Pakistan

Background

Violence against Women is pervasive across class, religion, ethnicity, religion and rural/urban divide in Pakistan. Violence, and the threat of such violence, is a form of control that affects women’s health, their ability to pursue education and employment and contributes to the low social indicators for women’s development in the country. It is, therefore, important to create an enabling environment for respecting, protecting and fulfilling rights of women.

Objectives

The Gender Justice and Protection (GJP) Project aims to contribute towards sustainable reduction in Violence against Women (VAW) in accordance with the government’s policy commitments. The project has established a fund to support promising initiatives from the Government and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to combat VAW in the priority areas of capacity building, advocacy and awareness-raising, action-oriented research, legal aid and up-scaling promising practices.

Key Achievements

GJP is currently funding 30 sub-projects in 42 districts across Pakistan. Twelve of these sub-projects were initiated in 2008 and nineteen in 2009.

Eight of theses sub-projects are being implemented in collaboration with various government departments/agencies including Police department of three provinces, district governments and a federal ministry.

A capacity building workshop was organized for all the implementing partners in July 2009 which resulted in enhanced capacities for the partners for effective implementation of the sub-projects at the grass-root level.

A user-friendly and interactive website of the project has been uploaded to provide easy access to key information and resources on VAW initiatives.

A Legal Aid & Support Centre has been established by the Community Development Programme (CDP) in district Bannu which is providing free services women on their legal rights of inheritance, succession and maintenance expenses.

An institutional structure has been created within the Sindh Police Department which includes establishment of Anti-Karo Kari Cells and capacity building of Police officers.

Three Women Helplines have been operationalized by the Madadgaar in Districts Larkana, Hyderabad and Sukhur in Sindh to provide telephonic and walk-in counselling, referral and legal aid to women survivors of violence, abuse and exploitation

A Crisis Intervention Centre has been established by the Bedari in district Chakwal to provide psychological counselling, legal aid and referral services to women victims of violence. 

Regional Directorate of Human Rights is providing free legal-aid and psycho-social support to women prisoners in NWFP. The women prisoners are receiving vocational skills and getting linked to micro-credit facilities to become economically self-sufficient upon their release.

Al-Mubarik Welfare Society has developed teaching material to advocate for women’s rights, in consultation with religious scholars, to be included in the curricula of the religious seminaries in Shabqadar, district Charsadda. The material was also shared in khutbas/sermons in mosques during Ramazan.