Pakistan

Citation:

Wu, Joyce. 2011. “From Benevolent Patriarchy to Gender Transformation: A Case Study of Pakistan’s ‘We Can End Violence against Women’ Program.” In Men and Masculinities Around the World: Transforming Men’s Practices, 219–31. New York: Palgrave Macmillan US.

Author: Joyce Wu

Annotation:

"Ending violence against women and promoting gender equality have long been on the agenda of Pakistani women and human rights activists. In Pakistan and many other developing countries, initiatives that engage with men from a profeminist framework is a relatively new concept, and more or less in sync with the shifting trend of the international development field, which has moved away from a Women in Development (WID) approach to a Gender and Development (GAD) (Lang 2003, 2; Flood 2004, 43-44). In summary, GAD focuses on institutional changes and the examination of gender roles and norms in relation to social divisions, as well as gender-mainstreaming in institutions, and a greater focus on men's role in contributing toward gender equality. In this context, the focus on engaging with men and boys to end violence against women (VAW) is becoming more readily accepted by international donors and partner organizations. Due to the security and humanitarian circumstances in Pakistan, international donors and NGOs have mainly prioritized disaster relief and reconstruction, though there has been an increase in projects that focus on men's behavioral change and ending violence against women [...] In this article, I will first examine the challenges faced by NGOs when engaging with local communities – especially men and boys – on the issue of violence against women in Pakistan. I will then provide the case study of Oxfam Great Britain's regional program, We Can End Violence against Women (referred as "We Can"), which engages with both men and women in local communities. Through We Can, I will illustrate the challenges of working with men and boys, as well as highlight the innovative approaches used to change the dominant norms at both personal and societal levels in Pakistan (Wu, 2011: 219-20)."

Topics: Civil Society, Gender, Women, Men, Gender-Based Violence, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Sexual Violence, SV against Women, Violence Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Pakistan

Year: 2011

Citation:

Zulfiqar, Ghazal. 2016. “Does Microfinance Enhance Gender Equity in Access to Finance? Evidence from Pakistan.” Feminist Economics, 1–26. doi:10.1080/13545701.2016.1193213.

Author: Ghazal Zulfiqar

Abstract:

This paper descriptively analyzes longitudinal microfinance outreach numbers and interview data from 140 practitioners and borrowers in Pakistan to examine whether the claim that microfinance enhances gender equity in access to finance can be substantiated. This assertion has recently replaced the more ambitious contention that microfinance has an empowering impact on women. The paper argues that this shift has occurred because of increased commercialization at the global level and authoritative assessments against the empowerment claim. The study further considers whether the frame of competing logics from institutional theory can explain the case of the Pakistani microfinance sector, in which, as shown here, commercialized microfinance has actually led to a rise in gender inequalities in access to finance. The paper attributes this rise to the inability of the Pakistani microfinance sector to reconcile the competing logics of development and banking.

Keywords: microfinance, gender inequality, institutional analysis

Topics: Development, Economies, Economic Inequality, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Pakistan

Year: 2016

Citation:

Khan, Shahnaz. 2009. “Floating on Silent Waters: Religion, Nationalism, and Dislocated Women in Khamosh Pani.” Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism 9 (2): 130–52.

Author: Shahnaz Khan

Abstract:

Drawing upon the cinematic narrative of the internationally acclaimed film Khamosh Pani, I relocate the issues it raises within a wider discussion about the gendered nature of conflict between religious communities during the chaos of the 1947 Partition of British India into India and Pakistan. I explore the ways in which state-sponsored Islam in Pakistan impacts the protagonist Ay esha and her son Salim. Further, I explore how the violence o/Partition as well as continued violence between Hindus and Muslims is remembered cinematically by Bombay cinema, the dominant cultural institution in the region. Finally, I interrogate Khamosh Pani's reception in India and speculate how it might influence the social constructions of Muslims in South Asia and elsewhere.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Religion, Violence Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India, Pakistan

Year: 2009

Citation:

Drolet, Julie, Lena Dominelli, Margaret Alston, Robin Ersing, Golam Mathbor, and Haorui Wu. 2015. “Women Rebuilding Lives Post-Disaster: Innovative Community Practices for Building Resilience and Promoting Sustainable Development.” Gender & Development 23 (3): 433–48.

Authors: Julie Drolet, Lena Dominelli, Margaret Alston, Robin Ersing, Golam Mathbor, Haorui Wu

Abstract:

Disasters result in devastating human, economic, and environmental effects. The paper highlights women's active participation in community-based disaster recovery efforts drawing from the results of the ‘Rebuilding Lives Post-disaster: Innovative Community Practices for Sustainable Development’ by an international research partnership. Two case studies are presented from Pakistan and the USA to demonstrate how women contribute to building resilience and promoting sustainable development in diverse post-disaster contexts. The policy and practice implications are relevant for discussions regarding the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals and framework.

Keywords: disaster, recovery, Gender, partnership, resilience

Topics: Development, Gender, Women, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Regions: Americas, North America, Asia, South Asia Countries: Pakistan, United States of America

Year: 2015

Citation:

Hamilton, Jennifer Parker, and Sarah J. Halvorson. 2007. “The 2005 Kashmir Earthquake: A Perspective on Women’s Experiences.” Mountain Research and Development 27 (4): 296–301.

