ISLAMABAD: Women lawmakers from Iraq, Turkey and Sri Lanka joined their Pakistani counterparts in discussing the role of women in tackling violent extremism at a conference on Monday.

The three-day conference on ‘The Role of Women Parliamentarians in Strengthening Democracy and Social Justice’ was organised by the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus which lawmakers from Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Jordan, Australia, Romania, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Jordan, Maldives, Indonesia and Nepal are attending.

Speaking at the inaugural session, the prime minister’s daughter, Mariam Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistani women can draw from a strong history of women leaders tracing back to Khadija, the wife of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

Ms Sharif appreciated the work carried out by the women’s caucus in bringing forth landmark legislation to protect the rights of Pakistani women. “Women parliamentarians must be celebrated as agents of change,” she said.

She urged the women in the audience to support other women in their endeavours.

“There may not be a man behind every successful woman but there can be a tribe of supportive women,” she said.

Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq paid tribute to the women in his life- his wife, mother, sister and daughter. He cautioned that while celebrating the professional achievements of women, the struggles of stay-at-home mothers should not be undermined.

The Speaker said the ministries led by women have outshone others and women ministers often come more prepared for parliamentary question hours than their male colleagues.

“It is through the efforts of women lawmakers that over two dozen laws protecting women have been passed in the last ten years,” he said.

Mr Sadiq said that no democracy can be called ‘representative’ unless it is inclusive and offers space to women and minorities.

He said that reserved seats in assemblies have increased women’s representation but are not a lasting solution for meaningful participation. He called for a 5pc quota for women in party tickets for general seats.

Talking to Dawn, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Maryam Aurangzeb said women parliamentarians play a crucial role in ‘balanced’ policymaking.

“Forums such as these give a voice to women leaders and allow them to write their own narrative,” she said.

Patron of the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus, former speaker Dr Fehmeeda Mirza, told Dawn that the spirit of cooperation is the driving force behind the women’s caucus. “Women must work together to achieve our shared goals. This cooperation extends beyond borders as women face similar challenges across the world,” she said.

Confronting terrorism

Artist Muneeza Hashmi moderated the discussion in the second session of the day which focused on terrorism and women’s role in creating peaceful, democratic societies.

Sharing her country’s experience in dealing with terrorism, Iraqi Member of Parliament Iqbal Abdul Hussain said Iraqi women have suffered the worst human rights violations in the past few years.

“Iraqi women face numerous risks such as poor security, many types of violence and malnutrition but have remained strong in their fight against terrorism,” she said.

She lamented that media, both international and local, have misrepresented Iraqi women. “We have examples such as Umaya Jawad who died fighting ISIS,” she said.

Ms Hussain said that democracy has now returned to Iraq and women are participating in the process of nation-building.

“Women now make up 25pc of the parliament in Iraq. But there are forces which are trying to undermine this role so the struggle continues,” she said PPP Senator Rubina Khalid said the assassination of Benazir Bhutto was a turning point in Pakistan’s fight against terrorism.

“Losing such a leader made the Pakistani nation realise that the fight against terrorism is our fight,” she said.

However, she lamented that in formulating a policy for tackling terrorism, women were not consulted.

“Mothers play the most important role in making a peaceful and inclusive society,” she said.

Sri Lankan MP Sudarshini Fernandopulle, whose husband was assassinated by the Tamil Tigers, discussed the efforts made by her government to look after the needs of the widows of the Sri Lankan liberation war.

She said that women’s participation in political life in Sri Lanka is poor and efforts are being made to improve women’s representation, especially at the local level. “The women’s caucus in Sri Lanka is working towards bringing up women’s representation to 30 or 40 per cent,” she said.

Turkish MP Hüsnüye Erdogan said that there is a misconception that Islam does not give rights to women. She said that women face violence and harassment everywhere and even in the West, women were not given the right to vote until the nineteenth century.

Ms Erdogan said that her country is tackling various types of terrorism which has taken the lives of 40,000 Turkish men, women and children. “Terrorism is not Islam and women play an important role in spreading this message,” she said.

Member National Commission on the Status of Women Mossarat Qadeem said military might is not enough to tackle extremism in society. “Preventive steps include tackling extremism at the ideological level,” she said and criticised the National Action Plan for not including women.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2017