Pakistan

Partner WAR Lahore and Equality Now highlighted in story on incest in Pakistan (Express Tribune)

2/15/12 -- Express Tribune -- "For incest victims, the trauma never goes away" Partner WAR Lahore and Equality Now highlighted in story on incest in Pakistan.

Program Officer Mehr Qureshi on Equality Now & partners' report addressing incest in Pakistan (Trust Law)

1/25/12 -- Trust Law -- "Girl's fight for justice breaks silence on incest in Pakistan" Program Officer Mehr Qureshi on release of Equality Now and partners' ground-breaking report addressing incest in Pakistan, A Struggle for Justice: Incest Victims in Pakistan Report.

 

War Against Rape, Lahore, Nasreen Welfare Trust Legal Aid Services & Equality Now Release Ground Breaking Report on Incest in Pakistan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
24 January 2012

Contact: EQUALITY NOW (London/New York): Mehr Qureshi, mqureshi@equalitynow.org
NASREEN WELFARE TRUST (Pakistan): Hina Hafeezullah, hina.h.ishaq@gmail.com
WAR AGAINST RAPE, LAHORE (Pakistan): Sidra Humayun, sidra.humayun@hotmail.com

Report aims to prompt revisions to Pakistan’s sexual violence laws including a special provision for incest

Equality Now Issues Urgent Alert After Brother of Teenager Allegedly Gang-Raped by Police Shot Dead Outside of a Court House in Pakistan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
15 December 2011

Contact: LONDON: Anber Raz, (44) (0) 20-7839-5456, ukinfo@equalitynow.org
NEW YORK: Karen Asare, (01) 212-586-0906, media@equalitynow.org

Organization calls on Government Officials to Protect 16-year-old Uzma Ayub and her Family and to Ensure Justice in her Case

Equality Now calls on the Government of Pakistan to Protect 16 year old Gang-rape Victim Uzma Ayub and Ensure Justice in her Case

Update: 
Not an update
Date: 
2011 Dec 15
Update: 

UPDATE 29 February 2012: Pressure from human rights groups and media prompted the Pakistani government to take action in the case of Uzma Ayub. Following the Peshawar High Court's call for thorough inquiries and strict action against all perpetrators and the police officers who failed to take action in both the rape and murder cases in December 2011, 14 people have been arrested in the rape case and 29 police officers have been suspended. The alleged murderer of Uzma's brother is still at large but 15 of his alleged co-conspirators have been arrested. For Uzma’s safety, the government has relocated her and her mother to Peshawar. On 19 January, Uzma gave birth to a baby girl. DNA samples have been taken from the baby and the alleged rapists and are being tested in order to identify the child's father. The next hearing in the rape case will be held after the results of the paternity test have been released.

Please join us as we continue to call upon the Pakistani government to ensure that Uzma’s case is fully and properly investigated and that all the perpetrators involved, including those who may have obstructed justice, are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Similarly, continue to call on them to ensure that all those responsible for the murder of Uzma’s brother Alamzeb are swiftly and properly brought to justice and prosecuted. >> TAKE ACTION NOW!

Update Date: 
2012 Feb 29
Uzma and child
Uzma and child
What You Can Do: 

Please write urgently to the officials below calling on them to ensure Uzma and her family’s immediate safety. Ask them to make certain that her case is fully and properly investigated and that all the perpetrators involved, including those who may have obstructed justice, are prosecuted to the full extent of the law, in accordance with Pakistan’s own Constitution and international obligations. Similarly call on them to ensure that all those responsible for the murder of Uzma’s brother Alamzeb are swiftly and properly brought to justice and prosecuted. Ask that local organisations under threat are protected and any threats against them investigated and appropriately prosecuted. Request guarantees that the authorities will send clear messages that such criminal actions, particularly by those who should be upholding the law, will not be tolerated.

>> TAKE ACTION NOW!

