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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Our correspondent
Islamabad
Gender Based Violence (GBV) is a multi-dimensional issue and requires strong grassroots level efforts and holistic approach to bring positive change in society.
This was recommended by participants of a series of capacity building workshops, organised across six districts of Pakistan under the auspices of World Population Foundation (WPF), Pakistan.
Realising the need to address the issue of Gender Based Violence in relation to reproductive health, WPF in partnership with its six partner organisations in DG Khan, Muzaffargarh, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Nasirabad and Jaffarabad organised six workshops for 60 partner Community Based Organisations (CBOs) from different towns and tehsils of these districts.
Attended by 180 participants, these workshops were aimed at preparing the partner CBOs in the target district for strengthening the capacities of local organisations for them to continue working on the issue of Gender Based Violence.
As a result of comprehensive discussions on this theme, participants identified many issues like teenage pregnancies, sex selective abortion, gender discrimination, physical and mental torture, sexual abuse and exploitation, forced sex, intimate partner violence, malnutrition, reproductive health complications in delivery, and availability of services regarding reproductive health.
The participants also identified and explained the co-relation between GBV and traditional practices such as early marriages, honour killing, infanticide or neglect in care, denial of education and basic human rights, traditional patriarch family structure, feudalism, lack of literacy rate and gender disparity.
Participants emphasised that lack of accurate information and awareness regarding pre-natal and post-natal care is a major factor behind the higher maternal and infant mortality rate in these six districts. It was shared that the maternal mortality ratio in Pakistan is 276 deaths per 100,000 live births, though it is almost twice as high in rural than urban areas, and is highest in Balochistan (785) compared to only 227 in Punjab. Though there are a few more studies showing that the actual maternal mortality ratio is between 320 and 400 in Pakistan, whereas in these six districts, it is estimated to be around 450-500.
Though all studies indicate that poor maternal health, which includes low socio-economic status, poor nutrition, high-risk pregnancies and poor access to healthcare provision, are the major reasons for a higher maternal mortality ratio, stated the participants.
Sharing the trend of home-deliveries, one participant shared that a high percentage of pregnant and lactating mothers are anaemic and more than 80 per cent of pregnant women give birth at home with limited access to community midwives or skilled birth attendants in Sindh. The maternal mortality rate constitutes a major cause of death among women of childbearing age.
Reflecting on the stereotype and traditional Gender Based Violence types, facilitators shared findings from a newspaper analysis indicating a high number of reported cases of gender-based crime since January 2009 in the six target districts. The analysis showed 89 cases of honour killing, 86 cases of rape, 65 cases of kidnapping and some other crimes, mostly taking lives of women and young girls. They stressed the importance of reporting cases of gender-based violence, as the tendency and trend of actual offences was much higher.
Recommending the solutions for addressing and preventing these issues, participants strongly suggested that change in the behaviour of males, their active engagement in addressing gender issues, mass level awareness-raising endeavours and improvement in service delivery by state and non-state actors will help in addressing the issue at different levels.
During the course of the workshop, Anwar Muhammad, Programme Manager WPF, briefed the participants about the Gender Based Violence and Reproductive Health project of WPF, funded by the World Bank. He also appreciated the role of different civil society organisations at district level and suggested for strong linkage development at district level. He also appreciated the role of electronic and print media, to increase awareness regarding rights of people, particularly of women and young girls, and in gradually changing the traditional values, culture and mindset of people.
Country Representative WPF Qadeer Baig reflected that the overall situation of Gender Based Violence and reproductive health in Pakistan is dismal. Women residing in rural areas and low-income urban neighbourhoods are the victims of poor planning, lack of commitment and negligence, as a vast majority of them have little access to modern health services, particularly during pregnancy and childbirth.
Sharing the next plan of action, he said as a next step of this project, a two-week campaign titled ‘Community Level Activism to Prevent & Reduce Gender Based Violence’ is being organised from October 27 to November 10.
Under the campaign, a series of 60 advocacy seminars will be organised at community level and six seminars at district level by engaging key stakeholders to address the issue of Gender Based Violence.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
