THE feminists were out in full force in the session ‘Facing Wrongs and Seeking Rights: The Female Perspective’ on the third day of KLF. Fouzia Saeed, executive director of Lok Virsa, known for her book on prostitution and her efforts in passing the sexual harassment law in Pakistan; Ruchira Gupta, founder and president of the NGO Apne Aap, winner of an Emmy for the documentary The Selling of Innocents which brought to light sex trafficking in India; and moderator Shaheen Atiq-ur-Rahman had a lively and engaging discussion.

“I used to think that what happened to men was political and what happened to women was cultural,” said Gupta, recounting how, as a young journalist, she deliberately stayed away from ‘women’s issues’, fearing that they weren’t serious enough for someone who aspired to become an editor. Gupta’s fears will resonate with many women journalists who fear being pigeonholed into ‘soft’ beats like health and women’s issues.

Despite her determination to stay away from such issues, Gupta recounted how her journalistic investigations led her to witness the utter dehumanising of the prostitution trade. Not only did she end up making an Emmy-winning documentary, she also founded a grassroots movement called Apne Aap for women to take control of their destinies.

At a time when there is immense lobbying to legalise the sex trade, Gupta’s work is important in understanding how skewed the power dynamics between buyer and seller are, and what a blow to human rights such a step would be. As Saeed noted, whereas our slurs are all focused on one party, there isn’t even a name — much less a swear word — for the other party, the man who visits the brothels. To legitimise the sex trade in the name of neoliberalism will perpetuate the exploitation of women, not end it.

Both Saeed and Gupta pointed to uplifting trends for those fighting for gender equality. The passage of the sexual harassment law was a positive step in Pakistan, and one which could be accomplished mainly because Saeed’s Alliance Against Sexual Harassment was able to bring on board the government, media, corporations, labour unions and other stakeholders. This they did by keeping a clear vision and adopting language that other stakeholders were comfortable with.

For example, while the government was scandalised that women would actually use the word sexual and refused to sit at the table with them, they had no objection to the term gender justice. The adroit use of vocabulary and adoption of terms like ‘job satisfaction’, ‘productive environment’, and ‘dignity’ enabled Saeed to gather the broad consensus that resulted not only in the landmark sexual harassment law but many other laws beneficial to women, after a gap of about 50 years. Similarly, across the border the rising reports of rape indicate the willingness of more and more women to speak up and break the silence around what used to be a complete taboo.

The issues feminists in India and Pakistan talk about have not changed much in the last 20 years; what has changed is that there is now a real sense that the old structures may finally be crumbling.

— Batool Zehra