Shirkat Gah has, over the years, made a significant contribution in the field of women's rights through various projects and programmes. Previous projects include Women Law and Status (WLS), Reproductive Health and Reproductive Rights (RHRR), Women and Sustainable Development (WSD) and Green Economics and Globalisation (GEG) initiative. At Shirkat Gah, 2008 commenced with the launch of the integrated, The Womens Empowerment and Social Justice Programme (WESJP).

Women's Empowerment and Social Justice Programme (WESJP)

The Women's Empowerment and Social Justice Programme takes Shirkat Gah’s vision forward and works with outreach partners across Pakistan.

Women have limited access and knowledge of the importance of obtaining identity and marriage documents, social, health, education and financial services in most geographical areas of Pakistan. Shirkat Gah works towards identifying and collaborating with outreach partners in each province of the country to address key legal, economic, livelihood, cultural taboos and attitudes and health-related issues affecting women in the rural and under developed parts of the country.

Focus

At Shirkat Gah, the Women’s Empowerment and Social Justice Programme’s (WESJP’s), thematic areas are:

Rights

Ensure knowledge about and access to rights, with a focus on family laws, violence against women, sexual and
reproductive health and rights, access to and control over resources, environmental rights.

Governance

Revise laws, policies and procedures to eliminate gender biases and discrimination by engaging with policy-makers, duty bearers and elected women representatives to ensure responsiveness; by building capacity of women and communities to claim their rights.

Livelihoods

Promote and facilitate access to and control over natural resources, women-led sustainable agriculture and livelihoods in the context of globalisation.

What We Do

• Shirkat conducts and supports various activities for creating awareness on issues and empowering individuals and organizations through advocacy, research, publications and interventions to work towards sustainable development.
• We advocate for the issues of women and their empowerment by lobbying with their local communities and duty bearers, policy makers, media, national and international civil society and development organizations.
• We build the capacities of local community based and civil society organizations (CBOs and CSOs) through research and awareness sessions on sexual and reproductive health (SRH), livelihoods, violence against women (VAW), environment and sustainable development (SD).
• We initiate, respond to, and circulate campaigns around human rights, good governance, legal reforms, livelihood and environmental issues.
• We conduct baseline research and exploratory visits to selected field sites.
• We conduct interventions to provide support to individuals in crisis, as well as advice and legal assistance through our own resources, and through our institutional and organizational associations.
• Based on our research and areas of intervention we develop numerous publications in English, Urdu and Sindhi which are circulated both nationally and globally. These include research findings, tools for training, awareness and a host of advocacy materials that include guides, manuals, posters, cartoon booklets, etc.
• We participate in numerous national, regional and international civil society coalitions, networks and alliances to benefit our focus areas, like the APWLD (Asia Pacific Forum on Women Law and Development), AWID (Association for Women’s Rights in Development) and the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).
• We use the United Nations system, and opportunities to contribute to the ICPD –’94 (International Conference on Population and Development), Beijing – ‘95, Millennium Development Goals and CEDAW (Convention on Elimination of all form of Discrimination against Women) processes in particular.

WESJP Highlights 2008-2010

In accordance with the objectives of the Women’s Empowerment and Social Justice Program (2008-2010), Shirkat Gah undertook a series of activities under different program areas with the following results:

Policy Recommendations and Input

• SG provided inputs/critique on the following issues: Domestic Violence Bill, Local Government System, Guidelines for Shelters (Punjab), Revised draft of NPA, 18th Amendment, National Population Health & Youth Policy, Review of current National Social Protection Strategy & Formulation of NSP Policy (Punjab), 10th Five year plan (inputs to working groups on Economy, Poverty and Gender), media advocacy on SRHR and  preliminary analyses of the implication of Federal Shariat Court judgement on women’s fundamental and legislative rights 

Increased Capacity of Women’s Groups Strengthened to Enable Women to Claim and Exercise their Rights.

• SG organised a total of 188 capacity building events in SG’s programme locations during the entire phase. There was an increase of 324% (18,888 women) in the number of  women acquiring relevant documents and access to schemes in SG intervention areas.

Capacities and Linkages Developed for Women Led Collective Initiative and Networks

• By end 2010, 10 women’s led initiatives were facilitated and 6 networks enabled to provide backstopping to member outreach partners:

• SG endorsed 9 funding proposal of CBOs to get funding from Global Fund and Urgent Action Fund.
• Models of Panchayat e Niswan (a community forum acting as a counsellor and as a mediater between different parties for disputes relating to women) was replicated in 7 new programme areas across all 4 provinces i.e.; Multan, Rajan Pur, Vehari, Swabi, Hyderabad, Usta Muhammad, Pano Aqil.
• Regularisation and expansion of Pakistan Reproductive Health Network was undertaken by developing guidelines and criterion for new chapters.
• Formation and support of Peasant Women’s Society, Punjab.
• National Networks maintained and strengthened:

Women in Need Assisted in Receiving Legal Aid and Support Services.