Authors: Jennifer Parker Hamilton, Sarah J. Halvorson

Abstract:

The 2005 Kashmir Earthquake is illustrative of the intensity and scope associated with catastrophic earthquake disasters in mountainous regions. The experience of the immediate aftermath, relief and recovery, and community reconstruction underscores how this event impacted mountain women, particularly in their roles in rescue and relief efforts and in rebuilding households and communities. A situational analysis was undertaken in order to document and make recommendations for the significant challenges and concerns facing women earthquake survivors in 3 of the valleys most proximate to the epicenter. Earthquake planning and mitigation strategies in northern Pakistan and elsewhere need to focus on reducing women's vulnerability and increasing their resilience, while fostering feasible interventions to reduce disaster risk across the population. We propose that the main elements should include pre-disaster vulnerability assessments; the support of women's access to resources and science-based earthquake education; active roles for women in relief, rehabilitation, and rebuilding efforts; and gender training among all disaster relief and emergency services.

Topics: Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Gender Balance, Gender Mainstreaming Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India, Pakistan

Year: 2007

Citation:

Schultz, C. M. 1994. "Promoting Economic Self-Reliance: A Case Study of Afghan Refugee Women in Pakistan." Journal of International Affairs 47 (2): 557.

Author: C. M. Schultz

Abstract:

"Presents a case study of Afghan refugee women in Pakistan. Approximates number of refugees in the world and percentage of whom are women and children; discusses how the majority of refugee women are the heads of their households, responsible for providing basic needs for their families while in exile and seeking durable solutions, despite facing many problems with limited options; Evaluation of the progress made in promoting economic self-sufficiency for refugee women." -Ebscohost

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Gender, Women Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan

Year: 1994

Citation:

Das, Runa. 2010. “Colonial Legacies, Post-Colonial (In)securities, and Gender(ed) Representations in South Asia’s Nuclear Policies.” Social Identities 16 (6): 717–40.

Author: Runa Das

Abstract:

Through a comparative study of India and Pakistan's national security discourses, this article explores the linkages between post-colonial India and Pakistan's nationalist/communalist identities, configurations of masculinities, and gendered representations underpinning their nuclear (in)securities. This paper contends that the colonial politics of place-making in the sub-continent has not only inscribed a process of ‘othering’ between these states but has also facilitated the rise of divergent visions of post-colonial nationalisms, which, at each of their phases and with particular configurations of masculinities, have used women's bodies to re-map India-Pakistan's borders and national (in)securities. This article particularly draws attention to a new form of gendered manipulation in South Asian politics in the late 1990s, whereby both states, embedded in colonial notions of religious/cultural masculinities, have relied on discourses of Hindu/Indian and Muslim/Pakistani women's violence and protection from the ‘other’ to pursue aggressive policies of nuclearization. It is at this conjectural moment of a Hinduicized and Islamicized nationalism (flamed by the contestations of a Hindu versus an Islamic masculinity) that one needs to provide a feminist re-interpretation of India-Pakistan's nationalist identities, gendered imaginaries, and their re-articulation of national (in)securities – that represents a religious/gendered ‘otherness’ in South Asia's nuclear policies.

Keywords: nationalism, communalism, Gender, representations, nuclear insecurity, South Asian politics

Topics: Coloniality/Post-Coloniality, Gender, Masculinity/ies, Gender Roles, Gender Analysis, Femininity/ies, Gendered Discourses, Gendered Power Relations Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India, Pakistan

Year: 2010

Citation:

Author: Rounaq Jahan

Abstract:

This article traces the role of women in the corrupt political sphere of South Asia. While women's participation in politics may be analysed in many ways, this article will concentrate on three major issues: women in leadership, women in mainstream politics, and the new women's movement as an alternative to the mainstream. Data and examples are drawn primarily from the four South Asian countries where women have achieved leadership positions in the last few decades: India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Topics: Civil Society, Corruption, Gender, Women, Political Participation Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka

Year: 1987

Citation:

Critelli, Filomena M., and Jennifer Willett. 2012. “Struggle and Hope: Challenging Gender Violence in Pakistan.” Critical Sociology, 1–21. doi:10.1177/0896920512438780.

Authors: Filomena M. Critelli, Jennifer Willett

Abstract:

Keywords: gender violence, Pakistan, political fields, transnational feminism, women's rights

Topics: Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Rights, Women's Rights, Terrorism, Violence Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Pakistan

Year: 2012

Citation:

Author: Siobhán Mullally

Abstract:

The adoption in 2000 of Security Council Resolution 1325 has rightly been described as a watershed moment. Not only does this resolution recognize women as potentially vulnerable in times of conflict, it specifically, and importantly, recognizes women as political actors, as agents in peace processes and as key stakeholders in peace-building. More than a decade after its adoption, however, questions remain as to whether 'gender security' is an elusive goal in conflict and post-conflict situations. There is little to suggest that Resolution 1325 has heralded the kind of transformative change that was hoped for by many, and the challenges of effective implementation continue to arise. There is also the question of compromise in the negotiation of peace agreements and in post-conflict reconstruction. Nationalist sentiment, frequently reinforced by religious and cultural claims, all too often turns on questions relating to sexuality, gendered identities, roles and status. In times of crisis, in fragile states, women and girls become the repository of tradition, and gender identities become the markers of national and group identities, often presumed central to a process of nation-building. In the context of ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the challenges in ensuring that peace processes meet the requirements of Security Council Resolution 1325 are particularly acute. Over the last year, the possibility of 'talking to the Taliban' has repeatedly been raised. For women and girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the stakes are particularly high in any such negotiations. This article explores the position of women in Pakistan and the role that militant religious forces have played in limiting the potential of democratic transitions since the foundation of the state.

Topics: Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Security, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325 Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan

Year: 2011