Mr. Amir Haider Hoti
Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Chief Minister House
Fort Road,
Peshawar Cantt
Pakistan
Tel: +92-91-9213574, +92-91- 9211719
Fax: +92-91-9210718, +92-91-9210743
Email: pskhyberpakhtoonkhwa@yahoo.com

Barrister Arshad Abdullah
Minister for Law & Parliamentary Affairs
Government of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa
Minister Block Opposite to MPA Hostel
Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa
Tel: +92-91-9210353
Fax: +92-91-9211130
 
Mr. Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani
Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
The Prime Minister’s Secretariat
Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92 51 920 6111
Fax: +92 51 922 1596
E-mail: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk

Mr. Moula Bakhsh Chandio
Minister for Law, Justice
and Parliamentary Affairs
Ministry of Law, Justice
and Parliamentary Affairs
Islamabad, Pakistan
E-Mail: minister@molaw.gov.pk

Letters: 

Dear _____ :

I write to you with deep concern regarding the case of gang-rape victim Uzma Ayub from Karak in the Khyber Pakhtunkha (KP) province.

I was concerned to hear about the horrific circumstances concerning 16 year old Uzma’s case and that she was held captive for almost a year during which she was repeatedly gang raped by a number of individuals including police officers resulting in a pregnancy. I was deeply dismayed to hear that Uzma and her family having already suffered such tragedy, have been further traumatized by the killing of Uzma’s brother Alamzeb Marwat outside the Karak District court allegedly by relatives of some of the police perpetrators.

Despite intense pressure and death threats, Uzma and her family are fighting for justice. This case has highlighted a shocking level of police corruption in the area and I urge you to please address this situation urgently. I respectfully urge you to ensure that Uzma’s case is fully and properly investigated and that all the perpetrators involved, including those who may have obstructed justice, are prosecuted to the full extent of the law, in accordance with Pakistan’s own Constitution, which states that “all citizens are equal before law and are entitled for equal protection of law” and that “there shall be no discrimination on the basis of sex alone,” along-side Pakistan’s international human rights obligations to ensure justice for all. I also ask that you ensure all those responsible for the murder of Uzma’s brother Alamzeb are swiftly and properly brought to justice and prosecuted. 

It is also my understanding that local NGOs who have been supporting Uzma in her fight for justice have been threatened. I urge you to ensure that local organisations are protected and any threats against them investigated and appropriately prosecuted. 

By prosecuting the perpetrators the government of KP will send a clear message that such criminal actions, particularly by those who should be upholding the law, will not be tolerated.

Thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely

Sidra Humayun

Confronting Sexual Violence Head On in Pakistan
Sidra Humayun

1. Can you describe the hurdles that female victims of sexual violence typically face in seeking justice and help in Pakistan?

News Alert: Pakistan: Equality Now Calls on the Government of Pakistan to Protect the Rights of Women and Girls in the Swat Valley and Federally Administered Tribal Areas

Update: 
Not an update
Date: 
2009 Feb 17

Please find below an opinion piece from today's UK Independent newspaper written by Equality Now. The piece highlights the deteriorating situation of law and order in the Swat and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in Pakistan which is leading to increased violence and discrimination against women. It also questions the Government of Pakistan’s plans to implement shariah (Islamic law) as part of a peace deal with militants.

What You Can Do: 

Please contact the officials below urging them to ensure the rights of women and girls are protected and not sacrificed in order to appease militants in Swat and FATA.

President Asif Ali Zardari
President of Pakistan
President's Secretariat
Islamabad, Pakistan

Mr Farooq Naik
Minister of Law, Justice and Human Rights
S Block Pakistan Secretariat
Islamabad, Pakistan

Mr Ameer Hussain Hoti
Chief Minister of North West Frontier Province
info@nwfp.gov.pk
Tel: +92- 92-9211705

Please also send copies of your messages to the Speaker of the House of Parliament:

Dr Fehmida Mirza
Speaker, National Assembly of Pakistan
Parliament House
Islamabad, Pakistan
E-mail: speaker@na.gov.pk

 

Letters: 

[add address of relevant official]

Dear [name]

I am writing to express my deep concern about the violence and discrimination being faced by women and girls in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and in Swat in Pakistan and, in particular, the latest reports that the Government of Pakistan is ready to approve the implementation of shariah law in these areas as part of a peace agreement.