• 1003 people were assisted directly through the Programme’s legal aid and 3,484 women received other support services.
• The Programme has also built the capacity of Lawyers’ Network members to provide support and aid at the local levels.  SG conducted sessions with Lawyers’ Network on fact finding, mediation, court procedures and creating links between lawyers, legal aid seekers and governments; orientation sessions with legal help seekers on legal rights of women and court procedures and followed up on cases to resolve legal issues and ensure a women’s empowerment perspective in pending cases.

Advocacy

• By the end of 2010, altogether 39 solidarity actions were carried out
• SG organized/attended 5 capacity building/exchange events for women activists in Muslim context as part of the WLUML regional Coordinating Office. In addition to this, 2 Resource persons attended 2 WLUML linked events in Kabul and Morocco.
• One scoping paper on Women’s Land Rights was shared with WLUML’s WIPR advocacy project in which SG is a partner

Communication products

• 87 publications, advocacy material and 3 documentary films were produced under WESJP. 216315 copies of publications and advocacy materials (36,582 items) reached approx. 200361 people. 
• 34 percent increase for communication products over 2007 baseline which was 70,775
• In 2010, SG began the digitisation of the news clippings in its archives. Bibliographic information is available on SG’s website and full text can be obtained from the Documentation Centre.
• 14.8 % increase was shown during the years in utilisation of Documentation Centre
• A new web site was launched in April 2010. Visitors from April-December 2010 were 32,964.

SG Brokerage and Think -Tank Role in the Areas of Governance, Rights and Livelihoods Institutionalised. 

SG’s played a brokerage and think tank role in the areas of governance, rights and livelihoods during this phase through the following activities:

• For the 19th annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence campaign, SG directly reached 596 persons through various events.
• As member of Amman Ittehad – it gathered people’s perception of peace & security from 14 of its working areas for drawing up of the People’s Charter which was  publicly launched in March 2010.
• 6 conferences/colloquiums namely were organised/attended: Empowerment Concepts Policies & Ground Realities (2008), Forced Marriages (2009), Women, Religion and Politics (2010), National Consultations on “Violence Against Women – A Public Health Concern” (2008) and national conferences  Weaving Wisdom, Confronting Crisis and Forging Future (2009) and Beijing + 15 Review Meeting (2010).
• The launching ceremony of a documentary ‘An untold people’s history’ attended by 300  members of civil society organizations, peasant women from various Punjab districts, filmmakers, journalists and students, arranged by SG and HBS.

Research

Research as a key component for evidence based advocacy remained integral to the think tank role of SG. Key researches included:

• the position paper: Standardisation of Age of Marriage;
• Study on the Informal Economy and Women
• Ground Realities; (An analytical study of the Earth’s Biological Systems)
• The Great Agricultural Hoax: (A historical background of agricultural development)
• Financial Terrorism;
• ICPD+15 Investigating Barriers to Achieving Safe Motherhood; 
• Case Study of THQ Muridkay; 
• Degradation of Manchar Lake-A Case of Human Disaster;
• The Impact of Urban Construction on Women’s Livelihoods and on-going field based research on MDG5.

Humanitarian Response

In the face of unanticipated floods in 2010, SG responded to the humanitarian crisis despite this not being its main focus area. Responding to the urgent calls from its partners in the field (CBOs), SG mobilized and raised funds to conduct flood relief work in all 4 provinces of Pakistan. With a special focus on women’s needs, SG teams visited flood-affected areas and conducted:

• Quick assessments of immediate needs (particularly of women), and documented the number of households and pregnant women as a basis for further relief activity planning. 
• Arranged immediate two types of relief: food items and non-food items and medical aid through camps

SG flood relief work was in:

• Punjab (Muzaffargarh, Bhakkar, Rajanpur): total beneficiaries 22,000
• Sindh (Karachi, Shahdadkot, Thatta, Jamshoro): total beneficiaries 28,400
• Balochistan (Quetta, Jaffarabad) beneficiaries 3,000
• Khyber Pakhtunkhawa(Charsadda, Nowshera, Swat) beneficiaries 11,750

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Youth Outreach

Women Leadership Trainings- on “Gender and reproductive health and rights, Women's Rights in National and International Legal Instruments and Community Leadership Development for Women” for Punjab Youth Council.

Shirkat Gah organized 3 Women’s Leadership Trainings for 61 female student volunteers of Punjab Youth Council as part of their Youth Empowerment Workshops program. Under this program, participants from Punjab Youth Council also attended IT, and Media and Communications workshops. These female student volunteers represented different divisions of Punjab namely Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Gujranwala, Multan, Sargodha and Sahiwal.

The training workshops conducted in August 2011, focused on the following areas:

• Gender and reproductive health and rights,
• Women's rights in national and international legal instruments (including CEDAW, the Beijing Platform, Muslim Family Law Ordinance etc),
• Community leadership development for women.

