieve this aim and, in particular, by the revision of textbooks and school programmes and the
adaptation of teaching methods;
(g) The same Opportunities to participate actively in sports and physical education;
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in
the field of employment in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same
rights, in particular:
1. States Parties shall accord to women equality with men before the law.
2. States Parties shall accord to women, in civil matters, a legal capacity identical to that of men
and the same opportunities to exercise that capacity. In particular, they shall give women equal
rights to conclude contracts and to administer property and shall treat them equally in all stages of
procedure in courts and tribunals.
3. States Parties agree that all contracts and all other private instruments of any kind with a legal
effect which is directed at restricting the legal capacity of women shall be deemed null and void.
1. For the purpose of considering the progress made in the implementation of the present
Convention, there shall be established a Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women (hereinafter referred to as the Committee) consisting, at the time of entry into force of the
Convention, of eighteen and, after ratification of or accession to the Convention by the thirty-fifth
State Party, of twenty-three experts of high moral standing and competence in the field covered
by the Convention. The experts shall be elected by States Parties from among their nationals and
shall serve in their personal capacity, consideration being given to equitable geographical
distribution and to the representation of the different forms of civilization as well as the principal
legal systems.
Nothing in the present Convention shall affect any provisions that are more conducive to the
achievement of equality between men and women which may be contained:
(a) In the legislation of a State Party; or

(b) In any other international convention, treaty or agreement in force for that State.
Interpreting Islam and Women's

RightsImplementing CEDAW in Pakistan
This debate elicits disparate, conflicting images in the contemporary Muslim world, particularly
concerning what constitutes women’s rights, who is to define what these rights are, where
responsibility lies for ensuring these rights, and the role states are playing in articulating and
clarifying what is accept- able and unacceptable within a Muslim context.
Technological advances in communication and transportation have enabled women to find out what
is happening elsewhere in the world, to learn from each other, and to hold their own countries
accountable to agreements they have made.
If the Optional Protocol to CEDAW – which enables individuals and groups to hold their states
accountable to eliminating discrimination against women – becomes entered into force, that will be
an even greater global tool to empower the world’s women.
This often manifests by states becoming parties to international human rights treaties; they can reap
the immediate public relations benefit of joining the treaty even if national leaders are not fully
informed or committed to implementing it.
In Pakistan in particular, since the introduction in 1979 of Zia ul-Haq’s Islamization program,
women’s rights have become a focal point in national political discourse as the resultant legal
structure places women in unequal positions to men.
Efforts to empower women through micro- credit3 and in other economic arenas, however, have
remained more limited in Pakistan than in other countries.
In the political arena, women activists and members of women’s rights organizations have expressed
a growing sense of disempowerment and discomfort over prevailing political conditions which tend
to exclude them from participating in elections (Zia and Bari, 1999). This scenario, compounded by
long-standing traditional beliefs which demarcated women’s roles within the home from men’s roles
outside of it, the proliferation of deeni madari (religious) schools throughout the country which further
reinforced the exclusion of women from public life, and a dictatorial regime which tried to exclude
popular participation entirely until the mid-1980s, has created an atmos- phere that essentially
excludes women from the political process in Pakistan.4
In this article, I turn to the example of Pakistan’s efforts to implement CEDAW, the UN Convention
on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimi- nation against Women, through which we can see how
the state and local civil society groups are grappling with identifying what should be women’s rights
and the dilemmas the state then faces in securing these rights.
All States Parties are obligated to review the impact of existing laws on women, change those laws
which discriminate against women, and submit periodic reports to the UN Division for the
Advancement of Women (DAW) on their progress. CEDAW’s principle of state obligation requires
States Parties not only to bring their domestic laws in line with the Convention, but also to ensure the
practical realization of rights by undertaking extra measures to implement enabling conditions so that
women’s capacity to access the opportunities provided is enhanced.
While every Muslim country which has become a State Party to the Convention has voiced concerns
that certain elements of CEDAW may be contradictory to Islamic tenets, it has also affirmed that
most of the Convention is not. Pakistan has been engaged in extensive reviews of existing laws in this
regard.
While Pakistan has sought to clarify or adapt its national laws, planning processes and related
institutions to conform to CEDAW’s requirements, it has also sought to clarify arenas where it cannot
conform.
At issue, in particular, within the Muslim world is the concept of equality versus the concept of equity.
Equality is often raised as being a uniquely western concept. The goals of struggles for gender equity
are argued to be equitable distribution of power, resources, access, and the like. It includes a
recognition that peoples and cultures do differ from one another, generally have some sort of gender-
based division of labor but that neither men nor women should enjoy privileges and power denied to
the other, that neither men nor women should be unduly valued over the other, and that each should
occupy important spaces in their given societies.
Americans and most Western European delegates wanted the resolution to state the equal inheritance
of sons and daughters. Repre- sentatives from predominantly Muslim areas and some others argued
that in their societies, there were other social support mechanisms built in, especially within the
extended family, that provided benefits that could not be measured in terms of land or capital.
Dr Anis Ahmed, director of the Daw’ah Academy at the International Islamic University in
Islamabad, expressed to me that he differentiates between equity and equality in that he sees equity
as taking a qualitative approach, equality taking a quanti- tative one, regarding the needs,
requirements and roles of women and men in society. This issue of equitable versus equal remains
contested in Pakistan’s CEDAW report, which is still in draft form.8
Through ratification of CEDAW, Pakistan assumed the obligation to change laws and policies and
provide enabling conditions to also change attitudes to protect women from gender-based
discrimination and violence.
Pakistan’s constitutional framework is not consistent on women’s rights. The 1973 Constitution
further advanced women’s legal rights in the country on a number of fronts. For example, in the
section on Funda- mental Rights and Principles, Article 3 affirms that the state is committed to
eliminating exploitation and to guarantee ‘the gradual fulfillment of the fundamental principle, from
each according to his ability, to each according to his work’ (National Assembly of Pakistan, 1993: 6).
Article 25 (1) guarantees that all citizens are equal under the law and are entitled to equal protection
of law; Article 25 (2) adds ‘There shall be no discrimination on the basis of sex alone.’ Article 27
prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, or caste for government employment.
Finally, in the Principles of Policy section, Article 34 states that ‘steps shall be taken to ensure full
participation of women in all spheres of national life’; and Article 38(a) adds that it is the
responsibility of the state to ‘secure the well-being of the people, irrespective of sex, caste, creed or
race, by raising their standard of living’.
Four years later, Zia’s government promulgated the Law of Evidence, which critics charged would
disallow women from testifying at all in certain kinds of cases and would cause their testimony in
other cases to be irrelevant unless corroborated by another woman. While the restrictions on women’s
testimony have only been upheld in cases concerning economic transactions, the law clearly gives
men and women different legal rights and, at least, underscores that the state does not regard women
and men as equal economic actors.
There is a widespread misconception about the place Islam accords to women, which is not just a distortion
spread in the West but it exists even among the intelligentsia in the Muslim World, including Pakistan. It is
believed that Islam relegates women to an inferior status; it confines them inside the four walls of their homes;
and it restrains them from taking up employment outside their homes or running their own business. This is
wholly contrary to fact. Muslim scholars are agreed that Islam accords women virtually the whole gamut of
rights, including the rights to property, to work and wages, to choice of spouse, to divorce if marriage does not
prosper, to education and to participation in economic, social and political activity. These are guaranteed to
Muslim women by Shariat.
The Report continues by noting that many of the derogatory laws and customs in Pakistan are,
unfortunately,
. . . justified in the name of Islam or have been introduced as Islamic laws when clearly they are retrograde
customs and traditions, or ill-informed interpretations that bear no relation to the divine design. This distinction
has to be clarified once and for all. Ambiguity allows obscurantist elements to re-open
Indeed, when we review women’s marginalized status in all spheres of Pakistani society – political,
economic and social – it is evident that this is partly a result of women’s exclusion from the kinds of
decision-making processes which, in particular, affect life outside the family. In Pakistan, the inverse
sex ratio is one of the lowest in the world: 91 women for every 100 men, thereby bringing into
question women’s right of access to nutri- tion, health care and related concerns. Pakistan’s female
economic activity rate, compared to males, is only 42 percent.10 While just over half of all adult urban
women are literate, less than a quarter are so in rural areas; access to an education is highly
circumscribed for women in many parts of the country.11 This resulted, in 2000, in an overall female
adult literacy rate of 27.9 percent, compared to a male adult literacy rate more than double that, at
57.5 percent.12 Formal political participation remains an essentially male domain despite increasing
numbers of women joining political parties, changes in social perception of politics and the recog-
nition of the significance of women’s inclusion in it.
. We should recall that CEDAW is unique in a variety of ways, both in the requirement to submit
periodic reports that indicate the measures that a state has adopted to give effect to the provisions of
the Convention, and in that while CEDAW permits ratification subject to reservation – a formal
declaration that the state does not accept as binding specific treaty provisions – this is meant to be a
temporary measure so that states can take steps to remove obstacles to the implementation of the
articles it has reserved
CEDAW’s unique clause is Article 28 (2), which precludes any reservation which is incompatible with
the Convention’s object and purpose, especially its three fundamental principles of equality, non-
discrimination, and state obligation. On the last- mentioned principle, state obligation, States Parties
are not only obligated to bring their domestic law in line with the Convention but also to ensure the
practical realization of rights by undertaking extra measures to implement enabling conditions so
that women’s capacity to access the opportunities provided is enhanced.
In the reports – to be submitted within one year of accession or ratification and thereafter every four
years or when the Committee requests – States Parties must indicate the measures they have adopted
to give effect to the provisions of the Convention.
Pakistan’s Instrument of Accession to CEDAW states that the Govern- ment of Pakistan will strive to
implement the Convention but with the following reservations:
General Declaration: The accession by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimi- nation Against Women is subject to the provisions of the Constitution
of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Reservation: The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan declares that it does not consider itself bound by
paragraph 1 of Article 29 of the Conven- tion.
This paragraph states that any dispute between two or more States Parties concerning the
interpretation or application of CEDAW which is not settled by negotiation between them can be
submitted for arbitration to the International Court of Justice. This is not a dispute with any aspects of
CEDAW’s essence, but rather to counter the prospect of another state’s criticism of Pakistan’s
implementation of CEDAW. Seven European States Parties to CEDAW, however, have raised
objections to Pakistan’s interpretation of the paragraph.
In the latter half of 2001 and during 2002, it held provincial meetings with local stakeholders –
government bureaucrats, elected officials and grassroots activists – to create consensus on key
themes to promote women’s empowerment. However, although the language resembles the
requirements of CEDAW – such as using the terminology of ‘creating enabling conditions’ – it draws
the deep commit- ment of the state into question somewhat.
To access power at any level, Pakistani women need to find a voice in both public and private spheres
of life. While the participation of elite women has been gradually increasing in public institutions,
this has not necessarily carried over to women of all classes finding a voice in the wider society nor in
their own families
For women to become empowered would mean that they would now have some element of power
and influence over what happens to their lives and generally results, too, in taking away some of the
power and influence that members of other groups once held.
The full range of divergent views on women’s rights within Pakistan extend from being highly
supportive of withdrawing the conservative Islamic laws that had been implemented during Zia ul-
Haq’s military regime, to contending that women should only enter the work- place or other public
arena when they have fulfilled their domestic obligations, to women remaining confined within the
home inside chador aur char dewari (within the veil and the four walls of one’s home).1
For example, Farhat Hashmi, director of a relatively new Islamic insti- tute for women in Islamabad,
al-Huda, understands local interpretations of women’s human rights, derived from Islam, as follows:
Women and men, both have their own spheres; each has definite basic responsibilities. Men have work outside
the home; women have work within the home. It is not mandatory that a woman cannot work outside of the
home, or a man cannot work inside the home. If they fulfill their responsibilities fully, they can do the other’s
tasks as well.16
While this view supports those women who seek to be empowered outside the home to find
justification for their actions while not necessarily alienating more traditional sentiments, many
Islamist advocates would not agree with this interpretation or conclusion
We can see, then, that finding a way for a state to simultaneously balance its own political exigencies
is challenging as it confronts its own progressive and its own Islamist oppositions.
Although the fluidity of most interpretations of what constitutes ‘non-discrimination’ and women’s
rights depends in large part on political context (more so than economic or social contexts), there
seem to be some universal restrictions, especially in regard to female inheritance and other aspects
of Muslim family law, that create formidable challenges for Pakistan – as well as for other Muslim
states that have ratified the Convention – to eliminate laws which apply differentially to men and
women.
The key areas of dispute that the Pakistan state has had with CEDAW fall into three categories: co-
education, inheritance and evidence/legal witness.
The first category is often framed as being contradictory to those sentiments prevailing in the local
culture, which largely operate under the ideal of separate spheres for males and females.
Interestingly, co-educational schools had been a norm in higher education in Pakistan until its
expansion in the 1970s, when students from a range of social, economic and religious backgrounds
began to attend high schools and universities; it was dismantled nearly everywhere during the
waning years of Zia ul-Haq’s regime a decade later.
The other two categories are directly affected by Pakistan’s Consti- tution, which requires that no
laws can be in contradiction to the injunctions of Islam. These two categories of dispute – inheritance
and evidence/legal witness – are widely regarded as being derived from the Qur’an and, as such, are
immutable. On this basis, Pakistani law cannot grant complete equality in inheritance to men and
women, given that verse 4:11 in Sura al-Nisa clearly states, ‘A male shall inherit twice as much as a
female.’
The issue of evidence/legal witness is slightly more problematic. Zia ul-Haq’s controversial Law of
Evidence (Qanoon-e-Shahadat) was promulgated by the Government of Pakistan based on verse 2:282
in Sura al-Baqr:
Call in two male witnesses from among you, but if two men cannot be found, then one man and two women
whom you judge fit to act as witnesses; so that if either of them commit an error, the other will remember.
However, this has been interpreted in a number of ways, and the current practice in Pakistan does not
restrict women’s testimony except in certain kinds of financial cases.
In its draft CEDAW report, the Pakistan government identifies a number of obstacles, quite
forthrightly, that it faces in eliminating discrimination against women and in implementing the
Convention, notably prevailing sociocultural norms, the existing patriarchal system, legal guarantees
that are often not translated into concrete actions, and the society’s feudal values
It argues that most of the substantive challenges lie in implementation, especially at the grassroots
level, due to locally perceived cultural restrictions and political necessities to appease certain groups.
However, the 1997 ground-breaking Report of the Commission of Inquiry for Women identified a number
of specific laws and criminal procedures, in addition to traditional customs and social practices, that
are discriminatory toward women in Pakistan.
It makes explicit recommendations as to how Pakistan can remove such discrimination and redress
inequities toward women.
The Report also expresses concern that the state has taken contradictory positions on eliminating
discrimination against women by acceding to CEDAW but not reversing those existing discriminatory
laws.
It maintains that to experience real and meaningful progress, the Pakistan state must adopt a new
vision,
. . . which regards any acceptance of equality not as a favor or indulgence granted but as a prolonged and cruel
injustice at last undone; which treats affirmative action as a necessary means of reversing centuries of
discrimination and imbalance, not as a privilege or concession; which redefines the concept of equality keeping
in mind the special needs of women as their right; and which explores fresh and imaginative strategies to make
the vision a workable reality. (Commission of Inquiry for Women, 1997: xiii)
How this vision can become assimilated into the state’s machinery and among Pakistanis is the
clearest challenge it faces, as codified traditions are often perceived as religious doctrine. This has
long enabled bureaucrats, in practice, to deny recognizing the problems confronting women in
various arenas as well as to neglect solutions for women’s empowerment along the lines that
CEDAW and others recommend. Policies of former governments have been inconsistent, shifting
between those promoting women’s empowerment and those which have diminished it. An
unforeseen consequence of such actions is that they fuel the ‘culture wars’ between different groups,
for the state was not playing a mediat- ing role but rather a provocative one and was unwittingly
aggravating the divides between various groups regarding women’s rights in the country.
Alternatively, various women’s rights groups such as AGHS, the Aurat Foundation, Bedari, Pattan,
Shirkat Gah, and Simorgh, engaged in activist research addressing such themes as the rise in domestic
violence, female education and women’s political participation, question Islam’s jurisdictional space
in the contemporary political sphere and whether women’s rights need necessarily be limited at all
by Islamic injunctions. The state warns them not to push it too far so as not to anger the various
Islamist madrasas now aspiring to have greater influence over Islamic laws.
Cleavages also exist within the bureaucracy, among the government workers whose responsibility it
is to carry out the decisions made by the state. Many of these workers, however, subscribe to Islamist
or tradi- tionalist sentiments and see no reason why women should be given ‘new’ rights, which they
also perceive as being in conflict with Islamic tenets.
To effectively reduce discrimination, the Pakistan state must find a way to include such workers in a
dialogue on why the state has reached the conclusion that it is for the betterment of the country and all
of its people to regard women as having equal legal rights with men.
Indeed, these dilemmas draw the state further into the discourse of defining women’s rights through
the institutional structures it will support. An example is seen in its consideration of the role of the
wali, or guardian. The Criminal Law Amendment Act (1997), passed as an Act of Parliament with
limited discussion, lays out the method for distribution of qisas and diyat (blood money) in the event
of a murder. The Report of the Commission of Inquiry for Women interprets this act as making criminal
offenses ‘a private matter rather than treating them as crimes against society’. While the wali is
defined in gender-neutral terms, in both language and examples the wali is always a male. For the
state to contend that the wali need not necessarily be a man would be to invalidate long-standing local
patriarchal interpretations of men’s responsibilities vis-a-vis women.
A second recent example can be seen in the culmination of lobbying on the part of various women’s
rights’ organizations for the state to constitute a Permanent Commission on the Status of Women. A
singular women’s movement in a nation as ethnically, culturally and economically diverse as
Pakistan would be problematic, and we must recognize that the women’s movement here is neither
unidimensional nor monolithic, but is multifaceted and fairly comprehensive. While a women’s
movement has existed in Pakistan since colonial times (when it focused largely on female education
and related social welfare activities), a substantive transformation began to occur in the 1980s
A melding of the women’s movement’s traditional social welfare activities was occurring as diverse
groups, organizing themselves as NGOs, increasingly supported small-scale projects throughout the
country that focused on women’s empowerment, while they expanded their critique of the actions of
the Zia ul-Haq government in limiting women’s legal rights.
Different women’s groups became involved in such activities as instituting legal aid cells for indigent
women, opposing the gendered segregation of universities and playing an active role in condemning
the growing inci- dents of violence against women and bringing them to the attention of the public,
though all engaged actively with the state in advocating expanding women’s legal rights.19
An important culmination of their combined efforts occurred on 8 March 2002, International

