Basics Right Sector

Basic Rights Sector

The society in N.W.F.P is instinctively motivated by the Pathan traditions where the being of woman is sacrificed on the name of Pathan ghairat and izzat (honour and dignity) and the child is viewed as a tool in the hands of elders and lives its life un-consciously in obedience to the will and choice of the elders. Domestic violence and physical abuse, which include rape, acid throwing, burning, and "honor" killings is widespread in Pakistan . Acid-throwing is on the increase. "Honor" killings continue to be reported daily. Forced marriage of young girls continues to be reported and while slavery is illegal in Pakistan , girls and women continue to be traded to settle debts or conflicts.

 Swara means a female rider, but in traditional terminology it refers to a girl given over to the aggreived family as compensation for blood. Swara, the female rider, figuratively refers to the girl that is given/taken in compensation for a murder or in case of kidnapping of a woman which genrally called the one given away in feudal conditon. In Pathan society, especially in District Swabi, due to the tradition of swara, an innocent girl has to bear the brunt of a crime she never committed. She has to face psychological and mental toruture. More agonising is the fact that she has to live in this bleak scenario till the end of her life. Swara is against the fundamental human rights as the consent or will of the girl is never sought. Swara has played havoce with the lives of the women residing in the area. One can easily assess that Human Rights situation is in the doldrums over here. Women are deliberately kept ignorant of their legal rights and various myths are followed to suit the ulterior motives of a chauvinist society. In such a tyrannical and oppressive situation, they don’t have the courage to speak a word against the norms of such a wretched society. If any one of them resists, she has to face dire consequences. The history of the area shows, widspread women’s rights violation in the Name of Swara and honor, where women and young girls are killed and eliminated with no shame and remorse.

  The status of children is also miserable. Economic and social deprivations, coupled with rising physical and sexual abuse, constitute the most serious threats to children. The absence of public policies to alleviate these problems means a majority of children remain unable to access basic rights, including the right to sufficient food, shelter, education, safe water or medical care.

The pathetic condition requires time and resources to be properly addressed. The following methodologies and activities are being utilized to educate the masses in fundamental human rights in general and the rights of women and children in particular.

 q     Focus Group Discussions: SESWA’s Basic Rights Sector in collaboration with various CBOs and NGOs conduct FGDs at the village, Tehsil and District level regarding the women and children issues in which people from all walks of life are invited. FGDs are also conducted regarding other issues like the farmers’ issues, human rights violation issues and bringing religious harmony.

q     Development of information, education and Communication (IEC) materials and dissemination: Themes are developed related to women and children particularly about the torture and violence against them. Relevant secondary data, case studies and other information like interviews and dialogues etc are collected in support of themes identified and stickers, brochures and pamphlets are developed and widely disseminated.

 q     Establishing Resource Center for pool of information: - Resource center has been established at the HRD Center SESWA that pools the information related to the rights of women and children. Various law books, international instruments, case studies and relevant data are available. The Center is free for all.  

 q     Media involvement:  We have strong relations with the media people. They are invited in various programs organized by the organization. Human rights violation cases and the news regarding our day-to-day programs are regularly published in provincial and national newspapers. Moreover, visits are also arranged for them to collect information in our target area.

 q     Holding of seminars and workshops etc: The section tries to conduct seminars and workshops etc. for the target groups. Up till now, we have conducted workshops and seminars for the doctors, schools teachers, religious leaders, children, women, and farmers. The following topics were discussed during the programs; corporal punishment at the school level, children rights and the various kind of abuses against them and women development etc.

q     Action Forum: - The sector has constituted an Action Forum which is consisting of two members from the village Jirga, two members from the Union Council Shewa and two members from the Basic Rights Sector. The Forum continuously tries to take steps for religious harmony, tolerance in the society and reconciliation in case of differences and conflicts between clans and families.

 q     Capacity building programs for the General members, members from the affiliated VOs and female members: Keeping in view the importance of the issues, the section has organized trainings for its general members (Both male & female), affiliated VOs, UC’s members and members from the Islahi Jirga;

ü    Basic human rights, particularly of women and children

ü    Legal rights in the light of international law

ü    Legal rights ensured in the Constitution of Pakistan 1973

ü    Discriminatory law concerning women and children in Pakistan

ü    Gender, power and conflict in social transformation

ü    Main causes of the torture and violence against women and children

ü    Effective and efficient community-based –monitoring mechanism to watch torture and violations of women and children rights

ü    Special measures for facilitating women and children to easily access justice

ü    Labor laws in force in Pakistan

ü    Corporal punishment at the schools’ level and the causes behind