Women rights activists reject oppression

LAHORE
International women’s rights activists presented hard facts and personal experiences dealing with patriarchy, oppression, and resultant subjugation that perpetuate violence affecting women and communities with different identities at the international conference of Women’s Empowerment and Leadership Development for Democratisation (WELDD) programme by Shirkatgah - Women’s Resource Centre.
Activists also shared success stories and ways to unite and expand activism initiatives safely and cohesively. Some of the most prominent international women’s rights activists present at the conference were Dr Fatou Sow (Senegal), Sana Salam Kareem (Iraq), Liah Ghazanfar Jawad (Afghanistan), Suha Mohammad Saeed Ba Sherin (Yemen), Dr Vivienna Wee (Indonesia/Singapore), Ariane Brunet (Canada), Homa Hoodfar (Iran), Anila Majid (UK).
They were joined by Pakistani activists Fauzia Mallah, Veeru Kohli, Humaira Bachal and more representing the WELDD Women Friendly Spaces from across Pakistan. Farida Shaheed, Executive Director of Shirkatgah presided over the conference. The programme was organised by Gulnar Tabassum (Director Communication & Leadership) and Humaira Shaikh (Director Peace & Pluralism). Farida Shaheed summarised the attendees’ stories by stating, “Women have suffered violence and prejudice for thousands of years and it is unlikely their status in the world will magically change. However, under the WELDD programme, women united nationally and internationally, bridging gaps created by a rural-urban divide and differences of class, sect, and religion to bring about actual change.”
Gulnar Tabassum stated that donor agenda was sanitising the narrative of change. With WELDD, Shirkatgah struggled to make largely rural women to realise their constitutional and human rights and understand what feminism is, she said and added, “We still believe that many of our activists only understand the meaning of what feminism is, but they are unable to practice it fully in their communities and families. That is the fear we are fighting against.” The conference ended with a “Meet the Press” session in which senior press and media personalities interacted with the international activists, where they shared information about grave violations of women’s rights during armed conflicts, specifically by Daesh in the Middle East, by Boko Haram in Africa and by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Dr Fatou Sow, who was present in Paris during the recent terrorist attacks and have been working for women’s security in the aftermath, recounted how it is mostly Muslim women who are facing a backlash because of terrorist acts. WELDD is a transnational programme developed in partnership with the international solidarity network Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) and the Asia-based Institute for Women’s Empowerment (IWE) which has been run in some 18 countries.