Contents

1. Women

right

2. Introduction

3. Pakistani history

4. Women protection bill

5. International history

6. International bill

7. Video

8. Conclusion

9. References

INTRODUCTION:

Issue of gender is as old as the human being is. The first female (Eve) was born

through a male (Adam) who is the origin of human race, then it went forth from these two

and hence, The Creator multiplied the males and females on the earth. (Al-Quran, 4:1).

The concern started with the spread of men and women, though its form and nature

changed time to time and it appeared in patriarchal or matriarchal societies during the

turning out of the human history.

Constitution of Pakistan guarantees the rights of women and do not discriminate in any sphere of

life. The basis of Pakistani constitution is Islam; a religion that has secured the rights of women

fourteen hundred years ago. 

In Pakistan; Mukhtaran Mai, Dr. Shazia and various other women have been raised

internationally because of the corrupt character of our moth eaten justice, social and political

system. In order to avail political power, dictators like General Zia-ul-Haq tried to placate the

fundamentalist Mullahs by launching Hudood Ordinance. The society is silent over social

customs like Karo-Kari, Vaani, Swara and several other atrocities of the retrogressive people.

Finally, the last hope, the justice system, is itself a victim of political interference. 

(I) What are women rights?

Let us see why women rights are being denied and exploited in Pakistan, but before that, make it

clear what are women's universal rights.

• In Article 25(1) of the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan it is stated,

"All citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law."

• Article 25(2) states

"There shall be no discrimination on the basis of sex alone." 

According to Islam:

Islam guarantees an adult woman to marry according to her will. Even parents cannot force her

to marry against her choice. Moreover, no person including parents, husbands, in-laws have the

right to judge and decide the fate of women accused of being guilty of any crime. Courts are

there in a civilized society to decide what is right what is wrong. 

In addition to constitutional guarantee, 98% percent Muslims of Pakistan are morally binding as

believer of Islam to fight evil and injustice, i.e., Amar Bil-Maroof Wanahi-o- Mankar. In this

regard, they are binding upon at least to voice their concern as a Muslim who cannot tolerate

evils of gross injustices going on women. 

How are women rights violated?

Despite the universal protection of Islam and the rights given by the constitution of Pakistan,

women are the being abused by some atrocious elements of our society. 

a. Discriminatory Laws

Politics in Pakistan is a game of holding power and doing everything whether right or wrong in

order to secure that power. Women have been a victim of such a political game. General Zia-ul-

Haq, after clinching power from Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, enacted "Hudood Ordinances". Zia gave

the impression to Islamize the country; however, the hidden truth was to prolong his tenure by

making the religious extremist happy. Still the women are being crushed under the barbarity of

Hudood Ordinances:

Hudood ordinance: In 1979, an ordinance, called the Hudood Ordinance was promulgated as a

part of the process of Islamization in Pakistan which banned adultery, fornication, rape and

prostitution (Zina), bearing false testimony (Qazf), theft and drinking alcoholic beverages.

Hudood Ordinance was enacted to fulfil a fundamental condition of Islamic state and

constitution of Pakistan, as ‘zina’ (adultery) was not a crime according to Pakistani law up till

then. Subsequently the National Assembly ratified the ordinance and raised it to the status of

Hudood Laws.

Conditions:

If a woman is raped, one of the conditions of the law requires that woman must provide for four

pious Muslim witnesses for seeing the crime. Let for a moment condone that part of the law. But,

the worst cruelty of the law is that in case of failing to provide witnesses, the rape victim will be

charged of fornication; the punishment for which is stoning to death. 

According to Quran:

The Holy Quran prescribes the punishment of

adultery in Surah Noor as under. The adulterer and the adulteress, scourge ye each one

of them (with) a hundred stripes. (24:2) In this injunction the word zina is absolute and includes

zina birraza (adultery) as well as zina bil jabar (rape).

Sayyidina Wail bin Hajr radiallahu anhu narrated that during the days of Allah's Messenger

sallallahu alaihi wa sallam a woman had gone out to offer the prayer. On the way a man

overcame and raped her. The woman cried for help and the man ran away. Thereafter the man

admitted that he had raped her. The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam then inflicted

the Hadd on the man only, and not on the woman.

Example:

One of the examples from innumerous cases is that of an incidence of stoning to death to a blind

girl in 1980s. Her only mistake was to report that she was raped. But, unable to provide for the

four pious Muslim cum male witnesses, she was charged of adultery. Consequently, in this

Islamic Republic of Pakistan, an innocent was stoned to death. 

Does the above case conform to the right and protection given by the constitution of Pakistan?

Does Islam allow injustice of such an inhuman nature? The answer is no, but, such atrocities are

being done under the name of Islamic injunctions; however, the concealed fact is that of a

political nature. The society was silent when the Hudood Ordinance was enacted, and it is still

heedless of the barbarisms from some of its own sections of people. 

(Sahih Bukhari, Kitabul Ikrah, Bab 6):

In the Sahih Bukhari is a tradition according to which a slave had raped a slave-girl. Sayyidina

Umar radiallahu anhu then imposed the Hadd on the slave, but not on the slave-girl.

An American Scholar Charles Kennedy: got interested and visited Pakistan to conduct a

survey of the cases. He analyzed all the data related to Hudood Ordinance cases and presented

the results in the form of a report which has been published. 

The results are very much in line with the above mentioned facts. He writes in his report:

Women fearing conviction under Section 10(2) frequently

bring charges of rape under 10(3) against their alleged partners. The FSC finding no

circumstantial evidence to support the latter charge, convict the male accused under section

10(2)Â….the women is exonerated of any wrongdoing due to reasonable doubt rule.

b. Heinous Customs

Karo-Kari is one of those customs related to fornication. A Kari is a woman who is alleged to

have extramarital relations with a man called Karo. In a typical Birdari and caste system of our

society, especially in rural areas, if a woman marries with her choice outside of her family

relation -- a crime of violating the Biradari unwritten rule – then she is alleged to have

committed adultery. The whole Biradari becomes willing to kill both of the husband and the wife

under the pretext of Karo-Kari.