Women’s Day, when President General Pervez Mushar- raf announced the establishment of an
autonomous National Commission for Women and offered that, with the passage of time, Pakistan
would gradually see an increase in the number of reserved seats for women in the National and
Provincial Assemblies in the country. He noted the concrete steps his government had already taken
to ensure the representation of women in the country: they had increased women’s participation by
reserving 180 seats for women in the national and provincial assemblies, a third of seats had been
reserved for women in the local government elections, and now this independent National
Commission for Women would work ‘for the protection of women’s rights in the country’. He also
announced a three-month amnesty for women prisoners involved in minor crimes, which affected the
large number of women detainees who are incarcerated under zina charges under the Hudood laws.
An official in the Foreign Ministry offered that most of the flaws that Pakistan has faced regarding
CEDAW lie in implementation, not legislation (with the exception of the Hudood laws), especially at
the grassroots level because of political necessities to appease certain groups. However, the Report of
the Commission of Inquiry for Women identified certain areas – laws, customs, practices, criminal
procedures – that are discriminatory toward women, and made recommendations on how Pakistan
can remove such discrimination. It made three important, albeit controversial key recommendations:
1. To legalize abortion;
2. To abolish the Federal Shariat Court, as it is not required as other courts
can do the same things;
3. And that since Hudood laws have not achieved their objectives, they
should be repealed.
It is clear that, until very recently, this was not the case, when we analyze the contradictory actions of
the former Nawaz Sharif government: on the one hand, developing the National Plan of Action,
undertaking the writing of the CEDAW Report, revisiting other UN human rights treaties to consider
if Pakistan might ratify them; while on the other, not implementing key recommendations of the
Commission of Inquiry for Women’s report, especially the recommendation to repeal laws they
assessed as being discriminatory toward women or to reinstate reserved seats for women. The Nawaz
government also introduced the problematic 15th Amendment in August 1998, which raised the
specter that the protection of women’s rights – ensured in the Constitution at this point – would
become arbitrary as all ‘constitutionally secured rights and freedoms may be superseded by the
executive’s directives, dependent only on the executive’s interpretation of Shari’ah and their
assessment of what is “right” for women’ (Amnesty International, 1998: 2). A Pakistani opposition
politician explained to me that the Nawaz government had taken this stance because they were
‘apologists who are terrified of the militant orthodoxy raising its head in the country’, 20 and I believe
this is a fair assessment.
The question remains if the present government is indeed committed to revisiting the kinds of laws
passed two decades ago in the name of Islam, and at last getting input from civil society groups into
repealing or at least revising them
It is doubtful that it will go as far as the government in Tunisia has begun to do, conducting its own
ijtihad – controversial interpretation of Islamic law – in its ‘progressive reading of the Qur’an’ as it
creates new programs that support the empowerment of women while framing them in an Islamic
context.2
Yet one thing is decidedly clear: how the state in Pakistan frames its modernity project and incor-
porates women and women’s groups into that process will certainly open up new arenas for
discourse concerning the relationship between Islam and women’s status, rights and empowerment
in the country. This is a process that women will no longer allow to be delayed in Pakistan.
• Its imp to see how states like Pak get impacted by what’s happening beyond
In this moment of globalisation where nothing is happening in isolation - we need to see

