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KARACHI: At a ceremony organised by the Pakistan Women’s Foundation for Peace (PWFFP) to celebrate International Women’s Day, a panel of speakers were invited on Wednesday to discuss ways to facilitate the implementation of pro-women legislation in Pakistan, and the role of media and civil society.
Chairperson PWFFP, Nargis Rahman, set the tone of the event by speaking about the number of pro-women bills recently passed. “Even though the bills are quickly passed invoking a sense of joy among those fighting for women’s rights, the ineffectiveness in implementing these laws is a letdown,” she said.
It was in this context that retired Justice Shaiq Usmani was asked about the ineffectiveness of laws passed by the provincial and national assemblies of Pakistan. “Misogynistic mindset is the reason such laws are not implemented the way they should be,” he replied.
However, he pointed out, there has been a slight shift in the mindset of those dictating what should and should not be passed into law especially when it relates to women. “For instance, DNA testing is accepted, which is a huge step in our fight against such elements. But we should also understand that it’s a process demanding consistency.”
CEO of Hum TV, Sultana Siddiqui, spoke about her experience of reaching out to those children who were victims of sexual abuse through the TV serial Udaari written by Farhat Ishtiaq. “We thought that being part of the most powerful medium, we should break taboos. As a result, we came up with Udaari,” she said.
“Our focus was to tell the audience to trust their children when they confide in them and that the abuser is often a close contact or a relation.”
However, the channel ended up receiving a letter from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) because of the content of the serial. “We fought it and defended our right to represent our point of view. There was ample support from the people as well, which saw us through,” she added.
TV also reinforces stereotypes, said television actress Hina Khawaja. She asked Siddiqui to speak about why an antagonist in TV serials is dressed in Western clothes whereas the protagonist, the heroine of the serial, dons a chador and cries copiously.
Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2017