A parallel, uncodified, justice system would not only bring confusion to those seeking to assert their rights, it would also risk denying them the protections provided by Pakistan’s national laws as well as under Pakistan’s Constitution. Given the record of the militants to date, evidence suggests that rights already provided by Pakistan’s Constitution, especially those of women and girls, would be denied or diminished under any system administered by the militants. This would be a violation of constitutional guarantees of equality among other things.

I would therefore respectfully urge the Government urgently to reject endorsement of any alternative legal system which does not guarantee equality to all. We would also urge you to take active steps to uphold and protect the rights of women and girls, including by effectively countering the militants’ ban on girls’ education and ensuring girls’ safe access to education.

I thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely
 

News Alert: Pakistan: A War on Pakistan's Schoolgirls

Update: 
Not an update
Date: 
2009 Jan 26

Please find below an op-ed from today's Washington Post written by Yasmeen Hassan, Equality Now's Deputy Director of Programs. The piece highlights the deteriorating situation of violence and instability in the North West region of Pakistan, especially the attacks on girls' schools in Swat.

News Alert: Pakistan: Fundamentalist Pressure in North West Frontier Province of Pakistan Has Led to Alarming Violence and Discrimination Against Girls and Women

Update: 
Not an update
Date: 
2009 Jan 1

Equality Now Calls on Pakistan's Government to Protect Girls and Ensure Their Right to Education

In late December 2008 the Taliban ordered a ban on girls’ education in the district of Swat in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. The announcement made by an extremist cleric, Maulana Fazlullah through an illegal FM radio station, asked all parents to remove their daughters from school (both private and public) by 15 January 2009, failing which schools would be bombed, girls murdered and, like the recent case in Afghanistan, acid thrown in their faces.

What You Can Do: 

Equality Now is calling on the Government of Pakistan to take immediate action, coordinated between law enforcement, legislature (national and provincial), the Ministry of Education and other line ministries to ensure women and girls in FATA and Swat are able to fully exercise their rights without fear of violence or intimidation including the access of all girls to school as well as their security in school. In addition, the Government should reject the endorsement of any alternative legal system which does not guarantee to all citizens the rights provided under the Pakistani Constitution and the international human rights instruments to which Pakistan is a party. Please write to the officials listed below asking them to give immediate and urgent attention to eliminate the threat to girls’ education in Swat and to curb all moves to reduce or deny women’s rights in Pakistan.

President Asif Ali Zardari
President of Pakistan
President's Secretariat
Islamabad, Pakistan

Dr. Fehmida Mirza
Speaker, National Assembly of Pakistan
Parliament House
Islamabad, Pakistan
E-mail: speaker@na.gov.pk

Meer Hazar Khan Bijarani
Minister of Education
Ministry of Education
Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: (0092-51) 920-1392, 921-2020
E-mail: minister@moe.gov.pk

 

Letters: 

[add address of relevant official]

Dear [President Zardari/Dr, Mirza/ Minister] [delete as appropriate]

I am writing to express my deep concern about the violence and discrimination being faced by women and girls in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Swat in Pakistan and, in particular, the targeting of girls’ schools by militants who have announced a ban on girls’ education effective 15 January 2009. I am also concerned about reports that the Government of Pakistan is considering the adoption of shariah (Islamic law) in these areas as a way to compromise with the militants.

I urge the Government of Pakistan to take immediate action, coordinated between law enforcement, legislature (both national and provincial), the Ministry of Education and other relevant ministries in order to ensure that women and girls in FATA and Swat are able to fully exercise their rights without fear of violence or intimidation, including the access of all girls to school as well as their security. I urge the Government to ensure that any intervention upholds Pakistan’s commitments to gender equality and education under its Constitution as well as under international human rights instruments ratified by it. As such, I would also urge you to reject the endorsement of any alternative legal system which does not guarantee equality to all.

I thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely

 

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