ISLAMABAD: Despite several commitments, women in the country are still facing challenges which can only be overcome by women themselves.

This was stated by human rights defender and senior lawyer Asma Jahangir at the concluding ceremony of a three-day conference on “Gender knowledge in Pakistan: production, dissemination and contestation” on Friday.

The conference was organised by the Centre of Excellence in Gender Studies at the Quaid-i-Azam University. Ms Jahangir said despite making significant improvement, women still lacked the ability to mainstream themselves.

“I’m pleased to see women playing a pivotal role in various sectors but still there is a need for further activism,” she said, adding how strange it is that a man is allowed to contract a second marriage if his wife becomes paralysed.

Pakistani women, who married non-Pakistanis, especially Afghan nationals, are also facing several legal issues about citizenship which needed to be addressed, she added.

MNA Arifa Khalid of the PML-N said women even in parliament were facing gender inequality. She said women should raise their voice for getting equal status in the male-dominated society.

Professor Niolufar de Mel, from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, highlighted issues faced by the Sri Lankan women. During the three-day conference, which was attended by delegates from India, Sri Lanka, Germany and Pakistan, the speakers said despite national and international commitment to gender equality, there were challenges in the implementation of the policy commitment and legal rights of women.

They said women’s experiences differed widely depending on the class, ethnicity, religion and caste background.

The delegates affirmed their commitment to continuing their struggle to achieve gender equality according to the principles of social justice.

Director Centre of Excellence in Gender Studies Dr Farzana Bari highlighted the main themes and issues discussed in the conference and outlined the agenda for future action for feminist research activism and collaboration both at the national and the South Asian levels.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2016