Naeem Sarfraz

On New Year’s Day 1979 Shah Raza Pahlavi fled Iran. On January 31st exiled Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned in triumph to Tehran, ushering in the first fundamentalist Islamic state of the 20th Century. Women were its first victims. Later the same year Russian troops marched into Kabul, unleashing the rancour of the Western and of the Islamic world.

US and Saudi money poured in to train and equip thousands of Muslim volunteers who flooded in from across the Muslim world to evict the Soviets. Hundreds of camps were set up in madrisas, or schools, in the tribal areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan. From there they launched a war of attrition which totally sapped the might of the Soviets and led to their humiliating defeat and exit from Afghanistan. While pandering to the religious fighters, Pakistan’s president General Zia-ul Haq introduced the Hudood Ordinances- a set of laws ostensibly intended to implement Islamic Shariah. Women become the main victims of this so-called Islamisation of Pakistan, as these laws stripped them of their basic rights as equal citizens and exposed them to injustice and violence.

Following the Soviet defeat, former war comrades fought each other to grab power in Kabul, leading eventually to the Taliban - the Pakistan-based, Saudi/American-funded students emerging victorious and forming a repressive, theocratic fundamentalist state in Afghanistan. They provided sanctuary and safe havens to other Muslim “freedom fighters” – Chechens, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Arabs and others- the most prominent being Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda organisation. Their mantra was to establish Taliban-style abrasive regimes throughout the Muslim world.

The victims of such repressive regimes are inevitably the weakest and the most vulnerable, none more so than women. Battered, abused and denied all rights they become no more than domestic slaves to an arrogant misogynistic society. While looking down upon these emerging monsters with a degree of contempt the world failed to recognise the danger they posed, until the fateful September 11th attack on America, when the world was jarred awake to the collapsing World Trade Center.

Pakistani Society under Siege

Iran lies on Pakistan’s Western border, and Afghanistan to its North, with all the madrisas strewn along the Pakistan side of the border. As surely as night follows day, the spin-off of extremism and intolerant views began making inroads into the otherwise peaceful and tolerant Pakistani society. Hardline religious groups formed during General Zia’s regime have since become a strong political force in Pakistan. Consequently, during the last three decades intolerance has multiplied in Pakistan. The human rights situation in the country has gotten worse, with hundreds of honour killings, murders and rape cases of women each year. Hundreds of underprivileged young women are trafficked domestically and internationally each year and are abused and denied their right to a basic education.

In Pakistan, violent crimes against women tend to be extremely brutal. Women are murdered usually due to a family’s perceived sense of flouted honour (known as honour killings). Angered male relatives of girls that marry against their family’s wishes often retaliate by gang raping a female from the boy’s family. Last year alone there were over 1000 cases of honour killings, 862 cases of rapes (including 438 gang rapes), and 80 cases of women victims of burning or acid

attacks. Many of these victims were minors. These figures include only cases reported by the media. The majority are unreported due to the victims’ fear of further persecution.

The overall mindset of Pakistani society is steadily becoming more oppressive towards women and children, particularly the girl-child. Contrary to religious doctrines and Pakistan’s Constitution, both of which give copious rights and protection to females, the prevailing perception of uneducated Pakistani males is that females are no more than disposable chattel. The increasing influence of religious extremists exacerbates an already deteriorating situation. Religious fanaticism, coupled with ignorance, poor rule of law and oppressive traditions create the dour conditions of today’s average Pakistani women. Figure 1 illustrates this relationship.

Fazaldad Human Rights Institute, an NGO founded in the memory of the late Dr. Fazaldad Wahla, a young dentist who gave his life while attempting to save a young girl from an honour killing, is committed to combating violence against women through preventive measures. To combat extremism and violence, the need to change Pakistanis’ way of thinking towards a moderate Islam that embodies principles of women’s protection and rights is vital. FHRI’s program is unique in that it concentrates exclusively on “changing the mindset” in society through mass education so that such abuse and victimisation does not take place in the first place. It is “preventive” rather than “reactive”. The objectives of FHRI’s programs are illustrated in Figure 2.

