ISLAMABAD: The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has hosted a panel discussion, ‘Voices for Change: Youth Perspectives on Challenges and Opportunities’ to mark the 16 Days of activism campaign against gender-based violence.

The event held on Monday brought together young activists, student leaders and various organisations to explore the challenges faced by Pakistani youth, particularly women and girls, and discuss innovative opportunities for their empowerment and engagement in the country’s development.

The panel featured young speakers who have made substantial contributions addressing issues of human rights, climate change, transgender rights, entrepreneurship and political engagement moderated by Usama Khilji, Director of Bolo Bhi, a research and advocacy organisation focused on digital rights and freedom of expression.

Dutch Ambassador Henny de Vries welcomed the guests, saying, “I’m very pleased to see so many of you here. We’re here today because we are in the middle of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence and we felt we should speak more to young people, the youth. In policies, in foreign policies we speak a lot about the youth, we make policies for the youth but we don’t talk a lotwiththe youth. Today, we want to get your ideas, your suggestions.”

She said: “We selected as panelists people who reflect the different areas that the embassy works on; we have panelists who have experience in human rights, climate change, entrepreneurship, integration and cohesion, et cetera. For us, it is very important to learn and hear from you about what is needed because 64pc of the Pakistani population is below 30 years of age and that is a huge number. And we know that policy makers, ministers, politicians, parliamentarians are normally people of a higher age and there is a disconnect.”

“We feel the voice of the young people should be heard, they should be engaged in discussions and should be able to influence policies,” she added.

The panel included Mahnoor Rashid, who works on climate and gender at Dastak Foundation as the Amplify Feminism Fellow and serves as chairperson of the Children and Youth Advisory Board on Climate Change at Climate Forward Pakistan; Nayyab Ali, a transgender rights activist who has contributed to laws and policies in the country, Fizza Amjad, CEO and co-founder of atomcamp, an innovative, tech-enabled edtech platform to up skill the workforce; Mahnoor Omer, a human rights activist, a legal researcher and an organiser of the Aurat March, and Ayesha Rahimi, a student in Peshawar who fled Afghanistan when she was in the 11th grade.

Mahnoor Rashid said: “That Pakistan is the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change is an established fact but not all people in Pakistan face climate change in similar ways. There are different vulnerable communities that have different experiences when disasters hit and women are one of the most vulnerable populations in Pakistan. For example, in 2022, when the floods hit, 33 million people were affected but what is less reported is that 650,000 women were pregnant.”

She went on to share women and girls have little or no access to essential hygiene facilities and experience escalating incidents of gender-based and sexual violence. These lived experiences from the grassroots must be communicated to supplement the data and inform responses.

Ayesha Rahimi brought up the challenges Afghan refugees, especially women and girls, face in Pakistan.

“As refugees we are displaced from our own country and we affected mentally and physically by the war and hardships we face. We all, men and women, face lack of legal documentation and social discrimination, we have fewer opportunities for education and employment and these are systemic issues,” she said.

Ms Rahimi highlighted the importance of legal rights and documentation to ensure access to healthcare, education and financial opportunities.

Nayyab Ali said: “Our representatives take immense pride that we have one of the most progressive legislations in the world, which is the Transgender Persons Protection of Rights Act, which categorically allows self-perceived gender identity to the individual without any medical gate-keeping.”

But, Nayyab Ali said, the situation on the ground that we face is very different.

Mahnoor Omer spoke about the challenges Pakistani women face particularly in the context of politics, the issues entering the political space and the consequences of using ones voice.

She said: “If we had more female representation in politics, many of the issues being discussed would not exist.”

“Around 50pc of our population is women and yet less than 20pc of the seats are reserved for them in the National Assembly. We need positive discrimination because how else will the problems that Afghan women face, that climate victims face, that transgender women face, be addressed if they do not have representation,” she added.

Fizza Amjad said technology was democratising everything – it is democratising progress and it is available to all.

“Inclusive capacity-building and upskilling so individuals are able to access opportunities is one way to develop,” she added.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2024