A long road
International Women’s Day is being observed today, the time of year when women are celebrated for their invaluable contributions to societies around the world. It is also a time to acknowledge the stark challenges they face.
Globally, women in conflict zones, such as Gaza and Sudan face unspeakable hardships. They endure starvation, brutal hostility, sexual violence and severe health risks. Many — in both areas — are going into labour without medical aid or undergoing C-sections sans anaesthesia.
Closer to home, Pakistani women grapple with a spectrum of issues — from gender-based violence and inadequate healthcare to systemic barriers in education and employment. The incident in Lahore, where a woman narrowly escaped a frenzied mob looking to level a ‘blasphemy’ charge, and the brave intervention by a female police officer, highlights the urgent need for tolerance and legal reforms.
Despite these challenges, there are beacons of hope and success. Pakistani women like the shepherdess from Shimshal valley and the midwife providing care during floods represent the indomitable spirit of women facing adversity. They were featured on the BBC’s list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2023.
In addition, Forbes’ recognition of Pakistani businesswomen Shazia Syed and Shaista Asif showcases the potential of our women in leadership roles.
Moreover, Pakistan’s Aurat March reflects a powerful demand for rights and justice, echoing global feminist movements. This year it has demanded, among many things, rights for home-based workers, an end to gender-based violence, democratisation, safe housing for vulnerable groups, and urgent action against forced conversions and enforced disappearances.
As Pakistan celebrates its first female provincial chief minister, it is a reminder of the progress made and the journey ahead. The state must prioritise women’s safety, healthcare, education, and economic inclusion. Ensuring women’s rights and participation in all spheres of life is not just a moral imperative but also a necessity for Pakistan’s development.
This Women’s Day, let us commit to taking steps towards a future where gender equality is not an aspiration but a reality; a future where every woman can exercise her rights fully and contribute to progress without fear or favour. Let us ensure that next year, we have more reasons to celebrate and fewer to lament. The road to gender equality is long, but with collective action, a more equitable future is within reach.
Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2024
TTP threat
DURING a discussion in the Security Council on Wednesday, Pakistani Ambassador to the UN Munir Akram rightly observed that, left unchecked, the banned TTP could become “a global terrorist threat”. Considering the TTP’s links with Al Qaeda, and its blood-soaked campaign inside Pakistan, the world should be concerned about the group’s activities. Mr Akram added that it needed to be probed how the TTP could secure high-grade weapons, and from where it acquired its funds. He also asked the UNSC to endorse Pakistan’s demand that the Afghan Taliban cut their ties with the TTP. This demand is not new; Islamabad has publicly and privately, in subtle as well as stronger language, called upon Kabul to rein in the TTP. Pakistan’s calls have been met with a mixed response: there has been little action by the Afghan Taliban, though they have claimed they will not let their soil be used by anti-Pakistan militants. There are reports they have imprisoned some TTP fighters and shifted them away from the Pakistan border. But the attacks have not stopped.
What is needed from Kabul are solid steps, not half measures. Clamping down on the TTP, and then allowing them to wreak havoc in Pakistan will not work. At the UNSC meeting, Roza Otunbayeva, the secretary general’s special representative on Afghanistan, appeared to endorse Pakistan’s position, observing that “there are well-founded concerns over the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan”, while mentioning the TTP by name. Pakistan’s new government should implement a dual-track policy to neutralise the TTP threat. Firstly, it must keep channels with the Afghan Taliban open and continue to communicate its concerns about terrorist activity originating in Afghanistan. Secondly, Pakistan should cooperate with other states at the UN as well as regional blocs, such as the SCO, to make it clear to Kabul that hosting militants will end any chance of wider acceptance of the Afghan Taliban regime by the international community.
Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2024
Result tampering
THE botched conduct of the Feb 8 election continues to haunt the Election Commission of Pakistan. After failing to meet the legal deadline of Feb 22 to publish all Form 45s, the Commission finally released the documents on Tuesday, in the process triggering another storm of complaints regarding blatant and, in some instances, rather crude manipulation of electoral results.
The Form 45, which is a tally of all votes cast at a polling station for each of the contesting candidates, is the formal documentation of the first and most important step in the post-poll vote-counting exercise. A copy of it is supposed to be issued to the nominee of each candidate who witnesses the count of ballots. Since the result of an election is built on the consolidation of individual Form 45s issued by presiding officers from each polling station, the integrity of these forms is what ultimately legitimises the poll exercise.
In the case of the recent general election, many candidates had complained that the Form 45s they received from the presiding officers in their respective constituencies were showing very different results than those announced by the ECP after unlawful and as yet unexplained delays.
There were several rival candidates and even entire parties endorsing the PTI’s claim of victory on various seats based on the Form 45s collected by them, even though official results had declared some other candidate as the winner. Since the ECP’s copies of its Form 45s had not been shared till earlier this week, it was impossible to determine where exactly the official count and the Form 45s issued to candidates had deviated. The documents now released seem so full of inconsistencies and errors that they have bolstered the persistent allegations of widespread tampering with results and strengthened independent observers’ demands for a transparent audit of election results.
Where, on the one hand, the ECP insisted on rigid interpretations of election rules and laws to deny the PTI its bat and the Sunni Ittehad Council its share of reserved seats, it cannot expect the nation to look the other way when it comes to its own violations of legal deadlines and failure to explain the glaring anomalies in its announced results.
This duplicity cannot be condoned. Given how crudely vote counts have been overwritten in some of the Form 45s shared by the ECP, the Commission must explain why it considered it appropriate to announce winners and allocate seats based on seemingly tampered documents without conducting some kind of cross-checking first.
It must also organise an immediate, independent audit of the election results that have been contested, which all important stakeholders should be invited to witness. It will prove extremely difficult for the nation to move forward unless these disputes are resolved.
Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2024