where we are lacking and see how we can make the most of these international treaties
• The states and state parties asked to include equality of men and women, bring in new laws
to improve women’s discrimination, create tribunals or cxerate orgs to protect women, and
to ensure all elimination of acts of discrimination against women by persons, orgs or
enterprises ==> to curb discrimination and prevent it from happening in the future as well
• This paper starts an imp thought in your mind - Pak as a country has never had a proper
debate on women’s rights and never tried to define it
• We’ve never disucced these issues on a public forum and define these issues
• This is what women’s rights and feminism needs in Pakistan
• We haven’t even had a discussion on what women’s rights include and don’t include to let
alone have a discussion on what LGBTQ rights are and how to include people from those
communities
• We need to talk to those communities to understand what their problems are
• The process is there, but the political will is absent
• We have ratified CEDAW and accepted it - many Musim countries have had reservations
regarding CEDAW ; not to say we are rejecting these documents but that these aren’t
‘culturally appropriate’
• in Pakistan it is used as a cover ; in inheritance we cant give women the share equal to that
of a man because there are many mechanisms within the family system that Pakistan
enjoys == but this is untrue ; because we have a lot of representation of nuclear families, a
lot of laws go against g widows or young children ; the money would go to the
grandparents not to the children if the father dies
• We in this paper get to see how certain measures are circumvented or manipulated under
the garb of doing a lot for the community - this is imp to address and see that CEDAW
isn’t being implemented the way it should cause the state can create a narrative with the
right words but with zero potential to implement those mechanisms as well
• We need to understand that every government has shown laziness to protect women’s
rights and marginalised communities wilfully
• Many articles in Pakistan’s constitution seeking to protect women’s rights - despite