International Advocacy

During the years 2008-2010, SG personnel participated in the following international events:

• As a panellist in the Global Maternal Health Conference on “Advocating to Influence Policies for Improved Women’s SRHR’ (New Delhi-India)
• Paper presentation on 'Culture as a tool in peace building’ in conference on Role of Cultural Relations in Addressing Conflict: re-establishing normality (Geneva-Switzerland)
• Paper presentation on “Converting Research Findings into Advocacy Materials” in MUSAWAH Global meeting in Kuala Lumpur
• Engagement with SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu as a WHRAP partner of Women to explore mechanisms for interacting/inputs at the SAARC level towards assessing progress on ICPD/MDGs
• As a participant in ARROW-led ICPD +15 Regional Review contributed Pakistan’s review study to the Regional Review publication for advocacy globally during ICPD+15 & B+15 processes. WESJP staff attended ICPD +15 and the back-to-back ESCAP Asia-Pacific High Level Forum on ICPD +15: Accelerating Progress towards the ICPD and Millennium Development Goals in Bangkok.
• Presentation delivered on "Harmful Cultural Practices and Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Rights” in the context of fundamentalisms at the Asia-Pacific NGO Consultation with the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women (VAW), organized by APWLD in Bangkok.

Local Outreach Partners

Shirkat Gah works with individuals, Community Based Organizations (CBO’s) and Civil Society Organizations (CSO’s) to extend its reach across various rural, urban, and suburban areas of Pakistan. Local outreach partners assist in appropriate execution and sustainability of Shirkat Gah’s efforts.

Sindh

• Aurat Development Organisation, (ADO), Nawabshah.
• Insaf Social Welfare Association, (ISWA), Shikarpur.
• Marvi Women Development Society, (MWDS), Sukkur.
• NGOs Development Society, (NDS), Shahdadkot.
• Pirbhat Women’s Development Society, (PWDS), Shahdadkot.
• Sindh Agricultural and Forestry Workers Coordinating Organisation, (SAFWCO), Sanghar.
• Sorath Samaji Tarqiyati Tanzeem, (SSTT), Hyderabad.

Balochistan

• SHADE Balochistan, (SHADE), Usta Mohammad
• Bashir Umrani, Dera Murad Jamali.
• Rural Educational Development & Welfare Organisation (REDWO), Loralai.
• Development Organisation for Community (DOC), Panjgur.
• Tooba Women Development Organisation, (TWDO), Jaffarabad
• Nissa Women Welfare and Social Development Organization, Usta Mohammad

Punjab

• Behbood-e-Niswan Network, (BNN), Faisalabad.
• Sarsabaz Foundation, Faisalabad
• Al-Wattn Forum, Gujranwala
• Al-Karim Foundation, Gujranwala
• Social Welfare and Community Development Society, (SWCDS), Vehari
• Sudhar Development Organisation (SDO), Vehari
• Social Youth Council of Patriots (SYCOP), Muzzafargarh
• Women Rural Development Organisation Sangtani (WRDO), Rajanpur
• Roshni Organisation, Multan
• Women Development Organisation (WADO), Multan
• Urban Mobilization for Education and Environment Development (UMEED), Lahore
• Shaheen Welfare Society, Nankana Sahib
• Swaani Saanjh (SS), Nankana Sahib
• Ittahad Foundation, Kasur

NWFP

• Samajee Behbood Rabita Council (SBRC), Swabi
• Swabi women welfare Society (SWWS), Swabi
• Community Development Organization (CDO), Malakand
• Swat Youth Front (SYF), Swat
• Women & Children Development Organization (WCDO), Charsadda
• Malakand Welfare Society (MWS), Malakand
• Tenzeem Nawjwanan -e- Lakary (TNL), Peshawar

Success Stories

In over 3 decades of Shirkat Gah’s existence, it has been the reason of a number of potential domestic issues to be averted due to awareness creation, capacity building and training sessions. It has also been the reason of a number of success stories at an individual and national level due to its research, advocacy, legal services and outreach.

Bina had suffered a lot of miscarriages and was often unwell, and this worried her husband and her. She had the opportunity to attend one of Shirkat Gah’s trainings on Reproductive Health (RH) where one of the topics discussed in this session was family planning. This enabled her to realize that she no longer had the health nor energy to produce more children, so she discussed the matter with her husband and mother-in-law but neither seemed to agree. Bina persisted and explained that since they had limited resources, she wanted to have a larger gap between her children so that they could have a better upbringing. Her husband finally agreed – She has been using family planning methods for 5 years and is living a happy and healthy life.

Tehmina’s* nikah was solemnized in a watta satta marriage when she was only 6 years old. Upon attaining adulthood Tehmina rejected that marriage and in retaliation, her brother’s wife left for her maternal home taking her children with her. She threatened not to return if Tehmina did not consummate the marriage to her brother. However, Tehmina’s brother supported her decision and told her not to get pressurized by his wife’s leaving him but her other brother attacked Tehmina and their mother with a knife - the women of the neighborhood came to their rescue and kept them safe. Tehmina filed a case for dissolution of marriage, but her in-laws got the local nazim on their side and put pressure on her for reconciliation. Her in-laws claimed that they had been given Tehmina’s hand in marriage and they had a right over her; they would take her home as their daughter-in-law even if it was only for one night. The nazim continued to avoid issuing Dissolution of Marriage certificate. With the help of a local organization - Social Welfare and Community Development Society - and Shirkat Gah’s legal consciousness sessions, Tehmina was finally successful in obtaining Dissolution of Marriage certificate. She is now pursuing her education.