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Women Law and
Status Programme
Ten
years of grassroots work by Shirkat Gah’s Women Law and Status indicate
that a major obstacle to women’s empowerment is local customs and
practices that deny them rights to which they are entitled under state
laws, especially in terms of personal status matters and fundamental
civil liberties. Additionally, as in most Muslim countries and communities,
a widespread misconception amongst people is that their local customs
and practices are in keeping with – even sanctioned by – religion,
including practices that blatantly contradict religious injunctions.
This misconception is bolstered by ignorance about (1) customary practices
differ from one area to another within and between provinces, and
(2) how laws said to be ‘Islamic’ in fact differ – sometimes radically
– from one Muslim community/country to another, (3) ignorance amongst
both men and women about the provisions of state laws.
Years
of experience show that while people adhere to traditions, they give
importance to state laws. Consequently, while isolation and ignorance
prevent actions for positive change, when armed with information about
state provisions and linked to support mechanisms, people change their
practices and attitudes more quickly than could be supposed. An important
key to empowering women (and their communities) is to inform them
about their entitlements under state laws. Unlocking women’s agency
domestically also requires actions to counter the notion of one homogenous
Muslim world deliberately promoted by conservative political elements
to further their own political agendas.
Shirkat Gah’s Women Law and Status programme (WLS) addresses the obstacles
to women’s rights in Pakistan and internationally. Domestically, WLS
addresses women’s strategic needs by engaging with decision-makers
at the provincial and national level to bring about better laws and
policies and to improve implementation of existing rights and programmes.
It addresses women’s practical needs by: informing women (and men)
about existing rights, building local capacity and resource institutions
to access rights, linking individuals and groups with support institutions
and with each other, and providing legal assistance and solidarity
interventions in a limited number of cases. Building civil society
initiatives is essential: at the grassroots, CSOs facilitate women’s
practical needs, at the national level CSO initiatives are key components
for legal and policy reforms.
WLS
is the Asia Regional Coordination Office of the international solidarity
network Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) that links women in
some 77 countries. As the RCO WLS endeavours to overturn the notion
that laws and rules said to be ‘Muslim’ are divine, supports local
women’s initiatives in Muslim countries and communities and links
these to each other and to the global women’s movement; and undertakes
a limited number of solidarity cases where women’s rights are threatened.
Promoting
an international, regional and domestic environment conducive to women’s
rights is critical. WLS effectively uses and creates opportunities
to promote the WLUML and WLS perspectives in UN, intergovernmental
and civil society initiatives.
Legal
Assistance and Counseling:
Started in 1996, Shirkat Gah’s
legal aid and counseling component provides free legal support
to women whose rights are denied or threatened. This programme
aims at facilitating women through court cases, advice and also
links women with other supporting institutions and networks.
SG’s legal assistance activities find their roots in the
expansion of the outreach programme that eventually led to an idea that while awareness raising and promotion of
legal consciousness were independently useful activities, their
effectiveness remained inconspicuous if people were unable to
access the formal legal system due to resource constraints.
When dealing with women, Shirkat Gah adopts a holistic approach
that goes beyond the normative conception of legal aid
programmes that focus on formal legal redress mechanisms to the
exclusion of all other options. Shirkat Gah, on the other hand,
adopts a more socially nuanced approach giving a lot of
importance to human rights perspectives. Therefore, in addition
to assisting women in court cases, Shirkat Gah also looks into
possibilities for reconciliation and other appropriate
interventions, when the women so desires, with a particular view
to ensure justice and due rights for woman. Our program staff is
particularly concerned with informed choice and ensuring that
women seeking legal aid are aware of all the options available
to them and their potential consequences. This ensures that
women are fully engaged in the redress process.
The legal assistance programme has expanded in the recent years
to include major out reach areas in Punjab, Sindh and NWFP,
where SG has its offices or works with partner organizations and
networks of active lawyers.
Outreach Programme
When the WLS Outreach was launched in 1994, there were few
signposts to guide its development and from the start, the
Outreach has emphasised a participatory approach, flexibility
and responsiveness to community needs.
The Outreach focuses on building the capacity of community-based
organisations (CBOs) as actors best positioned to understand the
needs of their own communities, to devise and implement
appropriate strategies to address these, and to be a constant
and immediate source of support to their communities. Raising
awareness amongst women and communities, the Outreach addresses
local issues prioritized by the respective CBO. Hence the WLS
Outreach has been shaped as much by the input and active
participation of CBOs and community members as by the experience
and inputs of the SG team.
Main Activities
Over the years, the Outreach has
evolved the following main activities:
-
promoting a
rights-based perspective, providing women and CBOs knowledge
about existing legal provisions, rights under these and the
skills needed to access them;
-
helping
women understand the differences and contradictions between
statutory provisions and the customs more commonly applied to
them;
-
building capacity to understand the options under law and
informal systems;
-
providing
women the linkages and support mechanisms they need to act
upon their informed choices;
-
strengthening
the capacity of local groups to intervene to alter the status
quo both locally and nationally.