CEDAW
• This is imp cause our constitution is pre-CEDAW and it is imp to see that you dont need
intl intervention to create such checks and balances; but we have had these initiatives —
women’s rights and feminism has been a very integral part of the bigger political sphere of
pakistan even through independence
• What Weiss is trying to do is show the discrepancy on what’s available on paper and
what’s available on ground
• Despite the constitution or equal citizenship rights ; men women and non-binary people
• Women have always been smaller in number when it comes to decision making authorities
- this is why the state needs to have an honest conversation about women’s rights and
women’s forums and feminist activism needs to bring the state to a point where we address
what needs to be done and what’s been done in the past
• CEDAW comes in as an imp doc it gives you a road map about what discrimination is -
you have to contextuaise it regarding your local circumantses - you have a road map of
what to include and what not to include
• Islam as a religion is the most pro-women - you get to see how theological advances are
depenandnt on circumstances and the context of the time
• Isklam is the most recent - its more inclusive ; it talks abut women’s mobility, inheritance
and domestic labour == which other religions may not enjoy cause pre-date
• If you compare religions you can say that ok this religion is most pro-women
• But the problem with documents and CEDAW the state hides behind the veil of religion
cause it expels them from changing the narrative
All governments have been so afraid of countering the religious narrative and hide behind it
= performative ; you’re doing certain things that on the superficial level looks like you’re
doing a lot for women but its not create a substantive change within the narrative - different
regimes used different narratives around women’s bodies to put forth a certain image of
themselves
Desirable and Failed Citizen-Subjects 69
Finally, I hope that this book will pique the interest of researchers in engaging in deeper studies of Muslim
masculinities. With the extensive focus on Muslim women and girls within aid and development regimes, there
is limited engagement with the representations of Muslim men or complex enactments of masculinities. As this
book has shown, particular spatialities are marked as masculine and the masculinizing impulses of the state are
often expressed through the infantilization of adult women. Tracing masculinities, masculinizing practices,
masculine pos- turings, and representations of Muslim men thus appears to be a worthy endeavor for future
research.
Class & Gender in School Texts
The state rhetoric regarding women’s rights and the need to provide equal educational and
job opportunities not withstanding, state-sponsored textbooks continue to reinforce gender-
biased stereotypes. As the mainstreaming of women in the social, economic and political life
of the country as well as a meaningful recognition of their rights as equal citizens depend
predominantly on the ways in which society as a whole perceives and defines women, not
only does this constitute a serious lapse insofar as the implementation of state policy is
concerned, it also raises a number of questions regarding the production of these texts.
Among the most evident responses that come to mind after a reading of the Punjab
Textbook Board texts are:
1. that those engaged in the production of textbooks feel that public statements
regarding women’s rights etc. are only rhetorical and need not be taken seriously
2. that patriarchal precepts of femininity and masculinity are so deeply rooted in our
ways of seeing and experiencing the world that it is difficult – even if there is a
political will to do so– for academics and policy makers engaged in this exercise, to
view their own attitudes critically or to envisage, a social order that recognises the
humanity of women and men alike.
3. that no clear guidelines are provided regarding the content and thrust of school texts
insofar as the representation of women is concerned.
4. that when guidelines are provided but those engaged in the production of these texts
fail to see the connection between the negative and-/or stereotypical representation
of a class or group and the impact of these representations on the perceptions and
attitudes of students, whether male or female.
5. that the producers of these texts are content with the reproduction of male/female
stereotypes because that is what they have been doing for years and it is the easier
option in terms of work load etc.
6. that the producers are actively resistant to the idea of women’s rights and believe in
the preservation of the status quo.
7. This chapter will also highlight the links between women’s disempowerment and their
subordinate status as citizens, and existing stereotypes that operate within the false
division of space into the domestic, which is associated with women, and the public,
which is thought to belong solely to men.
8. Although certain shifts – primarily ideological – have taken place since then, the
essential structure, as defined in the Report of the Commission on National
Education (1959) remains the same. This in itself is significant, for not only were the
foundations of the education system laid during the first long-term non-representative
government in the country, but also that no serious attempt has been made since
then to rethink or reformulate this policy in the light of Pakistan’s changing ground
realities.
9. It is significant that the Report of 1959 reinforced the existing class divisions of
Pakistani society thus ensuring that individuals from different socio-economic
backgrounds could be trained for roles commensurate with their class position. Not
surprisingly, women fell foul of this policy, as did the poor and those belonging to the
working class.
10. Clear-cut gender roles are emphasised consistently regarding the skills befitting
women. These ‘feminine’ skills, which will ensure domestic bliss – obviously women
have no right to bliss of any other kind – are needle work, home crafts, embroidery
and ‘other suitable work of an artistic kind’. It is quite obvious that the women referred
to here are from the economically privileged class as working class women who
make up the bulk of the female labour force are too busy working in agriculture, on
construction sites and as domestic labour to have either the time, the money or the
energy left over from long working hours to indulge in ‘artistic’ work or even ‘home
crafts and embroidery’.
11. During the ‘60s Home Economics Colleges were set up in the major cities of Pakistan
and gained immense popularity among the parents of girls. The appeal of this subject
lay in the fact that it allowed traditionalists to concede to the demands of modernity
vis a vis the importance of school or college education for girls while enabling them to
remain within the bounds of patriarchal norms of femininity. As stated in the Report,
this subject ‘... provides a young woman with the knowledge and skills and attitudes
that will help her to be a more intelligent and effective wife and mother and improve
261
the health, happiness and general well-being of her family .
12. As can be seen, motherhood continues to be understood as the central and all
encompassing role of a woman’s life. Mothers are granted the ‘esteemed’ status of
nation builders with the ability to mould their children into loyal and productive
citizens. Glorified and exalted, motherhood is presented as the only, ultimate and
legitimate goal that a woman can aspire to.
13. Women who failed to – or refused to subscribe to this myth, fell outside the purview
of the feminine or at best were relegated to the margins of licit space. Among them
could be unmarried women, working women the divorcees and those who had no
children. That dissent was looked upon unfavourably is borne out by the Report,
which states unequivocally that ‘it is she who must accept the obligations that her
262
position at home imposes upon her’.
14. Despite the fact that Nusrat Bhutto attended the 1975 UN Womens’ Conference in
Mexico where the world plan of action regarding women’s position and status in
society was announced and great emphasis placed on women’s rights, a democratic
government under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto did not bring about any radical change with
regard to women’s representation in school texts. As far as women’s education and
the ways in which gender stereotyping in school texts was concerned, policy
documents of the ‘70s, granted the same importance as the 1959 Report, had done
to the learning of ‘feminine’ skills and the enhancement of ‘natural’ female qualities
such as obedience and steadfastness. Equal importance was also given to the role of
women as ‘perfect’ wives and mothers. Whether this was the result of a conscious
policy decision or merely an unconsidered response of probably the same
bureaucrats and ‘educationists’ who had formulated the 1959 report, the outcome
was the same in so far as the presence of gendered stereotypes in school texts was
concerned.
15. That the policy makers in the Ministry of Education as well as those engaged in the
production of school texts have much to answer for is borne out by the evidence of
the texts to which our unsuspecting children are subjected during their formative
years. At a time when education should enable them to discover and take joy in their
own God-given potential and the rich diversity of human cultures, they are being cast
into the straightjacket of narrow stereotypes based on rigidly defined gender roles.
16. Before examining current school texts, this section will include a brief look at the
social science texts of the Zia years to show that little has changed since then insofar
as the content of school books especially with reference to the perpetuation of
gender biases, is concerned.
‘From the very first language books for five year olds, traditional stereotypes with regard to
male/female role models are established, and they are reinforced and elaborated in
subsequent readers. One of the first illustrations is that of a girl helping her mother with
household chores ... Never is the male shown helping in the house, whether it is in the urban
or rural setting...
Similarly, the introductory social studies text tells us that the respect accorded to the mother
is due to the fact that she cooks, cleans and cares for the family. Clearly, her role and place
are delineated within the context of the family unit. That she contributes to the economy and
nation building activities is not recognised.
Not a single woman is included in the social studies series on popular personalities. In the
Urdu books, space has been conceded to two women only. .. Miss Fatima Jinnah and
Begum Mohammad Ali. (Their) claim to eminence, is their relationship to men. (Miss
Jinnah) .. is depicted as (the) nurse, helpmate and support (of her brother). The fact that she
was a candidate in a Presidential election is considered a matter not important enough to
mention. What the writer felt more pertinent was that (she) always dressed ‘modestly’. ...
Begum Mohammad Ali is portrayed as the mother of the famous Ali brothers ... deeply
rooted in the religious and social traditions of Islam. Nothing is ever mentioned of her work in
the Freedom Movement, nor do we hear of the fact that she discarded the ‘veil’ at a public
meeting. And although she stressed the need for women’s education, textbooks warn the
‘weaker sex’ to beware the pernicious influences abroad. It is imperative, the writer says,
that women should preserve eastern traditions (these are not spelt out) and not lose her
balance.... no similar caution is issued to men.’
These examples are sufficient to highlight the ways in which gender biases, predicated on
notions of stereotypical femininity served the ideological and strategic needs of the Zia
Government. A look at contemporary language texts being used almost 15 years later show
that little has changed in so far as the presence of gender stereotyping in school texts is
concerned.
In addition to women’s invisibility and/or absence in language exercises dealing with sports,
etc., certain lessons consistently highlight women’s subordinate or referential position. A
chronological analysis will be made of the stories/exercises in this text to show how the
consistent articulation of what is essentially a single unified message that (i) women have a
subsidiary status in society, and (ii) that their only legitimate role or function is to do with
household tasks associated with nurturing and caring for the family. The lesson, ‘Family
Relations’ focuses its entire attention on showing that a woman’s identity is subsumed in that
of her husband after marriage as she is no longer known by her own name but as ‘Mrs’ So
and So
The lesson in Book 7 class is none of these, as it comprises a string of relationships each
one highlighting women’s subsidiary and referential status. The very baldness of the
narrative leaves little room for ambiguity as far as its gender-biased message is concerned.
Given the fact that in ordinary language-use the universalised ‘he’ often stands in for both
men and women, this kind of text serves to reinforce the perception that women do not merit
an identity of their own
The next story, ‘A Surprise Visit’, has little to recommend it either as a story or as an
exercise in rational behaviour. However, it is noticeable for the fact that even when much of
the action takes place in a home, where you would expect to find women, none are present
in the story. Except for one reference to absent sisters, women are missing throughout. The
message clearly being one or all of the following: (i) even inside the four walls of the home
women remain behind the scenes, (ii) women do not exist or are irrelevant (iii) have no part
to play in family life other than cooking meals etc. and therefore don’t feature when any
action takes place. Coming after the ‘Lost Bag’, it would seem that no space, public or
private, justifies women’s visibility.
Women who have played important parts in history are almost always ignored, and the
Punjab Textbook Board books are no exception to the rule. The fact that there have been
women like Razia Sultana who was not only the first woman ruler of the Delhi Sultanate but
also the first to get the mandate of the people for her rule, Gulbadan Begum and
Zebunnissa, both of them highly educated women, the former a biographer and the latter a
poet and philosopher, is seldom acknowledged in our textbooks.
Students are constantly being exposed to the material that is included in textbooks and
regardless of its poor quality, messages predicated on notions of male superiority and
female inferiority are being beamed at them. For the most part, women are either absent or
barely visible in the lessons and stories that are specially prepared for these books.
This is dangerous at many levels. By depicting a world that fails to take into account the
diversity of our society, the Textbook Boards almost guarantee a lack of student interest in
their work. Exposed constantly to a one dimensional, mono-visual world in texts which allows
no room for discussion or debate and subjected to a teaching methodology that encourages
rote learning as the only means to passing exams, girls and boys will absorb these gender
biased and culturally skewed messages to which they are constantly exposed from class
one onwards, because they echo the biases and prejudices of the society in which they live.
is only logical that if our young men and women grow up thinking that men alone have the
right and the capacity for decision-making not only for themselves but on behalf of women
also, that violence, coercion and the arbitrary use of force will be become the norm for
socially accepted behaviour. And in the kind of world envisioned in these textbooks, where
only ‘Mary’ can swim and only ‘Mrs. Brown’ can be an airhostess, workingwomen,
sportswomen, women out in the streets for shopping, errands, or any other work, women in
parks, or any other public space for reasons as legitimate as those which take men out of
the house, will not only be always already guilty of ‘wrong’ behaviour, they will also be
vulnerable to the many forms of violence that exist in our society.
If our aim, as citizens of a mature and progressive society, is to ensure that women are
given free access to education, jobs, health, and other fundamental rights, then we need, as
a first significant step to rewrite our textbooks for the simple reason that lessons learnt in
childhood and early adolescence leave the deepest impress on the mind
In conclusion, it needs to be mentioned that in rectifying the gender biases that abound in
our school books, we would be taking a step towards achieving a society that would be
enabling not just for women but for men as well, because if the constraint of the stereotype
limits and wastes women’s potential for growth and development, men also do not escape its
taint.
Week 11 lecture
• This isn’t just the result of lack of policy making but very much systemic
problem which is a result of patriarchal authoritarianism and consumerist
approach and unbothered government == no attention paid to the written
word
• Focus has been on very different and academic things ; see how students
are produced and re-produced in class rooms - classroom of girls not being
able to see themselves in the narratives, creates insecurity and
invisbaiblition is tormenting girls and women into taking on the role of a
sidekick, cause told that they cant be in the forefront
• Only boys allowed to be seen in public spaces, national stages
All these biases are not in line with the diversity present in the working world
- because there are working mothers and even they aren’t included within the
narrative — you have strong girls you have ambitiotns but when you otherise
them and invisibilise them is very detrimental
• The time is now not just to rely on basic forms of eud, but practice a
diverse understanding of what edu can do for the individual and not just
for the state project
• As mulji’s book shows - the actual education isn’t done by schools but
actually done by media/ads because edu doesn’t stop at school door —
keeps including whatever people around you are saying, whatever is being
promoted in society, whatever being given to you — the internet also imp
now
- Painting, poetry and journalism important to produce a counter-hegemonic discourse
ACTIVISM CHANGES FORM

