ISLAMABAD: Women rights activists from across the country participated in a one-day Women Human Rights Defenders Congress on Tuesday, which was hosted by the Potohar Organisation for Development Advocacy (Poda) in collaboration with the European Union Delegation to Pakistan and UN-Women.

The congress aimed to highlight good practices and mechanisms which can be utilised for the protection of women human rights defenders and to formulate a concrete action plan for ensuring their protection and the promotion of their work.

The event was part of Poda’s ongoing 16 days of activism and was held in connection with the International Day for Women Human Rights Defenders, which is celebrated on Nov 29 to recognise the work done by activists and to honour their courageous acts of resistance.

Speakers at a conference call for formulation of action plan for protecting women rights activists

The event was chaired by National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) Chairperson Khawar Mumtaz who urged civil society organisations to act in a timely manner for the protection of women human rights defenders.

“Women human rights defenders in Pakistan are the actual agents of change and can help uplift human rights standards in Pakistan.

“They need to network and share resources among each other in order to increase their impact,” she said.

One of the activists who participated at the event, Pushpa Kumari spoke about the hurdles she faced in her life, from her childhood right up to her becoming a human rights activist.

Ms Kumari said her family also gave her a hard time when she was starting her career and that her commitment for protecting her rights gave her the strength to move forward.

“When I got married, there were no toilet facilities in my village [in interior Sindh]. But now, after many confrontation with the elite of the area, girls in our area even go to school and I am here today so that they do not have to face the same hurdles,” she said.

Speakers agreed that women human rights activists need to put their security at the top of the agenda of their organisations so that policies and strategies are devised to address their issues and concerns on priority.

Though human rights defenders across the world face more threats than men, the situation is worse in Pakistan due to cultural and social taboos, they said.

NCSW member Tanveer Jehan shared the findings of a survey conducted by the commission regarding the situation of women human rights activists in Pakistan.

According to the survey, 48pc of organisations working on women’s rights have received threats, that though Pakistan has always been a dangerous country for women rights activists, the situation has worsened in the recent years and 51pc of female activists have reported being threatened in the last six months.

Talking to Dawn, Norwegian Church Aid Security Adviser Tamseela Amin said the government’s unstable policies are a greater threat to women rights.

“Our rights are not documented in job agreements and even if they are mentioned, we are not given our rights. Women will have to raise a voice for their rights and to counter threats, physical or otherwise,” she said.

Published in Dawn November 30th, 2016