Pakistan

This paper will attempt to examine the changing nuances of women's economic positioning in rural Sindh and probe the possibility of land ownership as a means of empowerment, while exploring the local discourse around it.

This is a comprehensive analysis of the role of customary practices in determining the space, rights and self-actualization of women in Pakistan. It looks into the outcome of the historical experience of colonization and its impact on statutory law, the local structures of power and the cultural specificity of the region, which produces the 'living law' of the country.

Research Study on Customs and Practices Prevailing in South Punjab Regarding Women's Right of Inheritance. The research explores the scope and trends in relation to women’s right to inheritance and links of women’s ownership of property and inheritance rights and their experience of domestic violence.

This paper attempts to find an association between the absence of federal and provincial laws in the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) of Pakistan and denial of land ownership rights to women.  It discusses various forms of collective and individual land ownership keeping in view features of Pukhtun culture affecting the status of women. It shall also compare land ownership of Pukhtun women in NWFP where the law allows women to inherit and own property with the absence of landownership of women in tribal areas.

This week’s FirstCast features Shehrbano Taseer, the daughter of Salmaan Taseer who was assassinated for publicly condemning the misuse of blasphemy laws in Pakistan. She is continuing her father’s work and has become an international voice for the victims of extremism and religious intolerance. Shehrbano has been speaking out against the forces that killed her father and against laws that persecute in the name of religion. Follow the link to listen to the podcast.

This book discusses how the women’s movement in Pakistan started addressing/addresses violence against women. Chapter 1 is based largely on a narrative account of the Zia government, the underlying politics of Islamisation, the factors that led to the formation of Women’s Action Forum and the ways in which the overall political environment influenced its work.

This paper reviews case law on 'honour killings' in Pakistan, where under the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance heirs of a victim of murder are entitled to pardon the murderer. The paper reflects, through an in-depth analysis of case law, criticisms made of the legal system and the judiciary in the failure to extend the protection of the law to women in these circumstances.

Farida Shaheed examines violence against women legitimised by arguments of culture from a Pakistani perspective. She departs from the principle that regardless of the nature of its manifestation or where or when it occurs, violence against women is always legitimised by arguments of culture because no society is devoid of culture. The dominant culture throughout the world is patriarchal and the patriarchal culture inevitably accepts violence as an attribute of masculinity.

This publication provides a comprehensive guide to analysing 'crimes of honour' in Pakistan from both a practical and academic perspective. This booklet provides information on the relationship between Islam and 'crimes of honour', and the inconsistent and ineffective actions of the Pakistani justice system in these crimes.

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