There were major challenges from the state during Nawaz Sharif’s two tenures in power to restrict the working
of these NGOs and complete Zia’s policy agenda, but activists successfully pushed some of them back. While it
was a frustrating period for women, who felt that they were firefighting instead of making progress on achieving
their rights, they managed to consolidate support for gains that would become more apparent in the next decade.
One such example is War Against Rape, which was established in Karachi in 1989 in order to provide legal and
medical assistance to rape victims at a time when there was a growing incidence in the city alongside a
reluctance to report it due to the zina laws. The organisation’s work includes spreading awareness about sexual
abuse, advocacy for legislative reform, alongside providing crisis intervention, legal aid, counselling and
medical assistance to survivors. I
Simorgh was founded in Lahore in 1985, first as a part-time then as a full-time feminist organisation in the mid-
1990s, devoted to the ‘research and dissemination of information that will enable women and men to challenge
the dominance of ideas that support social and economic divisions on the basis of gender, class, religion, race
5
and nationality’. It is responsible for publishing some of the most challenging and important feminist research
out of Pakistan.
The overlap in agendas and strategies was already clear – to seek from the state enforcement of fundamental
rights as guaranteed by the constitution and international law and demand a democratic government. By this
time, no activists, at least in private, would deny their agenda was political. Ultimately, it was a question of
semantics – and also an issue of financing.
Western donor organisations, the United Nations and international NGOs all stepped in to fund women’s
organisations and continue to do so, with varying periods of enthusiasm depending on their government’s
politics.
Aurat Foundation took the lead in advocacy with government, parliamentarians and political parties to gain
support for the restoration of reserved seats for women.
Shirkat Gah expanded into research, community projects, and advocacy both domestically and at the
international level, helping to build networks with women across borders. ASR hosted groundbreaking
conferences for women from across the country, forging linkages amongst those from rural and urban
backgrounds never made before. It also began to hold regular residential workshops to introduce women to
feminist history and theory, which many, including myself, credit with having changed their thinking forever
and shaped their work as activists up to today.
numerous workshops locally to train staff and raise awareness on issues related to their projects
Pakistani feminists developed linkages and friendships with South Asian women activists, grass roots workers
and development practitioners for the first time.
They also formed networks with women in Muslim countries, such as Shirkat Gah’s engagement with Women
Living Under Muslim Laws, to share experiences and advocate for the rights of women affected by Islamisation
in other contexts.
After Pakistan committed itself to the Beijing Platform for Action, women’s NGOs became closely involved in
helping the government design a National Platform for Action to serve as a comprehensive policy to reflect its
new agenda for gender equality.
The government held back on endorsing the new policy, frustrating donors and NGOs alike. Next, the
recommendations of the 1997 Inquiry Commission on the Status of Women, along with the new obligations
under CEDAW, seemed almost impossible to fulfil. Their implementation would have required at a minimum a
review of all laws affecting women.
CEDAW raised key issues, such as the right to co-education, and equal rights of inheritance and evidentiary
10
status that remain unresolved.
Increasing budgetary commitments and reinstating women’s reserved seats in elected bodies looked a bit more
doable, so NGOs continued to lobby for these reforms. But ultimately it became clear that women, even backed
by donors and working through NGOs, were not perceived as an interest group with sufficient political backing
to merit concrete policy commitments.
‘Capacity-building’ was the operative phrase, for there was an urgent need to train men and women on gender
issues for projects. This money was sometimes not used effectively, due to neglect and bad management, a
failing for which both donors and NGOs were culpable. It was also difficult to measure the tangible benefit to
women in communities ‘targeted’, especially if money was spent on conferences and research.
No doubt the dynamic of activism changed when the high energy street mobilisation of the 1980s gave way to a
more subdued advocacy – in which activists found themselves addressing parliamentary committees, lobbying
with political leaders directly and writing technical reports on women’s issues for the government to use at
international meetings.
There was still considerable work to do at WAF, especially regarding cases of sexual violence. ‘Who was going
to handle all these women who had been told about their rights?’
WAF was involved in drafting the terms of reference for the coalition, which proposed that NGOs address the
government challenge that they were not transparent by developing an accountability forum of their own, to
hold public hearings whenever charges or complaints were levelled against their members, and internally settle
23
disputes within the NGO community.
accountability
Week 9 lecture
Nancy Fraser criticises what he thinks of civil society ; who sees civil society as a shared
space of ‘discursive relations’ (what is being said and being understood, what is happening in
real time) public space is an opportunity to realise and live discursive relations ; through
these anyone can challenge the state and criticise the state - the public in public matters is
more important that control over the public - the society that civilians have formed
• Philips ; politics of presence vs. Politics of ideas —> important for the context of Pakistan
-> politics of presence is you as an entity being rep of a certain socio-economic,gendered
whatever group you belong to vs. Politics of ideas; we see there are many parliamentarians
are such because of patriarchy and lineage, but the fact that we have many female
politicians has led to female friendly politics == when politics of ideas is taken in isolation
of politics of presence then you’re not taking into account the experiences of a particular
group - politics of presence ; someone who talks like you, experiences your experience,
when a woman sees a woman in position of authority making deiciosns, it is easier for the
women to compare herself to her as opposed to a male parliamentarian
Ranciere; important to understand what dissent means —> dissent is an act where you’re
challenging the government - but Ranciere is conceptualiseing it - imp to understand ciivl
society as a concept solidified in its number, a person isn’t just political but also a cite of
politics - who is the human in human rights? All the individuals living in pakistan are
political subjects - we cannot be removed from politics - we have the capacity/knowledge
where we hold the govt accountable - where we ask questions - man and woman aren’t just
empty terms anymore == by virtue of being a subject in society you have the ability of
creating waves of politics around you — a dissensus isn’t a conflict of interest ; its a dispute
about what is given - it is not merely a confrontation or a bad thing ; it is actually made into a
divisive too (dissent) in our common sense it has been perepatured that it is a division — its a
dispute abut what is given, the content is given like the constitution, but do we see the
constitution as something given to us or something that is our inherent right¿ imp to see the
distinction — when we get something there is burden, Ehsaan, favour - but right empowers
you to question it, reclaim it -dissent is this
• - because of the NGO culture we see it is much more rigid and focused on the development
framework - we see that the civil society of the 90s was more about lobbying, paperwork -
this isn’t something that was happening in pak, pak caught on this trend —
• There was a lot of money coming in — kHan doesn’t go into how the money was misspent
- a lot of money was wasted, a lot of corruption did happen - because this was a newer
trend, not just women but people who were learning on the job, the whole audit system was
so alien, a lot of money was overestimated, miscalculated and wasted on things like
conferences -
But can money solve all our problems? If you dont have the pol/social will to invest the
capital in the people - not just about money but the policies that are being enforced that are
supporting those budgetary ideas
• But just cause rights are given on paper doesn’t mean they are being implemented
• In Pakistan there is a serious problem of implementation

