"Women International Day" and VIOLATION OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN PAKISTAN

LAHORE: Mrs.Imran is a Women Human Rights Defender and Co-ordinator of LEAD,focusing on "The Project of Women Empowerment" in Pakistan .She is very energetic and active in the field of women rights,she had to face many hardships during her campaign for women rights.

"We have many challenges  about the violation of women rights in our country and our day to day challenges as being a minority in Pakistan",said Mrs. Imran. 

International women’s Day 2014 is being celebrated globally including Pakistan today on 7th March 2014 with the theme and object “Equality for women is progress for all”.

We know that women in Pakistan have been denied the equal rights  from the level of gender, economic, social, civil to political.In some places and families,women are denied not only the right to education, but also the right to decide issues relating to their marriage and divorce.Those who are being denied these rights are more likely to be deprived of the right to legal redress. Often the cases of such abuses are compounded: poor girls and women are trafficked and subject to forced marriage,forced conversion,rape, forced prostitution or exploitative work situations such as bonded labor. These deprivations are manifestations of discrimination against women and girls in Pakistan. 

FORCED MARRIAGES AND CONVERSION TO ISLAM

Many Christian and Hindu girls are raped by the Muslim people in Pakistan. Rape and abduction has been used as a  weapon against the Christian and other Religious minorities. Pakistan is a country where Christians and other Religious communities are treated as the most un-accepted elements of the society.To target girls and women of minorities become so pleasure full event for Fanatic Muslims.

Girls are particularly vulnerable to these types of crimes.They normally don’t file any police reports against such crimes; they usually kept silent because of the fear of honor and sometime fear from the culprits.

We often ignore abuses against children and religious minorities. Some institutions and Muslim groups have persecuted non-Muslims and abused the blasphemy law to oppress the minorities.Christians are also economically very poor and only two percent rape cases were reported and majority cases were never come on surface.

Asia Bibi, a Christian from Sheikhupura, who in 2010 became the first woman in the country's history to be sentenced to death for blasphemy, continued to languish in prison.
Two government officials who have spoken out on her behalf had been murdered  - including Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti.

Her criminal appeal number is 2509/10 ‘Mst Aasia Bibi vs The State’ and murder reference 614/10 ‘State Vs Mst Aasia Bibi w/o Ashiq’ is pending before the Lahore High Court division bench. 

"We have need to educate the women to save them from the misuse of blasphemy laws against them",told Mis.Sonia.

Mrs.Imran told that gender discrimination against women and harassment at workplaces is common in almost every sector.Women have to face a series of physical and verbal abuses every day on their way from their home to their workplace and back.Violence against women is a most urgent item of concern specially for Christian and we are going to start a training programme for women to have aware of their rights and personal security.

She added that violence and torture against women and girls—including rape,“honor” killings, acid attacks, domestic violence, and forced marriage—remained a serious problem. Intimidation and threats against women and girls out in public increased in major cities in 2013.

LEAD has mobilized a legal team to defend the women rights through courts and we know that we have to face threats,attacks regarding the work for the women rights.