Even the dead body of the innocent woman is not given her due right of burying. She is interred

in an isolated and far-flung place without religious rituals. In contrast, the Karo is given the right

to be buried with religious rituals. 

Moreover, husbands, in-laws, and their relatives also victimize the woman with allegation of

fornication. In fact, the reason is their personal grievances and enmity for not bringing enough

dowry or not following the orders of in-laws. She could be killed any time by her husband or any

of his relatives under the pretext of Karo-Kari custom.

Not only the adult woman but also baby girls of even months old are not spared from the

clutches of retrogressive customs. Swara and Vaani are such kind of heinous crimes that are

deeply upheld by the stone-age minded people. 

In both of the customs, the minor girls are given as compensation for the wrongdoings

perpetrated by one of the members of the culprit family on the aggrieved one. The village's cult

of goons called "Punchayat" leaded by elders of village, fundamentalist Mullahs, including any

of our graduate MPA participate in such Punchayats. 

Many girls given under Vaani or Swara to the aggrieved family refused to marry there after

attaining adult age. CJ of the Supreme Court of Pakistan have taken suo motu action in this

regard. Furthermore, girls as young as ten years of age are married with 60 years old man under

such customs. 

A woman is raped after every two hours and gang-raped after every eight hour. For honor killing,

commission's report says that in 2006, 565 women have been killed under Karo-Kari. Police do

not take seriously the crime of honor killings; as in 2005, there were 475 such cases, and police

was able to catch only 128 accused. 

According to a reportMinistry,

There have been 4100 hon presented by the Interior or killings since 2001. The report also

criticizes that under 'Qisas and Diyat" law, the killer could easily be forgiven after paying

compensation for the blood of the dead.

c. Violence and Exploitations

The village Punchayat is so lowest in its scruples that sometimes it orders to rape the women of

the culprit family as revenge. Mukhtaran Mai is one of such victim who had been gang-raped

because her brother was guilty of some wrong for which she was punished to be gang-raped. The

law enforcement agencies denied her "right to register an FIR" because the criminals

influentials. 

Sometimes women are stripped and forced to walk naked in the village for any crime of their

family members. If she denies marrying with a family relative or raising her voice against her in-

laws then she is subjected to mutilation of her body by acid-throwing. For whatever reasons, her

husbands could brutally beat her any time under any pretext. Most of the time, she was beaten

and even killed for not having a male baby child. 

Women are also exploited for the only reason of being a woman. With a high workload from

dawn to dusk, she was paid far less than what males get doing less work. Moreover, in our male

dominant society, molestation and sometimes attack on her piety during job are frequent

incidents. If she reports such crimes then as a punishment, she is rusticated from her job.

Therefore, most of the crimes against her remain unreported. 

The traders of human flesh exploit her misery. Taking advantage of her penury, they force some

of the women on prostitution. Trafficking of women is also a lucrative business for human

traffickers. Such women after going abroad work as domestic slaves under extremely inhuman

conditions or they are kept in brothels for the shameful business.

STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS:

The issue of domestic violence has been a source of public concern for a number of years. Being

in the private domain, the gravity of violence in the domestic sphere is compounded. In

cognizance of the stress and unbearable suffering of the aggrieved person, it is necessary to

criminalize the act. Through this Bill, domestic violence is brought into the public domain and

responds to the National Policy for development and empowerment of women and Convention

for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women of adopting zero tolerance for

violence against women and “introducing positive legislation on domestic violence”.

Report by an NGO, the Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid (LHRLA) says:

In 2006, there were 7,564 cases of violence against women; 1,993 cases of torture; 1,271 women

were kidnapped; 822 women committed suicide; 259 were gang raped; 119 were trafficked; 144

booked under the Hudood Ordinances; and 792 were killed in the name of honor. The above data

are based on reported cases; and because of unreported abuses, the actual crime rate is far more

than what is reported.  

d. Deplorable Level of Health and Education

Furthermore, most of the women have no choice of theirs in deciding the number of babies to

have. Family planning is seen in a typical conservative society as against Islam. In case of any

medical emergency, when no female doctor available for her help, the orthodox relatives allow

her to die rather than to be provided aid by a male doctor. Thousands of woman die per annum

for not having female doctors in medical facilities. 

Being a female, cult of the fundamentalists mostly in tribal and rural areas does not allow her to

get education. They say it is a western intrigue to make their women liberal. With the advent of

Talibanization, the girls' schools are openly threatened to close their centers else,

Their educational premises would be blasted. Such news in North Western part of Pakistan has

become common today and several girls’ schools have been devastated by such crimes 

(III) Is there any positive side of Women rights in Pakistan?

With all such atrocities on majority of women, there is some ray of hope for having a section of

women fully utilizing constitutional and religious rights. Such women are participating in the

development and progress of Pakistan; while fully observing the Islamic behavior and conduct,

they are working along with men in almost all the spheres of life. They are in military, economy,

health, politics, police, foreign services, law, and parliament and in fact every place where it was

impossible to think of their presence few decades ago. 

Recently, PAF (Pakistan Air Force) inducted in its services female pilots as commissioned

officers. For the first time in the history of Pakistan, a female, Shamshad Akhtar, has been

appointed as Governor State Bank of Pakistan. In foreign services, Tasneem Akhtar is carrying

out her duties diligently as foreign office spokesperson. Besides, her Excellence, Dr. Maliha

Lodhi, is working as an ambassador of Pakistan in UK. 

Asma Jahangir, the chairperson of the Human Rights Commissions of Pakistan, is famous for her

brave efforts for relieving the victims of Human Rights abuses in Pakistan At lower level,

women are running their own business as entrepreneurs; working in petrol pumps, restaurants,

and coaches; participating in politics. In fact, there is a long list of women who are active and no

less than their male contemporaries are. 

There are 234 women legislators sitting in our assemblies; 18 in Senate; 73 in National

Assembly; and 143 in Provincial assemblies. This is one of the first times in Pakistan's history

that women are given greater role to play in legislation. Several women are working in cabinet as

ministers in various government divisions. In Local Government system, thousands of women

are elected as councilors, mayors, deputy mayors. Nasreen Jalil is Deputy Mayor of CDGK (City

District Government Karachi). 

(IV) What efforts have been made for ensuring women rights?

The number of women enjoying some of their rights is below optimum. For the majority, it is a

distant dream to decide for their own choice of life partner; and it is a luxury for most of the

women to avail medical facilities for delivering a baby.

However, efforts are being made both from the government and non-government sides to make

better the plight of the persecuted women. 

a. Different commissions on women and their reports:

After Independence, the first Commission on the Emancipation of Women was formed in

1955; the commission presented its report in 1961, but the government diluted several of

its recommendations. However, in the same year, president Ayub Khan promulgated

"Family Law Ordinance" that gave not much but little relief to the women. 

In 1975, Pakistan Women Rights Committee was formed which presented its report in

1976 without having any effect upon the power holders. Similarly, in 1981, Pakistan

Commission on the Status of Women was founded that submitted its findings in 1985.

However, the report was thrown into the dustbin due to Zia's passion for implementing

his own version of Islamization. 

After nine years, the "Commission of Inquiry for Women" was formed in 1994. The

commission presented its report in August 1997, but it has gone to the same fate as the

previous commissions' reports. 

The National Commission on Status of Women formed (NCSW) came into being in

September 2000. The purpose was to advise the government for eradicating laws

discriminatory to women. The commission provided its detailed report in 2003. The

report presented a thorough and critical review of 1979 Hudood Ordinances and

concluded that these laws are being used to abuse women; thus, it asked for their

annulment.

 The power of the NCSW is restricted to only for recommendations. Moreover, it has

been devoid of chairperson for several months. The effectiveness of the commission

cannot be enhanced unless it gets independent in its working. India has a commission of

similar nature but it is quite powerful in questioning and calling any senior government

official. Therefore, it should be made equal on such footing as that of Indian

commission. 

b. Laws on protection of women rights

In 1996, Pakistan internationally ratified Convention on Elimination of All Forms of

Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The law requires the government to take

strict measures against any abuse that hinders women rights for freedom, equality, and

justice. The law is good in its part for binding the country in protecting rights of the

women. 

November 2006 is important in relieving women some of the atrocities of Hudood

Ordinances. Parliament passed "Protection of Women Rights Bill (Criminal Laws

Amendments)"; the bill is an attempt to secure the women from misuse of Zina and Qazf

laws under Hudood Ordiances enacted by Zia in 1979. 

Religious fundamentalists as usual opposed the passage of the bill and leader of

opposition Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman said that the bill is "to turn Pakistan into a free-sex

zone". They criticized the Bill to be against Qur'an and Sunnah. 

So much noise by religious bigots over rights of women is a norm in our society. The only

purpose of such billows is to gain political marks. In fact, the Bill do not require a woman to be

punished - as the case under Hudood Ordiance 1979 - if she fails to provide for 4 pious males

like our religious fundamentalists. Moreover, the bill requires the intervention of the session

court in case the families pardon the culprits of rape or killing by settling the dispute outside the

court under Qazf. Moreover, the bill made the offences under Hudood Ordinances to be taken

under Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) that gives the right to have bail which 1979 Hudood Ordinance

negated. 

Women in Pakistan politics:

Mahatarma Fatima Jinnah became a leading icon of the Pakistan Movement. Dr. Dushka Syed, a

noted academic writes:

 “The constant presence of Fatima Jinnah, the Quaid’s sister, was not accidental, but a message

by this visionary leader that women should be equal partners in politics and that they should not

be confined to the traditional home-bound role of a wife and a mother. It is not surprising then

that he was constantly under attack of the orthodox religious parties. Once, so the story goes, he

was about to address a mammoth public meeting, and was requested not to have Fatima Jinnah

sitting on the dais by his side. He refused.”

Women protection bill 2006:

is also being claimed that the bill does not violate the injunctions of Quran and Sunnah. Let us

take a serious and realistic look at the basic points mentioned in this bill. How much they are in

line with the claims being made. 

If we study the bill we would arrive at the conclusion that the bill contains only two substantive

points: 

• Punishment for rape

• Crime

Punishment for rape (zina bil jabar) as ordained by the Quran and Sunnah

which is called 'hadd' has been completely abolished in this bill. As such a person who has

committed rape cannot be given the legal (sharai) punishment and instead he will receive a

ta'azeeri punishment (anything below 'hadd')

Crime which was declared a ta'azeeri punishment in the Hudood Ordinance has been

downgraded and declared 'lewdness', thereby reducing the severity of its punishment. 

The government presented another bill on women rights "Prevention of anti-Women Practices

Bill 2006 (Criminal Law Amendment) in December 2006. The bill contains the proposal of nine-

member Ulema panel to relieve women from some of the malpractices. Under Section 310A, the

bill prohibits handover of women for settling a dispute between groups, either under marriage or

as Vaani, Swara. Any violation of the Bill carries three-year prison term and fine. 

The second bill on women rights also protects the women from depriving of the inheritance in

property, violation of which carries seven-year imprisonment under Section 498A; force

marriage is regarded as punishable with three-year imprisonment and fine under Section 498B;

Section 498C prohibits marriage with the Quran, those involving such practice are punishable

with three-year imprisonment. 

Parliament asked to adopt women protection bill

Members of the committee stressed for the need of proper mechanism and relevant clauses in the

draft bill to preclude the possibility of any misuse by either sex and it was suggested that women

organizations and NGOs might be asked to develop documentaries on how to seek redressal in

case of harassment/violence and to screen the same in rural areas of the country.