• That’s something that can be addressed through the development framework
• Amartya Sen imp for bringing forth idea of development as freedom = development is not
just quantifiable for what the GDP is, but also about having the choice to decide what you
want to do with your life, or having the choice to put yourself in certain social/physicla
spaces
• Development as freedom is a very revolutionary idea - agency and the idea of that agency
• And also the capabilities approach ; building capabilities of people rather than building on
this blind development of their skills
• Civil society is not just one manifestation or facet or limited to one facet like NGOs or
workings on the ground - it is also literary and artistic which soldifies the narrative to
solidify political dissent
Poetry is the way to promote a counter narrative or counter hegemony to what the state
narrative is being promoted as , similarly poetry is a public experience for the subcontinent- it
is as needed as coming on the streets - cause art being produced is reflective of that particular
time

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Q2- How can we mainstream and spread information on progressive legislative interventions like

their broader social and cultural position.40

medical tests based on hormones

nstitutional, and religious recognition.

Human Rights and Transgender People in Pakistan

• We have gone thru legislative interventions

• This is detrimental to introducing any law in society == implementation

• Transgender Safe houses and

The mechanism of grievance addressal at NCHR, NCSW and Federal

While the right of inheritance is given to transgender community it follows

There must be reserved seats for transgender community to mainstream them

Also, HIV which is prevalent in 7.1% of transgender of the country is not

iv. Provincial Level legislation for Transgender community

(a) In the legislation of a State Party; or

Interpreting Islam and Women's

An important culmination of their combined efforts occurred on 8 March 2002, International

can do the same things;

In this moment of globalisation where nothing is happening in isolation - we need to see

• This is what women’s rights and feminism needs in Pakistan

• We need to talk to those communities to understand what their problems are

• The process is there, but the political will is absent

• Many articles in Pakistan’s constitution seeking to protect women’s rights - despite

Class & Gender in School Texts

- Painting, poetry and journalism important to produce a counter-hegemonic discourse

ACTIVISM CHANGES FORM

• In Pakistan there is a serious problem of implementation

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