FHRI’s projects strengthen community based organisations, education administrators, lecturers and teachers from rural and backward areas. They get comprehensive training on human rights in one-week diploma courses in Islamabad and become “Master Trainers”. Being themselves locals, with their local knowledge, they support Fazaldad Institute’s Resource Persons in training hundreds of teachers in their own districts. The teachers under training also come from diverse backgrounds representing the most backwards segments of society. An enormous multiplier effect is achieved through establishing regional civil rights networks and links between different local organizations.

Although educational data in Pakistan is limited, basic research conducted in the sub-continent revealed that, due to large class sizes, one teacher in a well established school comes in contact with 1000- 1100 students per year. As several thousand teachers have been trained by FHRI, the final beneficiaries are millions of young school-going children. The same research, though not conclusive, also found that one child, if taught a concept in a convincing way, transmits the same to over 400 adults in 1 to 1½ years, which further multiplies the impact. Sensitizing people during childhood is not only effective but necessary as violent crimes against women are often perpetrated by male family members as young as ten years old.

Seven Years of Struggle

The Institute has been working closely with the government since April 2000 and has developed long term sustainable programs designed to end violence and bridge the growing rift between the Muslim world and others. The programs have been outstandingly successful, as evident by the growing demand from the community. They are amongst the few long-term sustainable ones designed to protect the vulnerable members of society while simultaneously preventing religious extremism through altering people’s adverse beliefs, in a region so closely associated with worldwide terrorism.
The Institute’s programs and activities it has participated in include the following:
1. In April 2000, a major Convention on Human Rights and Human Dignity was held in Islamabad, with participation of all     stakeholders including the President, his Cabinet, NGOs and diplomats. Decisions taken included wide ranging changes in     policies.

2. Over a 3-year period the entire curriculum taught in the schools of Pakistan was reviewed and Human Rights education     incorporated in it from Class 1 to High School level. This has now been made a formal part of study for the 20 million students     in the schools of Pakistan. The Institute worked closely with the government on this initiative and continues to assist in     periodic reviews so necessary for a dynamic education program.
3. Over 26,000 teachers in 60 cities have been trained by the Institute on human rights issues. They, in turn, now teach the     subject in thousands of schools to about 2.5 million students at an average of 100 students per teacher.
4. 800 Master Trainers given diploma-level training by the Institute form the bulk of a nationwide team of volunteers and     dedicated resource persons.
5. Literature has been developed to assist the teachers. It has been translated into five regional languages. Over 100,000     copies of guidelines and lesson plans have been distributed.
6. 36 programs have been held by the Institute in schools for teachers, students and local communities on human rights issues.     These interactive programs, for an average of 1000 students per school, include dramas, debates, and poster competition in     which the students participate.
7. Judges, police officers and bureaucrats have been trained by the Institute and, in turn, have made human rights education     compulsory in their training establishments. Resource persons from the Fazaldad Institute have also assisted by conducting     programs at these institutions. Consequently thousands of the nation’s human rights custodians (policemen, judges and     bureaucrats) are now made fully aware of their obligations towards the rights of citizens.
8. The Institute’s initiatives have been supported by the private sector, by the ILO and by the governments of Germany and the     UK.

Many countries are facing the problem of growing intolerance and violence against women. The participants at a recent meeting at the UN widely acclaimed the Institutes initiative on “changing the mindset” which they felt was quite unique. Many representatives of government and civil society from several countries asked for more information and expressed a strong desire to introduce similar initiatives in their own countries as well.
While changing the moral axioms for an entire nation, and indeed of many nations, is a monumental task that will take generations to accomplish, Fazaldad Institute has taken the first step towards sustained women’s protection in Pakistan through tangible, long-term, preventive programs.
The Institute holds Special Consultative Status at the UN and has also been certified by the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy.