What will be the joint efforts to eliminate Violence against Women from South Asia?

by Saleha Athar

Introduction of WMW:

The World March of Women is an International feminist action movement connecting grassroots groups and organisations working to eliminate the causes of poverty and violence against women. This feminist idea of organising a worldwide network of women was matured and developed in preparation for the World March of Women in its first International meeting in Montreal in 1998. 145 women from 65 countries and territories participated. Two themes of the WMW were adopted: 1) elimination of poverty from the world and 2) elimination of violence against women from the world. The participants affirmed their commitment to the organisation of a global march of women in the year 2000. They decided that the march would begin on the 8^th March of the millennium year, and would end on 17^th October, i.e. International Day for Eradication of Poverty.

After the formation of the WMW, it was decided to form National Coordinating Bodies (NCBs) in each country in which the March is present and in each region. The purpose of formation of NCB is to highlight the common demands and alternatives issued from global women’s movements at the local, national, regional and international levels, and also related to the issues of poverty and violence against women. These NCBs are working on these lines to eliminate poverty and violence against women in their countries and getting strength at national and territorial level. They are also intensifying cross border solidarity and increasing contact between them globally. In 2005 after a fruitful discussion and debate among women groups a Global Charter for Humanity was written and circulated by relay and a Quilt was prepared by women around the world.

Status of women in South Asia:

The overall social, cultural, political and economic conditions of the countries of South Asia show the status of women in any country. Though the constitutions of South Asian countries have granted women equal rights with men, there are still strong patriarchal values that obstruct women from obtaining their rights within society. This patriarchal attitude provides adequate room for discrimination between men and women in several ways. At the same time, while all women are subjected to patriarchy of one or the other form, we cannot place in a homogenous category due to variation in the systems of this region. As a result, severely differentiated hierarchies and groups exist in the society. Women’s lives and their roles in the society are highly involved in traditions, ideology and customs that keep them away from equity. This is to say women from marginalized community suffer more especially, such as so-called dalit, other backward classes and tribes, poor, single, old, adolescent, physically challenged and sex workers.

The sex ratio in Pakistan is very different from other regional countries. It is contrary to imperial evidence of sex ratio. According to year 2005 official statistic, the total population of Pakistan 151.48 million out of which 78.863 million were male and 72.685 million were female. There are 105 men for every 100 women. There is common perception in south Asia that women are not contributing economically to society and also considered as burdens on their families. This is contradictory to the fact that women are actually a contributory factor in managing livelihood resources. Women work from early morning to late at night while all other family members are in bed. The problem is that the domestic labour is not valued in economic terms all over South Asia. It should also be noted that women are increasingly becoming the breadwinner for the family and contributing a lot to the family’s income but intentionally ignored by the patriarchal society. Thus, women in South Asia bear a dual load with little acknowledgement for their labour. On the other hand, the so-called upper and middle class women are also increasingly visible in the public sphere and are part of all professions.

The female work force is paid less than men, even if they are doing same work. Reports from Bhutan state that female unemployment rate is 3.3 percent in urban areas and 42.2 percent rural areas. In Bangladesh, however, unemployment rates declined in urban areas but increased in rural areas. But this trend was reversed for women in Bangladesh. They suffer from multiple sources of economic deprivation. As elsewhere in South Asia, the wage rates are lower for women in all form of labour.

Women in Sri Lanka still face unemployment that is nearly double that of men. According to the labour force survey of 2001, the unemployment rates for females remained at 11.6 percent compared to 5.8 percent for males. A relatively high percentage of unemployed women are educated and are in the age group of 15-24 years.

In Pakistan due to lower literacy rate women have a marginal role in economic activities. Thus, a large number of women work in informal sector in agriculture, and their labour is not accounted for in the national GDP women in Pakistan. Woman work 12 to 15 hours a day on various economic activities and households chores, carrying out a variety of tasks, from crop production to post harvest operation.

Although incidences of poverty are very high among female-headed households, it has generally been decreasing both at national and local levels. Though income poverty affects both male and female-headed households almost equally, the incidence of non-income poverty is much higher among the latter group.

Women in decision-making:

In South Asia, women are limited by the society’s patriarchal attitude in their role in decision making; from household to her marriage or from upbringing of children to share in property and assets. Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka had famous women who have been leaders in power and in opposition. However, all these women have been catapulted to leadership position by virtue of being born in great or powerful families. All have been daughters or wives of leaders but they had been under the strong policies of state and international organisations that they could not take revolutionary steps for the betterment of women.

