{"id":6638,"date":"2016-12-11T05:53:25","date_gmt":"2016-12-11T05:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hrcp-web.org\/hrcpweb\/?p=6638"},"modified":"2021-12-17T05:54:55","modified_gmt":"2021-12-17T05:54:55","slug":"hrcp-event-notes-quotas-alone-will-not-empower-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrcp-web.org\/hrcpweb\/hrcp-event-notes-quotas-alone-will-not-empower-women\/","title":{"rendered":"HRCP event notes quotas alone will not empower women"},"content":{"rendered":"

Islamabad, December 11: As invaluable as affirmative action, including job quotas and reserved seats in the legislature, for women could be, empowerment for women was impossible in the absence of effective and across the board implementation of the quota regime and ensuring land rights for them.
\nThis was the consensus at a consultation organised by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on \u2018women\u2019s economic independence: quotas and land rights\u2019 here on Friday.
\nThe consultation was attended by former parliamentarians, lawyers and civil society activists, among others.
\nThe main suggestions and concerns voiced by the participants included the following:
\n\u00b7 Job quotas and reserved seats for women were a means to the end of women empowerment and not an end in themselves. It was important to address the roadblocks towards that goal.
\n\u00b7 The political parties had not backed women candidates on general seats. They had also failed to politically train female party workers. The civil society should step in order to provide the required training so that women workers perform better in elections.
\n\u00b7 Before the last general elections, all political parties had been implored to give tickets to women from winnable seats in the general assembly. Almost all political parties had opposed the proposal.
\n\u00b7 The presence and visibility of women in leadership positions was important to break the invisible ceiling not only in government jobs but also in the political and representation spheres.
\n\u00b7 There was no systematic evaluation mechanism to gauge how the quota regime was performing.
\n\u00b7 Civil society organisations needed to regularly communicate to parliament actionable points to ensure the implementation and oversight of the affirmative action regime. Follow up with parliament was also vital.
\n\u00b7 All parliamentary committees were now receiving petitions. Civil society organisations needed to make better use of the mechanisms with a view to ensure women\u2019s empowerment through affirmative action.
\n\u00b7 The national and provincial commissions on the status of women had an important role to play in terms of evaluation and oversight.
\n\u00b7 The question of women\u2019s land rights needed to be examined in the larger context of land reforms. Land was still the key to prestige in Pakistan, and denying women land-holding and a voice in panchayats and jirgas extenuated their exclusion.
\n\u00b7 Multiple levels of resistance and competing contests for land invariably meant that women\u2019s entitlement was pushed aside.
\n\u00b7 Land allocated to Haris should be given to couples, rather than the man heading the family, and also to female-headed families.
\n\u00b7 Women who were otherwise entitled and had indigenous knowledge of farming lacked access to land, while women who possessed land often had no such experience.
\n\u00b7 Marriage was used as a tool of governing land arrangements and girls were often not married to hang on to the family land.
\n\u00b7 Although formal justice system allowed women\u2019s access to land, the system based on social norms argued against such access. The state was expected to be more than a spectator in this context.<\/p>\n

I.A. Rehman
\nSecretary General<\/p>\n

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