Christian Women Networking to Promote Rights And Fight Violence

KARACHI, Pakistan, July 20, 2010, 16:00 Hrs (Agenzia Fides):

“In the social context of Pakistan, where women suffer widespread abuse and discrimination, Christian women are the most vulnerable and defenceless the most exposed to vexation and violence ”: Fides learned from Rosemary Noel, national coordinator of the Pakistan Catholic Women Organization (PCWO) who was commenting the episode of violence against Magdalene Ashraf, a Cathoic student nurse Karachi, in the news recently.

“The PCWO has taken the case to heart. We are in contact with the victim's family and have organised and led demonstrations which continue in front of the hospital in Karachi where the violence took place ”, Noel told Fides . “We are present with other civil society organisations to share this battle of civilisation and to prevent impunity. We want to see those responsible legally prosecuted. The government appears to have taken the case in hand, but the civil society and the Catholic Church in Pakistan must continue to be vigilant”, she says.

“Violence against women is a serious issue in Pakistan: Christian women especially are subject to abuse. Many domestic workers and nurses are subject to physical and psychological and even sexual violence. Many are young women with little education, and the employers take advantage of the situation. Women have no rights, no protection, they are subject to discrimination, denied equal opportunities. The few cases which reach the media, such as the recent episode in Karachi, are only a minute part of the phenomenon ”, she explained. In recent months the Christian community in Pakistan mobilised to protest against two other clamorous cases, the cases of Shazia Bashir and Sumera Pervaiz.

“This is why the PCWO operates with awareness building programmes all over the country to inform women of women's rights and to give them basic education them, which is the determinant point ”, Noel told Fides. Moreover “we are networking with other organisations, Christian and non, committed to promoting respect for women and improving women's social conditions in Pakistan ”, she concludes.

According to the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan, “violence, sexual abuse and crimes against women members of religious minorities happen systematically and are due to deeply rooted race, class and religion prejudice”. Discriminatory laws, signalled by the National Commission on the Condition of Women, are still in force.

In 2009 in Pakistan violence against women increased by 13% on a national basis: in 2008 the number of registered incidents was 7,571, in 2009 the number rose to 8,548, according to the Aurat Foundation, actively involved in promoting women's rights in Pakistan for twenty years. The Bishop's Justice and Peace Commission has asked the government to revoke all discriminatory laws against women and to appoint a National Commissioner for the protection of women's rights.