Main Features of the Outreach
Programme
The WLS Outreach works closely
with approximately 30-40 groups each year in Sindh, Punjab,
North West Frontier Province and Balochistan. Though the
priority is women’s groups, other groups that focus on women are
also included.
Building Understanding
-
As a first
step, publications and information relevant to communities’
needs are disseminated to share Shirkat Gah’s perspective and
to stimulate discussion on women’s concerns in the area.
-
Subsequent visits to CBOs at
their sites and meetings at SG premises enable more in-depth
dialogue on issues. These initial meetings and discussions
shape the future relationship between SG and the CBO. With
time, discussions become far more centred on the WLS core
programme.
Capacity Building
Under its legal consciousness initiative,
-
SG
conducts short Legal Awareness (LA) sessions with communities
and CBOs on topics mutually agreed upon. LA sessions discuss
women’s rights and address the local legal and social issues
women face. Sessions also provide a
forum to discuss the judicial systems, state authorities and
informal institutions, and mechanisms for approaching them.
A constant theme is women’s rights
in the family and how to fill in the marriage contract,
especially clauses to ensure rights. LA sessions have led to a
considerable increase in the number of marriage contracts
being filled in and registered and increased number of
contracts specifying clauses to guarantee women particular
rights and additional protection in the marriage.
-
Every
alternate year, WLS conducts a 40-day Paralegal
Training. The Paralegal Training imparts legal information
but, in addition, critically reviews the legal system from the
perspective of rights, social justice and development. (see
box)
Trained
paralegals
-
provide
advice and assistance on law and human rights;
-
are a source
of support and facilitation between community members and
lawyers and/or state authorities;
-
mediate/facilitate women’s cases in traditional forums of
adjudication; and
-
act as
mediators in local issues/disputes amongst community members.
-
Similarly, with strengthened capacity in addressing legal and
social issues, CBOs undertake mediation and intervention in
their own communities and area of work in individual women’s
cases and actively participate in the local formal and
non-formal support and adjudication systems.
-
When needed,
CBOs refer legal cases to SG and/or seek assistance in
resolving family disputes and problems and in interventions in
the local non-formal decision making forums such as
panchayats, landlords and jirgas.
-
A wide range of materials are produced for
training and awareness building especially geared towards
building the capacity of CBOs - illustrated posters and
booklets, pamphlets and primers. These publications
complement the WLS trainings and provide information and
back-up tools for CBOs’ own outreach activities. Training
tools and advocacy publications are also useful resource
material for all CBOs and NGOs involved in similar work.
Shirkat Gah’s publication Women, Law and Society: A Manual
for NGOs is part of this programme. Regular publications
include a quarterly newsletter.
Advocacy Campaigns
The Outreach
Programme actively engages in campaigns and initiatives on
rights issues with CBOs. An important part of the Outreach’s
advocacy is community mobilisation on policies. A conscious
effort is made to ensure that linkages function in two
directions. Equally bringing the communities’ voices to the
policy makers so as to broaden the national agenda and linking
the Outreach CBOs to the issues being discussed or passed at the
policy level, both national and international and linking groups
with all on-going national campaigns.
Over the years, the Outreach has facilitated the active input of
CBOs and communities into national commissions and law reform
initiatives and CBOs have become an important force in the peace
movement and campaigns on violence against women and
constitutional amendments.
At the same time, CBOs have taken international advocacy
campaigns to the grassroots. These include the 16 Days of
Activism on violence against women, nuclear armament, and the
5-year review of the Beijing Platform for Action. They have
mobilised their own outreach areas and communities and linked
these initiatives to local concerns and activism for change.
Support Linkages
The Outreach
provides linkages to CBOs without direct access to organisations
working on other issues such as health, environment, adult
literacy, income generation, street theatre, etc. It regularly
informs groups about available training and services offered by
others. Where appropriate, it provides service and support
organisations with lists of groups that could benefit from their
programmes.
Organisational Development
On a responsive basis, the Outreach facilitates the
organisational development and advocacy initiatives of CBOs by
providing both formal and informal training and advice, as well
as regular interaction and networking.
Paralegal Training Modules
Shirkat Gah, Lahore
68-Tipu Block, New Garden Town, Lahore.
Ph.5838815, 5836554 Fax.5860185
e-mail:
sgah@sgah.org.pk
Shirkat
Gah, Karachi
Flat # A-2, 2nd Floor
Parin Lodge Apartment
Bath Island Road, Karachi
Tel: 092-21-5831140 & 5830563
e-mail:
Shirkat@cyber.net.pk &
sgrh@cyber.net.pk
Shirkat Gah, Peshawar
House No. 98-E (C)
Abdara Road
University Town, Peshawar
Tel: 092-91-5703567
fax: 092-91-854702
e-mail:
sgpesh@psh.paknet.com.pk
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