She woke up with so much enthusiasm, anticipation, and joy. It was the day her dreams were going to be true. The fresh morning breeze was filled with excitement and essence of her dreams. She breathed the fresh air and felt relieved. It was the day she was going to graduate, it was her convocation ceremony. She chose her best dress to wear for the special day. She was ready, looking so beautiful and gorgeous as she had never looked before. She started revising the speech she was going to deliver as the highest achiever, the best student. She read it aloud in front of the mirror and felt confident. The last thanking words were for her parents and she would say these and surprise them in front of everyone. The most beautiful moment for her was just about to start.

She had already received so many job offers. She knew which one of them she was going to accept. She knew that she would become a lecturer. Meanwhile she would also work as a women’s rights activist. She would motivate her students to pursue their dreams. She always wanted to be a source of help and inspiration for others, particularly for girls who are in dire need of that. She was thankful to her parents because it was only possible because of them.

She was so excited that she was not able to have breakfast. Laughing and smiling, she along with her parents arrived at college. She was shivering with joy when she entered the great hall. The ceremony began, the chief guest arrived, and soon the degrees and gold medals were distributed to the position holders and then it was her turn. She was called to the stage in the chanting slogans of her class fellows and the claps of the audience. She gained strength and started her speech on the importance of women’s education and work. She added, “I am standing here because of my parents, they always stand by me, they make me believe in me, they make me feel that I can do the impossible, they are my backbone and whenever I fall down they make me stand.”

It was the most amazing day of her life. Her teachers congratulated her parents, they were so proud, she could tell by looking into their eyes.

They came back home, she was excited to tell her parents about the job offers and her future plans that she had in her mind for so long. As she approached her dad and mom, they told her how proud they are and that they had decided something for her for her own betterment. They told her that they have found someone for her, who is of her age and has a respectable job. They also said that he earned so much that she would never have to do a job and be stressed about monetary issues, he owned a house and have no family so he would be a perfect match. Her qualification matches best to his, and having him as her future husband will be so helpful for her. She was numbed with this shocking news; her feet were hard to move, she felt she could not breathe any more, she could not feel any joy any more, and the smell of the fresh air was gone. Her joyous tears were now replaced by tears of grief, and she found herself totally confused. She thought her parents were supporting her because it was her right to get education, not so that she could merely get married to some rich person. She thought her parents were with her because they wanted her to accomplish her dreams, but wait a second, they didn’t want her to do the job, and it was just to find the right match.

Why do girls have to meet such a fate? If you think that she did not deserve this, then why do you choose the same for your own daughters? Have you ever questioned that? Have you ever thought of her dreams, her desires, and her right to do what she wants? Education is the right of every human being – a girl or a boy. Most importantly a girl needs education for her self-esteem; so that she can recognize her potential and can distinguish between right and wrong.

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Sikander Ali

Like most of the crises in services delivery, the quality of health services delivery is far from keeping masses safe. Maternal health is one of such issues. The state has been making efforts to address this issue but they are meager and insufficient. Some commitments at national and international level have also been made in this regard to reduce maternal mortality and to provide better facilities. Millennium Development Goals (MDG) of United Nations is one such international commitment whereby Pakistan shows its concern in connection to maternal health and realizes the sensitivity of the subject. However recent figures of 2012 show that Pakistan is losing 276 women per 100,000 live births which needs to be reduced to 140 on per 100,000 by 2015. Along with that, the high fertility rate of 4.1 also needs to be reduced to 2.1 by 2015. Similarly if we categorically look at all four provinces, Balochistan would be found in alarming condition where 785 women per 100,000 live births perish during the childbirth. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa maternal mortality rate is 350 per 100,000 and in Punjab it is 259 per 100,000 live births, while Sindh is suffering from 314 deaths per 100,000 live births. This is no doubt a high number and requires immediate attention to save hundreds and thousands of lives each year.
There are multiple factors contributing in counting maternal mortalities, for instance lack of concern by the stakeholders, lack of awareness, political instability and so on. Unfortunately intentionally or unintentionally some fundamental causes behind issues such as maternal health are usually ignored. Gender role in a given society is one such fundamental obstacle to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

Gender is purely socially constructed whereby men and women are associated with fixed social roles and responsibilities. Over generation gender has evolved into a kind of ideology. According to it, men are responsible for outdoor duties while women are associated with indoor household chores and child bearing activities. In under developed societies such as Pakistan, socio-cultural, religious and moral norms prescribe women to remain under the control of men. Additionally, men having control over financial and social resources make decisions about the reproductive rights of women. Women are not supposed to decide regarding family planning, number of children and the use of contraceptives etc. High fertility, preference for son and early marriages add to the vulnerability of women leading them eventually to a slow death.
From early childhood, the conflict of respective gender roles discriminates against women. This discrimination is reinforced through the web of socio-cultural and religious institutions. Examples of such attitude can be observed in distribution of food, provision of education, health and differences in expectations associated with men and women.
Pakistan is also a signatory in other international treaties for ending violence against women and seeking gender justice. Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Beijing Platform for Action and Universal Declaration of Human Rights are a few major commitments. Apart of that, at national level the Article 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan reserves protection and equal rights for all citizens irrespective of class, race or sex. National Commission on the Status of Women has been established for the empowerment of women. Despite all these commitments, the reality is too obvious that it is not possible to meet the MDG standards of maternal health by 2015. There is an urgent need for public and private partnership in this regard, another objective prescribed by MDGs. We need grassroots support to tackle this issue. Educated men and opinion leaders could be helpful ally in this regard. They need to be sensitized about the severity of the issues with collective efforts of governmental and non-governmental institutions.

Sikander Ali is a young human rights activist and researcher currently working as a Research officer at Agha Khan University Karachi.