Women and armed conflict:

Women have multiple roles in armed conflicts, they take care of the wounded, look after traumatised children and relatives, become victims, join as combatants, work as couriers, cooks and more. This has been evident in all South Asian conflicts, LTTE cadre in Sri Lanka, CPN in Nepal Maoist movement, and other movements and conflict in India. While mapping women’s roles in conflict may require special study, it is evident that women increasingly play a significant role in the issue of conflict and peace.

In South Asia women’s movements of each country are engaged in struggling against poverty and fighting against violence locally, nationally and internationally. Poverty and violence are very much interlinked; it is observed that the issue of an increase in poverty is a result of global economic integration in the human life. In South Asia violence against women is increasing, because the fundamentalists who dominate society, promote patriarchal social relation and masculinity, ethnic and religious thinking, to control the women’s lives. Due to economic integration conflict areas are increasing, war and militarism are expanding and promoting traditional feudalism. These are not parallel but interconnected forces that have served to damage women’s position and condition, and reinforce traditional patriarchal controls, and weaken women’s security and survival. In our societies, gender discrimination has always operated through various forms such as colonialism, caste, class, race, region, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, and marital status. In South Asia, gender differentials in access to education, health care, and work for earning make women and girls victims to all form of violence. Forty four percent of the world’s illiterate women are in South Asia, majority of them working in the informal sector.

All forms of VAW:

In the South Asian region, the situation of violence against women or poverty is more or less the same; women are treated inhumanly. Inequality, gender discrimination, sexual violence, harassment, and low wages, less food, poor health condition, and long working hours rank them as second-class citizens in the community/society. Domestic violence – especially specific forms of cultural violence such as honour-killings, acid attacks, stove burnings, Sati, and forced temple prostitution – is high in South Asia ranging from 50 percent in India, to 80 percent in Pakistan.

Strategies for the future:

If we want to fight and make our struggle more powerful in the elimination of poverty and violence against women, we need to raise our voices unitedly from the grassroots upwards:

1)      Revising the conceptual frameworks from which to develop our strategies,

2)      Building a large and powerful mass base,

3)      Recasting our own structure to deal with these overwhelming tasks,

4)      Exchange programme,

5)      Create new jobs for women.

1) Revising our conceptual framework:

First we will have to revise our strategies and take help from our past experience, with awareness of the strengths and limitations shown by these experiences, to provide clear directions for our future work. In South Asia equal rights for men and women are not accessible, the state does provide the laws for the rights of every citizens of the country but implementation of the laws are not practiced. None of these countries has equality and justice. A big gap between poor and rich is there, states are not giving any facilities to the common people and the privilege class is taking full support from governments. In this political situation or scenario the government evades implementation of laws to provide equal rights to common men and have-nots. If we want to fight for the empowerment of women, first we will have to endeavour to eradicate the uneven system and for this we will have to unite from grassroots upwards and stand together and fight for our rights.  Our work and mobilisation should start from grassroots organizations to raise voices and opinion against discrimination in urban and rural areas.

2) Building a large and powerful mass base:

A powerful mass of base organisations of poor women is needed to enable them access to multiple political spaces. This also means creating alternative spaces for women who bear the brunt of neo-liberal policies and other inhuman activities in South Asia, displacement and loss of habitat and livelihoods due to wars and civil conflicts, ethnic violence, domestic violence, and state repression. We will see an incredible revolution will come in the country, if mobilised communities stand up for their rights, eager to bring change in the country and this will also transfuse to other countries. If a proper strategy is adopted to bring together people’s union/labour organisations of South Asia it will bring them close up to each other.

Strong focus on building the base will also create the conditions for grassroots women’s organizations to launch and to take leadership of mass movement against poverty, conflict, and fundamentalism.

3) Recasting Structures:

We will thus develop a powerful leadership from mobilised grassroots women organizations, which will be able to participate in planning and making strategies devising process and discuss with thinkers and strategy makers on an equal basis. These leaders from the grassroots level will not only lead their mobilised communities but must also be able to plan actions and finalise strategies for themselves.

4) Exchange programme:

It is observed that there is no communication between grassroots organisations of all South Asian countries, which create gaps and disassociation from the problems and issues of each country. We must eliminate this disassociation and these distances to solve our problems, we should make a regular plan to exchange women and men to meet each other and share their views and opinions in a common place.

Exchange of written materials, posters, films, songs etc.

If one country is facing political and economical crises and a lot of agitation has started, it is necessary that other South Asian countries raise their voices against this crisis in solidarity. In solidarity every men and women will send articles to newspapers and take part in Radio and TV talk shows.

For the easy movement in South Asia and the union of peoples it is necessary to withdraw visa policy and promote people to people contacts.

5) Create new jobs for women: