October 16, 2006	Monday	Ramazan 22, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 15: Concerted efforts are needed to improve the lot of rural women by strengthening national, legal and policy frameworks for protecting women’s rights to adequate housing, land and inheritance, and ensuring non-discrimination and gender equality.

These suggestions are part of the recommendations made by UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing Miloon Kothari, released by the Women’s World Summit Foundation on the occasion of World Rural Women Day observed on October 15.

Dogged by stifling age-old traditions and outdated socio- economic system, the women living in rural areas of Pakistan are still living in stone-ages with lack of access to education, better health facilities and denial of their basic rights. They are even subjected to sexual and economic exploitation, most of which remains obscured and hidden behind the smoke-screen of our feudal system.

Their miserable state has been further exacerbated by draconian laws such as Hudood Ordinances. Pakistani women have a long way to go in achieving rights recognised by world women and human rights organisations and watchdogs.

Despite the fact that women play a major role in agricultural production in rural areas, their own condition remains miserable as they are forced to live in abject poverty.

Keeping in view this scenario, the recommendations made by the UN rapporteur need to be implemented in letter and spirit.

In this regard, Mr Kothari has stressed ensuring both at the policy and legislative levels, harmonisation between provisions in international human rights instruments and religious and customary law and practices in relation to women’s equal rights to housing, land, property and inheritance.

The UN rapporteur called for developing gender-sensitive housing policies and legislation, taking into account the situations of specific groups of women who are particularly vulnerable to hopelessness and other housing rights violations due to multiple forms of discrimination.

He also stressed enhancing rural women’s access to affordable utilities such as water, electricity and heating, as well as access to education, employment and health facilities.

It was also recommended to prevent, investigate and punish acts of violence against women, given the link between violence against women and women’s adequate housing.

Another recommendation was to introduce anti-violence provisions in housing legislation and policies, and ensuring that domestic violence laws include provisions to protect women’s right to adequate housing.

The UN rapporteur also stressed that homeless women should not be discriminated against in accessing adequate housing on the grounds of a criminal record.

“Each year for the past 10 years, WWSF raises awareness about the importance of your contributions to sustainable development, household food security and peace, and to finding creative ways to promote your basic human rights,” says the World Women Summit Foundation in an open letter released on the occasion of World Rural Women Day.

This year’s theme ‘claim your fundamental, inalienable right to adequate housing’, is another right women are entitled to, the letter says.

It is estimated that about 1.2 billion people in developing countries do not have access to drinking water; 1.8 billion people live without access to adequate sanitation, and 1 billion live in inadequate housing, with over 100 million living in conditions classified as homelessness.

“This is totally unacceptable in a world as prosperous as ours where close to $1,000 billion are spent every year on defence. A mere fraction of this could build adequate housing for all”, the letter says.

The women’s right to adequate housing, as an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of all human rights, has been recognised, implicitly and explicitly in a range of international and regional human rights instruments.

Given the importance of housing in our lives, the distinctive relationship between women and housing and the fact that for many women worldwide, home is their primary sphere of activity, placing women at the centre of housing rights is indispensable in enabling significant change.