The participants emphasised that proper measures needed to be taken to ensure that police did

not side with the perpetrators of crimes against women. The meeting urged the government to

provide more funds and staff to the Ministry of Women Development for undertaking this

venture.

Minister for Information Sherry Rehman assured the Senate body of her ministry’s full

cooperation with the women development ministry and other organizations working for the

rights of women, especially with regard to preparation of media campaign for sensitization.

She said it was desire of the government that bill should originate in the Senate. She hoped that

the vetting/amendments being made by the Law Division would not defeat the original purpose

of the bill, adding that the government would continue to accord priority to welfare of women.

The meeting was also attended by Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Raza Rabbani and

Senators Sardar Jamal Khan Leghari, Muhammad Ayaz Khan Jogezai, Ms Razina Alam Khan

and Ms Fauzia Fakhur-uz-Zaman.

The protection Punishment against harassment of women at workplace bill 2009:

In Karachi: president Asif Ali Zardari on Friday signed the bill. Providing increased punishment

over harassment of women at workplace

The Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Bill 2009” Criminal Law

(Amendment) Bill, 2009 amends both the Pakistan Penal Code and the Code of Criminal

Procedure, “increasing the punishment for the crime up to three years in prison and a fine of up

to Rs 500,000. The President signed the bill in the presence of a large number of women hailing

from different sections of the society. The gathering termed it a landmark decision by the

government, reflecting the desire of the government to ensure dignity and honour of the women.

According to the bill whosoever makes any sound or gesture, utters any word, exhibits any

object or demands sexual favour from woman at workplace would face the punishment. The bill

was unanimously passed by the National Assembly on Jan 21, a day after its passage from the

Senate. It also proposes penalties including demotion, compulsory retirement, removal from

service and dismissal from service.

Under the new law, amendments have been made in Criminal Act and if a person to be involved

in the physical or any harassment with woman on work places, would get three years sentence or

fine of Rs. 0.5 million or both.

The law said that if a workingwomen complaints to her in charge regarding the attitude of any

person then a three-member committee to be formed for inquiry. The committee after review the

matter would present its report to the authorities concerned. Under the new law, amendments

have been made in Criminal Act and if a person to be involved in the physical or any harassment

with woman on work places, would get three years sentence or fine of Rs. 0.5 million or both.

Under the law, the use of immoral language against women or teasing her would be tantamount

of violation of the law.

A woman can also lodge a complaint herself against any person to whom, she feels threat of

harassment. The law would provide sense of protection to women; however, a woman would

also face fine or punishment if she lodged a wrong complaint against any person.

c. NGOs working for Women Rights

Women Action Forum was formed in Karachi in September 1981 in order to voice

against brutalities of Hudood Ordinances. Behind its formation, there was a case in which

a fifteen year old woman was sentenced to flogging because of marrying of her choice.

Since then the forum took out many demonstrations and public awareness campaigns for

eliminating the abuse of women rights in Pakistan. The forum has expanded its activities

in major cities of Pakistan. 

Aurat Foundation formed in 1986 is working enthusiastically for the rights of women.

The head office is located in Islamabad. The organization has its own information and

publication department that apprise the people the true realities women facing in

Pakistan.

APWA (All Pakistan women association) and UNFPA are working for the women’s

right.

Current Situation

In 2011 Jan to June 2011 it has been seen more cases. 4448 women’s victmed by the male

22/4448=acid burn women

81/4448= forced marriages

The rural women mostly victimed by males but they don’t make action against them….

Current bill:

Punishment for acid: 14 year, 10 lakh

Varasat mey mehroomi: 7 year, 10 lakh

Force marriages or the marriages with Quran e pak: 7 year, 5 lakh 

WOMEN'S RIGHTS:

Throughout most of history women generally have had fewer legal rights and career

opportunities than men. Wifehood and motherhood were regarded as women's most significant

professions. In the 20th century, however, women in most nations won the right to vote and

increased their educational and job opportunities

Perhaps most important, they fought for and to a large degree accomplished a reevaluation of

traditional views of their role in society.

INTERNATIONAL HOSTORY

Early Attitudes Toward Women:

Since early times women have been uniquely viewed as a creative source of human life.

Historically, however, they have been considered not only intellectually inferior to men but also

a major source of temptation and evil. In Greek mythology, for example, it was a woman,

Pandora, who opened the forbidden box and brought plagues and unhappiness to mankind. Early

Roman law described women as children, forever inferior to men.

Early Christian theology perpetuated these views. St. Jerome, a 4th-century Latin father of the

Christian church, said: "Woman is the gate of the devil, the path of wickedness, the sting of the

serpent, in a word a perilous object.

“Thomas Aquinas, the 13th-century Christian theologian, said that woman was "created to be

man's helpmeet, but her unique role is in conception . . . since for other purposes men would be

better assisted by other men."

The attitude toward women in the East was at first more favorable. In ancient India, for example,

women were not deprived of property rights or individual freedoms by marriage. But Hinduism,

which evolved in India after about 500 BC, required obedience of women toward men. Women

had to walk behind their husbands. Women could not own property, and widows could not

remarry. In both East and West, male children were preferred over female children.

Nevertheless, when they were allowed personal and intellectual freedom, women made

significant achievements. During the Middle Ages nuns played a key role in the religious life of

Europe. Aristocratic women enjoyed power and prestige. Whole eras were influenced by women

rulers for instance, Queen Elizabeth of England in the 16th century, Catherine the Great of

Russia in the 18th century, and Queen Victoria of England in the 19th century.

The Weaker Sex?

Women were long considered naturally weaker than men, squeamish, and unable to perform

work requiring muscular or intellectual development. In most preindustrial societies, for

example, domestic chores were relegated to women, leaving "heavier" labor such as hunting and

plowing to men. This ignored the fact that caring for children and doing such tasks as milking

cows and washing clothes also required heavy, sustained labor. But physiological tests now

suggest that women have a greater tolerance for pain, and statistics reveal that women live longer

and are more resistant to many diseases.

Maternity, the natural biological role of women, has traditionally been regarded as their major

social role as well. The resulting stereotype that "a woman's place is in the home" has largely

determined the ways in which women have expressed themselves. Today, contraception and, in

some areas, legalized abortion have given women greater control over the number of children

they will bear. Although these developments have freed women for roles other than motherhood,

the cultural pressure for women to become wives and mothers still prevents many talented

women from finishing college or pursuing careers.

Traditionally a middle-class girl in Western culture tended to learn from her mother's example

that cooking, cleaning, and caring for children was the behavior expected of her when she grew

up. Tests made in the 1960s showed that the scholastic achievement of girls was higher in the

early grades than in high school. The major reason given was that the girls' own expectations

declined because neither their families nor their teachers expected them to prepare for a future

other than that of marriage and motherhood. This trend has been changing in recent decades.

Formal education for girls historically has been secondary to that for boys. In colonial America

girls learned to read and write at dame schools. They could attend the master's schools for boys

when there was room, usually during the summer when most of the boys were working. By the

end of the 19th century, however, the number of women students had increased greatly. Higher

education particularly was broadened by the rise of women's colleges and the admission of

women to regular colleges and universities. In 1870 an estimated one fifth of resident college and

university students were women. By 1900 the proportion had increased to more than one third.

Women obtained 19 percent of all undergraduate college degrees around the beginning of the

20th century. By 1984 the figure had sharply increased to 49 percent. Women also increased

their numbers in graduate study. By the mid-1980s women were earning 49 percent of all

master's degrees and about 33 percent of all doctoral degrees. In 1985 about 53 percent of all

college students were women, more than one quarter of whom were above age 29.

The Legal Status of Women

The myth of the natural inferiority of women greatly influenced the status of women in law.

Under the common law of England, an unmarried woman could own property, make a contract,

or sue and be sued. But a married woman, defined as being one with her husband, gave up her

name, and virtually all her property came under her husband's control.

During the early history of the United States, a man virtually owned his wife and children as he

did his material possessions. If a poor man chose to send his children to the poorhouse, the

mother was legally defenseless to object. Some communities, however, modified the common

law to allow women to act as lawyers in the courts, to sue for property, and to own property in

their own names if their husbands agreed.

Equity law, which developed in England, emphasized the principle of equal rights rather than

tradition. Equity law had a liberalizing effect upon the legal rights of women in the United

States. For instance, a woman could sue her husband. Mississippi in 1839, followed by New

York in 1848 and Massachusetts in 1854, passed laws allowing married women to own property

separate from their husbands. In divorce law, however, generally the divorced husband kept legal

control of both children and property.

In the 19th century, women began working outside their homes in large numbers, notably in

textile mills and garment shops. In poorly ventilated, crowded rooms women (and children)

worked for as long as 12 hours a day. Great Britain passed a ten-hour-day law for women and

children in 1847, but in the United States it was not until the 1910s that the states began to pass

legislation limiting working hours and improving working conditions of women and children.

Eventually, however, some of these labor laws were seen as restricting the rights of working

women. For instance, laws prohibiting women from working more than an eight-hour day or

from working at night effectively prevented women from holding many jobs, particularly

supervisory positions that might require overtime work. Laws in some states prohibited women

from lifting weights above a certain amount varying from as little as 15 pounds (7 kilograms)

again barring women from many jobs.

During the 1960s several federal laws improving the economic status of women were passed.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 required equal wages for men and women doing equal work. The

Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination against women by any company with 25 or

more employees. A Presidential Executive Order in 1967 prohibited bias against women in

hiring by federal government contractors

But discrimination in other fields persisted. Many retail stores would not issue independent credit

cards to married women. Divorced or single women often found it difficult to obtain credit to

purchase a house or a car. Laws concerned with welfare, crime, prostitution, and abortion also

displayed a bias against women. In possible violation of a woman's right to privacy, for example,

a mother receiving government welfare payments was subject to frequent investigations in order

to verify her welfare claim. Sex discrimination in the definition of crimes existed in some areas

of the United States. A woman who shot and killed her husband would be accused of homicide,

but the shooting of a wife by her husband could be termed a "passion shooting." Only in 1968,

for another example, did the Pennsylvania courts void a state law which required that any woman

convicted of a felony be sentenced to the maximum punishment prescribed by law. Often women

prostitutes were prosecuted although their male customers were allowed to go free. In most states

abortion was legal only if the mother's life was judged to be physically endangered. In 1973,

however, the United States Supreme Court ruled that states could not restrict a woman's right to

an abortion in her first three months of pregnancy.

Until well into the 20th century, women in Western European countries lived under many of the

same legal disabilities as women in the United States. For example, until 1935, married women

in England did not have the full right to own property and to enter into contracts on a par with

unmarried women. Only after 1920 was legislation passed to provide working women with

employment opportunities and pay equal to men. Not until the early 1960s was a law passed that

equalized pay scales for men and women in the British civil service.

Women at Work

In colonial America, women who earned their own living usually became seamstresses or kept

boardinghouses. But some women worked in professions and jobs available mostly to men.

There were women doctors, lawyers, preachers, teachers, writers, and singers. By the early 19th

century, however, acceptable occupations for working women were limited to factory labor or

domestic work. Women were excluded from the professions, except for writing and teaching.

The medical profession is an example of changed attitudes in the 19th and 20th centuries about

what was regarded as suitable work for women. Prior to the 1800s there were almost no medical

schools, and virtually any enterprising person could practice medicine. Indeed, obstetrics was the

domain of women.

Beginning in the 19th century, the required educational preparation, particularly for the practice

of medicine, increased. This tended to prevent many young women, who married early and bore

many children, from entering professional careers. Although home nursing was considered a

proper female occupation, nursing in hospitals was done almost exclusively by men. Specific

discrimination against women also began to appear. For example, the American Medical

Association, founded in 1846, barred women from membership. Barred also from attending

"men's" medical colleges, women enrolled in their own for instance, the Female Medical College

of Pennsylvania, which was established in 1850. By the 1910s, however, women were attending

many leading medical schools, and in 1915 the American Medical Association began to admit

women members.

In 1890, women constituted about 5 percent of the total doctors in the United States. During the

1980s the proportion was about 17 percent. At the same time the percentage of women doctors

was about 19 percent in West Germany and 20 percent in France. In Israel, however, about 32

percent of the total number of doctors and dentists were women.

Women also had not greatly improved their status in other professions. In 1930 about 2 percent

of all American lawyers and judges were women in 1989, about 22 percent. In 1930 there were

almost no women engineers in the United States. In 1989 the proportion of women engineers was

only 7.5 percent.

In contrast, the teaching profession was a large field of employment for women. In the late 1980s

more than twice as many women as men taught in elementary and high schools. In higher

education, however, women held only about one third of the teaching positions, concentrated in

such fields as education, social service, home economics, nursing, and library science. A small

proportion of Women College and university teachers were in the physical sciences, engineering,

agriculture, and law.

The great majority of women who work are still employed in clerical positions, factory work,

retail sales, and service jobs. Secretaries, bookkeepers, and typists account for a large portion of

women clerical workers. Women in factories often work as machine operators, assemblers, and

inspectors. Many women in service jobs work as waitresses, cooks, hospital attendants, cleaning

women, and hairdressers.

During wartime women have served in the armed forces. In the United States during World War

II almost 300,000 women served in the Army and Navy, performing such noncombatant jobs as

secretaries, typists, and nurses. Many European women fought in the underground resistance

movements during World War II. In Israel women are drafted into the armed forces along with

men and receive combat training.

Women constituted more than 45 percent of employed persons in the United States in 1989, but

they had only a small share of the decision-making jobs. Although the number of women

working as managers, officials, and other administrators has been increasing, in 1989 they were

outnumbered about 1.5 to 1 by men. Despite the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women in 1970 were

paid about 45 percent less than men for the same jobs; in 1988, about 32 percent less.

Professional women did not get the important assignments and promotions given to their male

colleagues. Many cases before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1970 were

registered by women charging sex discrimination in jobs.

Working women often faced discrimination on the mistaken belief that, because they were

married or would most likely get married, they would not be permanent workers. But married

women generally continued on their jobs for many years and were not a transient, temporary, or

undependable work force. From 1960 to the early 1970s the influx of married women workers

accounted for almost half of the increase in the total labor force, and working wives were staying

on their jobs longer before starting families. The number of elderly working also increased

markedly.

Since 1960 more and more women with children have been in the work force. This change is

especially dramatic for married women with children under age 6: 12 percent worked in 1950, 45

percent in 1980, and 57 percent in 1987. Just over half the mothers with children under age 3

were in the labor force in 1987. Black women with children are more likely to work than are

white or Hispanic women who have children. Over half of all black families with children are

maintained by the mother only, compared with 18 percent of white families with children.

Despite their increased presence in the work force, most women still have primary responsibility

for housework and family care. In the late 1970s men with an employed wife spent only about

1.4 hours a week more on household tasks than those whose wife was a full-time homemaker.

A crucial issue for many women is maternity leave, or time off from their jobs after giving birth.

By federal law a full-time worker is entitled to time off and a job when she returns, but few states

by the early 1990s required that the leave be paid. Many countries, including Mexico, India,

Germany, Brazil, and Australia require companies to grant 12-week maternity leaves at full pay.

Women in Politics

American women have had the right to vote since 1920, but their political roles have been

minimal. Not until 1984 did a major party choose a woman Geraldine Ferraro of New York to

run for vice-president (see Ferraro). Jeanette Rankin of Montana, elected in 1917, was the first

woman member of the United States House of Representatives. In 1968 Shirley Chisholm of

New York was the first black woman elected to the House of Representatives (see Chisholm).

Hattie Caraway of Arkansas first appointed in 1932 was, in 1933, the first woman elected to the

United States Senate. Senator Margaret Chase Smith served Maine for 24 years (1949-73).

Others were Maurine Neuberger of Oregon, Nancy Landon Kassebaum of Kansas, Paula

Hawkins of Florida, and Barbara Mikulski of Maryland.

Wives of former governors became the first women governors Miriam A. Ferguson of Texas

(1925-27 and 1933-35) and Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming (1925-27) (see Ross, Nellie

Tayloe). In 1974 Ella T. Grasso of Connecticut won a governorship on her own merits.

In 1971 Patience Sewell Latting was elected mayor of Oklahoma City, at that time the largest

city in the nation with a woman mayor. By 1979 two major cities were headed by women:

Chicago, by Jane Byrne, and San Francisco, by Dianne Feinstein. Sharon Pratt Dixon was

elected mayor of Washington, D.C., in 1990.

Frances Perkins was the first woman Cabinet member as secretary of labor under President

Franklin D. Roosevelt. Oveta Culp Hobby was secretary of health, education, and welfare in the

Dwight D. Eisenhower Cabinet. Carla A. Hills was secretary of housing and urban development

in Gerald R. Ford's Cabinet. Jimmy Carter chose two women for his original Cabinet Juanita M.

Kreps as secretary of commerce and Patricia Roberts Harris as secretary of housing and urban

development. Harris was the first African American woman in a presidential Cabinet. When the

separate Department of Education was created, Carter named Shirley Mount Hufstedler to head

it. Ronald Reagan's Cabinet included Margaret Heckler, secretary of health and human services,

and Elizabeth Dole, secretary of transportation. Under George Bush, Dole became secretary of

labor; she was succeeded by Representative Lynn Martin. Bush chose Antonia Novello, a

Hispanic, for surgeon general in 1990.

Reagan set a precedent with his appointment in 1981 of Sandra Day O'Connor as the first woman

on the United States Supreme Court (see O'Connor). The next year Bertha Wilson was named to

the Canadian Supreme Court. In 1984 Jeanne Sauve became Canada's first female governor-

general (see Sauve).

In international affairs, Eleanor Roosevelt was appointed to the United Nations in 1945 and

served as chairman of its Commission on Human Rights (see Roosevelt, Eleanor). Eugenie

Anderson was sent to Denmark in 1949 as the first woman ambassador from the United States.

Jeane Kirkpatrick was named ambassador to the United Nations in 1981.

Three women held their countries' highest elective offices by 1970. Sirimavo Bandaranaike was

prime minister of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) from 1960 to 1965 and from 1970 to 1977 (see

Bandaranaike). Indira Gandhi was prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980

until her assassination in 1984 (sees Gandhi, Indira). Golda Meir was prime minister of Israel

from 1969 to 1974 (see Meir). The first woman head of state in the Americas was Juan Peron's

widow, Isabel, president of Argentina in 1974-76 (see Peron). Elisabeth Domitien was premier of

the Central African Republic in 1975-76. Margaret Thatcher, who first became prime minister of

Great Britain in 1979, was the only person in the 20th century to be reelected to that office for a

third consecutive term (see Thatcher). Also in 1979, Simone Weil of France became the first

president of the European Parliament.

In the early 1980s Vigdis Finnbogadottir was elected president of Iceland; Gro Harlem

Brundtland, prime minister of Norway; and Milka Planinc, premier of Yugoslavia. In 1986

Corazon Aquino became president of the Philippines (see Aquino). From 1988 to 1990 Benazir

Bhutto was prime minister of Pakistan the first woman to head a Muslim nation (see Bhutto).

In 1990 Mary Robinson was elected president of Ireland and Violeta Chamorro, of Nicaragua.

Australia's first female premier was Carmen Lawrence of Western Australia (1990), and

Canada's was Rita Johnston of British Columbia (1991). In 1991 Khaleda Zia became the prime

minister of Bangladesh and Socialist Edith Cresson was named France's first female premier.

Poland's first female Prime Minister, Hanna Suchocka, was elected in 1992.

Women in Reform Movements

Women in the United States during the 19th century organized and participated in a great variety

of reform movements to improve education, to initiate prison reform, to ban alcoholic drinks,

and, during the pre-Civil War period, to free the slaves.

At a time when it was not considered respectable for women to speak before mixed audiences of

men and women, the abolitionist sisters Sarah and Angelina Grimke of South Carolina boldly

spoke out against slavery at public meetings (see Grimke Sisters). Some male abolitionists

including William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, and Frederick Douglass supported the right

of women to speak and participate equally with men in antislavery activities. In one instance,

women delegates to the World's Anti-Slavery Convention held in London in 1840 were denied

their places. Garrison thereupon refused his own seat and joined the women in the balcony as a

spectator.

Some women saw parallels between the position of women and that of the slaves. In their view,

both were expected to be passive, cooperative, and obedient to their master-husbands. Women

such as Stanton, Lucy Stone, Lucretia Mott, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth were feminists

and abolitionists, believing in both the rights of women and the rights of blacks. (See also

individual biographies.)

Many women supported the temperance movement in the belief that drunken husbands pulled

their families into poverty. In 1872 the Prohibition party became the first national political party

to recognize the right of suffrage for women in its platform. Frances Willard helped found the

Woman's Christian Temperance Union (see Willard, Frances).

During the mid-1800s Dorothea Dix was a leader in the movements for prison reform and for

providing mental-hospital care for the needy. The settlement-house movement was inspired by

Jane Addams, who founded Hull House in Chicago in 1889, and by Lillian Wald, who founded

the Henry Street Settlement House in New York City in 1895. Both women helped immigrants

adjust to city life. (See also Addams; Dix.)

Women were also active in movements for agrarian and labor reforms and for birth control.

Mary Elizabeth Lease, a leading Populist spokeswoman in the 1880s and 1890s in Kansas,

immortalized the cry, "What the farmers need to do is raise less corn and more hell." Margaret

Robins led the National Women's Trade Union League in the early 1900s. In the 1910s Margaret

Sanger crusaded to have birth-control information available for all women (see Sanger).

Fighting for the Vote

The first women's rights convention took place in Seneca Falls, N.Y., in July 1848. The

declaration that emerged was modeled after the Declaration of Independence. Written by

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, it claimed that "all men and women are created equal" and that "the

history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward

woman." Following a long list of grievances were resolutions for equitable laws, equal

educational and job opportunities, and the right to vote.

With the Union victory in the Civil War, women abolitionists hoped their hard work would result

in suffrage for women as well as for blacks. But the 14th and 15th Amendments to the

Constitution, adopted in 1868 and 1870 respectively, granted citizenship and suffrage to blacks

but not to women.

Disagreement over the next steps to take led to a split in the women's rights movement in 1869.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, a temperance and antislavery advocate, formed

the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in New York. Lucy Stone organized the

American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) in Boston. The NWSA agitated for a woman-

suffrage amendment to the Federal Constitution, while the AWSA worked for suffrage

amendments to each state constitution. Eventually, in 1890, the two groups united as the

National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Lucy Stone became chairman of

the executive committee and Elizabeth Cady Stanton served as the first president. Susan B.

Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt, and Dr. Anna Howard Shaw served as later presidents.

The struggle to win the vote was slow and frustrating. Wyoming Territory in 1869, Utah

Territory in 1870, and the states of Colorado in 1893 and Idaho in 1896 granted women the vote

but the Eastern states resisted. A woman-suffrage amendment to the Federal Constitution,

presented to every Congress since 1878, repeatedly failed to pass.

