EmbraceEquity
INTERNATIONAL Women’s Day celebrates the achievements of women in their battle for gender equality; of course, every society on account of its unique history is at a different point in that quest. Nor is there always linear progression in this struggle. In our own neighbourhood, Afghan women’s rights have waxed and waned over the years; at present, the violently misogynistic Taliban regime is trampling on the gains they made during the two decades preceding. Across the world as well, the trend is rather disheartening. According to a new World Bank report, the global pace of reforms towards equal treatment of women under the law has fallen to a 20-year low, with only 34 gender-related legal reforms recorded across 18 countries — the least since 2001. At the current rate, women in many countries entering the workforce today will retire without gaining the same rights as men. Essentially, the game of catch-up for them will never end. In a speech on Monday, the UN secretary general said the goal of gender equality will take 300 years to achieve.
Encouragingly however, as per the World Bank report, Pakistan registered a higher score this year because it enacted legal reforms in the entrepreneurship sector that enable women to register a business in the same way as men. Specifically, since December 2021, a married woman no longer needs to present her husband’s name in order to register a business. Such changes of course augment a woman’s agency, which has a salutary ripple effect on many other aspects of her life, and they deserve to be lauded. At the same time, this is where the relevance of this year’s theme of International Women’s Day, #EmbraceEquity comes in. Equal opportunities alone aren’t enough to raise women’s status, because each woman starts at a different place. For females in a patriarchal society, day-to-day challenges hamper their ability to be productive citizens, let alone be in a position to start a business. Domestic violence, underage marriage, sexual harassment in the workplace, restrictions on choice of career or having a career at all — these are some of the issues that prevent many females in Pakistan from reaching their full potential. To address these gaps, equitable measures must be taken to provide a level playing field. These include implementation of pro-women laws, expansion of financial access for women, provision of safe public transport, etc.
Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2023
Judging judges
AS the judiciary finds itself getting pulled into the political maelstrom, a former top judge has returned to news headlines, more than three years after his retirement.
Facing relentless criticism from the PML-N top brass, which accuses him of favouring the PTI and its chairman, retired chief justice Saqib Nisar sought to defend his legacy in a recent interview to Dawn News.
In the interview, Mr Nisar pushed back, claiming that Mr Sharif once referred to him as “our chief” before he was appointed top judge. He described Mr Sharif as “a favourite of the courts [himself]”, claiming that the PML-N chief had “always gotten relief from the courts” in all but one case. Dismissing criticism of his judgements which are seen as favouring the PTI, the former chief justice insisted they were grounded in the law.
Mr Nisar also rubbished accusations that he was manipulated by the former ISI chief, retired Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed, asking, “who was he to pressure me?” Mr Nisar also clarified that he had never given a blanket ‘sadiq and ameen’ certification to Mr Khan, and that his judgement was only in reference to three separate charges levelled against the PTI chief.
Importantly, he conceded that he may have made errors in his judgements as he was “only human”, though he stopped short of mentioning which judgements he was referring to. The last, in particular, was a startling admission coming from a past chief justice.
It may be recalled that though Mr Nisar himself had not been part of the Panamagate bench that disqualified Nawaz Sharif, he did author several equally important judgements, including the one setting a lifetime bar on politicians disqualified under Article 62(1)(f) and the one disqualifying Mr Sharif from being party head after to the Panamagate verdict.
Mr Nisar’s court had earned a reputation for initiating suo motu cases, and as chief justice, he was criticised for routinely going out of his ambit to make surprise visits to hospitals and jails, and for initiating the dam fund.
During his tenure, the PML-N saw disqualifications, criminal convictions and even contempt proceedings against its leaders. It was also frustrated repeatedly as it sought to secure relief for its senior leadership. For the man who exercised sweeping powers at the time to now excuse himself as ‘merely human’ does not seem enough.
The PML-N considers itself justified in seeking greater accountability for Mr Nisar’s tenure, during which it seemed as if the judiciary was on a crusade against the party.
Though its demand and expectation that the PTI now be subjected to the same treatment are highly problematic, the N-league does deserve a thorough review of the judgements it was made to suffer and which dealt it great political damage over the past years.
Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2023