How do NGOs overcome the suspicion of them as "Western" agents? How do they convince people that contrary to common perceptions, they do not "lead women astray from Islam"? And how, in the context of poverty, religious fundamentalism, and ethnic conflict, do NGOs convince people that women s issues merit any attention at all? This book uncovers the skillful maneuvering that women s NGOs have to perform in order to survive in a hostile environment. Drawing on interviews, participant observation, and published materials by and about NGOs, this book analyzes the strategies used by Pakistani women s NGOs to advance women s rights in a conservative - and often antagonistic - environment.

The military rule of General Zia ul-Haq, former President of Pakistan, had significant political repercussions for the country. Islamization policies were far more pronounced and control over women became the key marker of the state's adherence to religious norms. Women's rights activists mobilized as a result, campaigning to reverse oppressive policies and redefine the relationship between state, society and Islam. Their calls for a liberal democracy led them to be targeted and suppressed. This book is a history of the modern women's movement in Pakistan. The research is based on documents from the Women's Action Forum archives, court judgments on relevant cases, as well as interviews with activists, lawyers and judges and analysis of newspapers and magazines. Ayesha Khan argues that the demand for a secular state and resistance to Islamization should not be misunderstood as Pakistani women sympathizing with a western agenda. Rather, their work is a crucial contribution to the evolution of the Pakistani state. The book outlines the discriminatory laws and policies that triggered domestic and international outcry, landmark cases of sexual violence that rallied women activists together and the important breakthroughs that enhanced women's rights. At a time when the women's movement in Pakistan is in danger of shrinking, this book highlights its historic significance and its continued relevance today.

This book, the first academic book on Pakistani documentary cinema, traces the development of activist filmmaking practices in Pakistan which have emerged as a response to the consequences of religious fundamentalism, extremism, and violation of human rights. Beginning with the period of General Zia-ul-Haq¿s Islamization process (1977-88), it discusses a selection of representative documentary films that have critically addressed and documented the various key transformations, events, and developments that have shaped Pakistan¿s socio-political, socio-economic, and cultural history. Such activist filmmaking practice in Pakistan is today an influential factor in addressing the politics, and negative and oppressive effects of the Islamization era, discriminatory laws, particularly gender-discriminatory Sharia laws, violation of human and citizen rights, authoritarianism, internal strife, the spread of religious fundamentalism, and the threat of Talibanization, and oppressive tribal customs and traditions. The contribution of Pakistani documentary filmmakers stands as a significant body of work that has served the cause of human rights, promoting awareness and social change in Pakistan, particularly regarding gender rights.

This very insightful volume critically analyses the law and law enforcement in three South Asian countries India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka s in order to assess the response of the criminal justice system to violence against women. The contributors assert that the gap between reality and the practice of laws in these countries is unfortunately very wide and women who are victims of violence are further victimised by discriminatory laws, the apathy of the judicial system, and the systematic manipulation of legal provisions. They explore the opportunities to change the legal systems and make them more responsive to women s human right to justice and freedom from violence.

Though Pakistan has made progress toward achieving its education, gender equity, and health Millennium Goals, it is unlikely to reach 2015 targets. In general, achievements were lower in rural areas and in lower-income households. Pakistani girls still have lower enrollment in primary and secondary schools, and do not perform as well as boys on tests. Adult female literacy varies widely by province. Women continue to face many forms of gender-based violence, and often are restricted from leaving their homes. While employment rates among women have doubled in the last decade, women are more likely to be unemployed than men, and lack access to finance or assets.

"The 2012 report recognized that expanding women's agency - their ability to make decisions and take advantage of opportunities is key to improving their lives as well as the world. This report represents a major advance in global knowledge on this critical front. The vast data and thousands of surveys distilled in this report cast important light on the nature of constraints women and girls continue to face globally. This report identifies promising opportunities and entry points for lasting transformation, such as interventions that reach across sectors and include life-skills training, sexual and reproductive health education, conditional cash transfers, and mentoring. It finds that addressing what the World Health Organization has identified as an epidemic of violence against women means sharply scaling up engagement with men and boys. The report also underlines the vital role information and communication technologies can play in amplifying women's voices, expanding their economic and learning opportunities, and broadening their views and aspirations. The World Bank Group's twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity demand no less than the full and equal participation of women and men, girls and boys, around the world." -- Publisher's description.

This report is the outcome of a research study initiated and financed by the ILO with the aim of better understanding Pakistani women entrepreneurs and their problems. It offers a portrayal of the specific business environment for women in this country and shows how a complex interplay of different factors has resulted in the disadvantaged status of women in society thus restricting their mobility, economic participation and business activity. The book includes the results of a survey undertaken in the region of 150 women entrepreneurs and follows with a set of recommendations. Narrative stories of 20 selected women entrepreneurs from various economic backgrounds, diverse family set-ups, and different professions are also included.

The Zina Ordinance is part of the Hadood Ordinances that were promulgated in 1979 by the military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq, a self-proclaimed president of Pakistan. Since then, tens of thousands of Pakistani women have been charged and incarcerated under the ordinance, which governs illicit sex. Although most of these women are subsequently released for lack of evidence, they spend months or years in jail before trial. To date, these laws still remain in effect, despite international calls for their repeal. Over a five-year-period, Shahnaz Khan interviewed women incarcerated under the zina laws in Pakistan. She argues that the zina laws help situate morality within the individual, thus de-emphasizing the prevalence of societal injustice. She also examines the production and reception of knowledge in the west about women in the third world, identifying a productive tension between living in the west and doing research in the third world. She concludes that transnational feminist solidarity can help women identify the linkages between the local and global and challenge oppressive practices internationally. This analysis will appeal to scholars and students of gender, law, human rights, and Islamic/Middle Eastern studies.

The seventeen essays in Women and Power in the Middle East analyze the social, political, economic, and cultural forces that shape gender systems in the Middle East and North Africa. Published at different times in Middle East Report, the journal of the Middle East Research and Information Project, the essays document empirically the similarities and differences in the gendering of relations of power in twelve countries—Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, Lebanon, Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Iran. Together they seek to build a framework for understanding broad patterns of gender in the Arab-Islamic world. Challenging questions are addressed throughout. What roles have women played in politics in this region? When and why are women politically mobilized, and which women? Does the nature and impact of their mobilization differ if it is initiated by the state, nationalist movements, revolutionary parties, or spontaneous revolt? And what happens to women when those agents of mobilization win or lose? In investigating these and other issues, the essays take a look at the impact of rapid social change in the Arab-Islamic world. They also analyze Arab disillusionment with the radical nationalisms of the 1950s and 1960s and with leftist ideologies, as well as the rise of political Islamist movements. Indeed the essays present rich new approaches to assessing what political participation has meant for women in this region and how emerging national states there have dealt with organized efforts by women to influence the institutions that govern their lives. Designed for courses in Middle East, women's, and cultural studies, Women and Power in the Middle East offers to both students and scholars an excellent introduction to the study of gender in the Arab-Islamic world.