International rights for women

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women New York,

18 December 1979

INTRODUCTION

On 18 December 1979, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination

against Women was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. It entered into force as an

international treaty on 3 September 1981 after the twentieth country had ratified it. By the tenth

anniversary of the Convention in 1989, almost one hundred nations have agreed to be bound by

its provisions.

The Convention was the culmination of more than thirty years of work by the United Nations

Commission on the Status of Women, a body established in 1946 to monitor the situation of

women and to promote women's rights. The Commission's work has been instrumental in

bringing to light all the areas in which women are denied equality with men. These efforts for the

advancement of women have resulted in several declarations and conventions, of which the

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is the central and

most comprehensive document.

• It present Convention, the term "discrimination against women" shall mean any

distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or

purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women,

irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human

rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any

other field.

• Discrimination against women in all its forms, agree to pursue by all appropriate means

and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women and, to this end,

undertake:

(a) To embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their national constitutions or

other appropriate legislation if not yet incorporated therein and to ensure, through law and other

appropriate means, the practical realization of this principle;

(b) To adopt appropriate legislative and other measures, including sanctions

Where appropriate, prohibiting all discrimination against women;

(c) To establish legal protection of the rights of women on an equal basis with men and to ensure

through competent national tribunals and other public institutions the effective protection of

women against any act of discrimination;

(d) To refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination against women and to

ensure that public authorities and institutions shall act in conformity with this obligation;

(e) To take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women by any person,

organization or enterprise;

(f) To take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws,

regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination against women;

(g) To repeal all national penal provisions which constitute discrimination against women.

3. To eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country and,

in particular, shall ensure to women, on equal terms with men, the right:

(a) To vote in all elections and public referenda and to be eligible for election to all publicly

elected bodies;

(b) To participate in the formulation of government policy and the implementation thereof and to

hold public office and perform all public

Functions at all levels of government

(c) To participate in non-governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public

and political life of the country.

• To eliminate discrimination against women in order to ensure to them equal rights with

men in the field of education and in particular to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and

women:

(a) the same conditions for career and vocational guidance, for access to studies and for the

achievement of diplomas in educational establishments of all categories in rural as well as in

urban areas; this equality shall be ensured in pre-school, general, technical, professional and

higher technical education, as well as in all types of vocational training;

(b) Access to the same curricula, the same examinations, teaching staff with qualifications of the

same standard and school premises and equipment of the same quality;

(c) The elimination of any stereotyped concept of the roles of men and

women at all levels and in all forms of education by encouraging coeducation and other types of

education which will help to achieve this aim and, in particular, by the revision of textbooks and

school programmes and the adaptation of teaching methods;

(d ) The same opportunities to benefit from scholarships and other study grants;

(e) The same opportunities for access to programmes of continuing education, including adult

and functional literacy programmes, particulary those aimed at reducing, at the earliest possible

time, any gap in education existing between men and women;

(f) The reduction of female student drop-out rates and the organization of programmes for girls

and women who have left school prematurely;

(g) The same opportunities to participate actively in sports and physical education;

(h) Access to specific educational information to help to ensure the health and well-being of

families, including information and advice on family planning.

• to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family

relations and in particular shall ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women:

(a) The same right to enter into marriage;

(b) The same right freely to choose a spouse and to enter into marriage only with their free and

full consent;

(c) The same rights and responsibilities during marriage and at its dissolution;

(d) The same rights and responsibilities as parents, irrespective of their marital status, in matters

relating to their children; in all cases the interests of the children shall be paramount;

(e) The same rights to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children

and to have access to the information, education and means to enable them to exercise these

rights;

(f) The same rights and responsibilities with regard to guardianship, ward ship, trusteeship and

adoption of children, or similar institutions where these concepts exist in national legislation; in

all cases the interests of the children shall be paramount;

(g) The same personal rights as husband and wife, including the right to choose a family name, a

profession and an occupation;

(h) The same rights for both spouses in respect of the ownership, acquisition, management,

administration, enjoyment and disposition of property, whether free of charge or for a valuable

consideration.

Proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 48/104 of 20 December 1993

 The term "violence against women" means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is

likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including

threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in

private life.

Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be limited to, the following:

• Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering,

sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape,

female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal

violence and violence related to exploitation;

• Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the general community,

including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational

institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution;

•  Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State,

wherever it occurs.Women are entitled to the equal enjoyment and protection of all

human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil

or any other field. These rights include, inter alia :

The right to life;

(b) The right to equality;

(c) The right to liberty and security of person;

(d) The right to equal protection under the law;

(e) The right to be free from all forms of discrimination;

(f) The right to the highest standard attainable of physical and mental health;

(g) The right to just and favourable conditions of work;

(h) The right not to be subjected to torture, or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or

punishment.

CONCLUSION:

Given these facts, the Women in Pakistan do not possess their due rights guaranteed by the

Constitution and Laws. The state is unable to protect the women from inhuman social customs

prevalent in our society. The general population is mum over wicked practices being carried out

on women; there is a great need of their voice against anti-women practices rather than forming

laws over laws. The only need is to wake people of Pakistan for the Protection of Women Rights.

References:

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reveals,

(Charles Kennedy: The Status of Women in Pakistan in Islamization of Laws page 74

Saeed Anwar-194 THE REALITY OF WOMEN PROTECTION BILL 2006

by Justice (Retd) Muhammad Taqi Usman,11th December 2006.20:54

(

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/showthread.php?t=32301http://www.pakpassion.net/

ppforum/showthread.php?t=32031)

ARY News (reported on 29th jan,2010)

Women history in America, presented by women international center

http://www.nation.com.

Women parliamentary caucus

Quran e pak & hadis

• Dawn Date:12/19/2008 (pk press foundation)

.