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The list is not at all exhaustive but just an overview to show the strength of the Pakistani woman.

Ameena Saiyid - for running the most prestigious publishing organization; for reviving reading habits and love for books among children and adults alike and for launching Pakistan’s biggest literature festival that is fast turning into a tradition!

Asma Jahangir - for obliterating the tycoons of corruption and misery in Pakistan and for giving a voice to countless women who had lost hope and meaning of life

Atiya Fyzee Rahamin - for being a leading patron of art, culture, music and literature and for being an accomplished artist and poet herself who chose to settle in Pakistan after partition at the request of Mr. Jinnah

Attiya Dawood - for writing bold and rebellious poetry highlighting the plight of women, discrimination they face at the hands of men in the society and the crimes that are perpetrated against them!

Ayesha Jalal - for being one of the most outstanding and internationally acclaimed historians Pakistan has produced so far

Begum Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan - for being one of the earliest women politician and social worker in Pakistan; for being the first female Governor of a province and Chancellor of a University; for founding APWA, oldest and leading organization for welfare of women in the country.

Benazir Bhutto - for being the first woman Prime Minister in the modern Muslim world and for fighting dictatorship without fear of her life

Bilquis Edhi - for silently, humbly striving to take Edhi and its work forward

Bushra Gohar - for being a leading human rights activist and politician from the conservative Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and for championing the cause of women inside and outside parliament

Diep Saeeda - for fearlessly fighting bigotry, extremism and persecution of the poor and helpless by always taking the front lead; for her exemplary courage and valor

Dr Farzana Bari - for her outstanding contribution to gender studies and for being a vocal women’s rights activist

Dr. Attiya Inayatullah - for her lifelong contribution to family planning/population welfare and for being the only Pakistani woman to serve on the executive board of UNESCO and head the organization

Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa- for her bold stance against the military; yet sustaining it

Dr. Fauzia Saeed- for her contribution as a social scientist & researcher and a leading women’s rights activist

Dr. Maliha Lodhi - for her outstanding contribution as a journalist, editor and later as a diplomat when she served as Pakistan’s top diplomat to US and UK

Dr. Quratulain Bakhteari - for her tremendous community services in the areas of health care, education and social activism especially in Balochistan where she established thousands of schools for girls

Dr. Ruth Pfao - for dedicating her life to fighting Leprosy in Pakistan and being instrumental in containing the disease in the country

Dr. Shamshad Akhtar - for being the first female Governor, State Bank of Pakistan; for her outstanding contribution as economist who served on senior positions at World Bank and later at the Asian Development Bank.

Fahmida Riaz - for daring to say no to the patriarchy and writing rebellious poetry that forced her to go into exile during General Zia’s era

Faryal Gohar - for being a leading human rights activist and a feminist writer who earned accolades nationally and internationally

Gulzar Bano - for being one of the first women to serve in the bureaucracy and being the first woman Cabinet Secretary; for being one of the foremost Pakistani women poets in English

Hina Jilani - for fearlessly fighting cases of helpless women subjected to worst discrimination in the patriarchal society

Jennifer Musa - for dedicating her life to serving the downtrodden and underprivileged in Balochistan that earned her the title ‘Queen of Balochistan’

Justice (Retd) Majida Razvi - for being the first woman to rise to the position of judge in a high court in Pakistan and for advocating repeal of Hudood Ordinances while she headed National Commission on Status of Women

Kishwar Naheed - for writing the poetry of rebellion daring age-old anti-women traditions and customs

Madiha Gohar - for earning international acclaim for her theatrical performances and using her Ajoka theatre group to highlight social issues and promote social causes

Maj. Gen. (Retd) Shahida Malik - for being the first woman to rise to the rank of a General in Pakistani army

Marvi Sirmed - for taking a bold public stance against bigotry and religious extremism and bravely fighting for injustices and oppression at all forums

Maryam Bibi - for her outstanding contribution to improve the status of women at grassroots level in Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa through Khwendo Kor, an organization she founded in 1993 and that works in over 300 cities and towns focusing on social organization, community-based female education, microcredit, primary health care and advocacy.

Mukhtara Mai - for fighting alone, and then together, against abuse and sexual violence against women

Prof. Anna Molka Ahmed - for being a pioneer of fine arts in Pakistan and for setting up department of fine arts in Punjab University which evolved into a centre of excellence in fine arts and produced many noted artists

Rashida Mohammad Hussain Patel - for her lifelong commitment to emancipation and protection of legal rights of women in her role as a leading lawyer; for founding Pakistan Women Lawyers Association that has provided legal aid to countless women

Seema Aziz - for establishing Care Foundation, a leading non-profit organization providing education to over 100,000 children in marginalized communities

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy - for making meaningful documentaries highlighting real issues faced by Pakistan and for bringing home the first Oscar Award won by any Pakistani

Sheema Kermani - for her grace and the lead glory on the stage that mesmerizes 100 a hearts at a time; for relentlessly fighting for women’s rights and empowerment

Sherry Rehman - for her noted contribution as a journalist and later as a parliamentarian and a vocal women’s rights activist who tabled various bills in the assembly to empower women and protect them from discrimination and harassment

Tahira Abdullah - for boldly facing tyranny and bigotry and fighting for women’s rights

Tahira Mazhar Ali Khan - for her struggle spanning over 60 years for the rights of the underprivileged, including workers, peasants and women

Zaibunnisa Hamidullah - for being a pioneer of English journalism and feminism in Pakistan, for being the first woman columnist, editor, publisher and political commentator

Zubeida Mustafa - for her outstanding contribution to English journalism that spans over four decades; and for writing highly valuable books

—Written by Junaid Zubairi

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