When WAR first started out in 1989, it operated mainly
as a pressure group. Being a brainchild of Women’s Action
Forum (WAF) to combat injustices meted out to women in the
form of rape and sexual harassment, WAR became (and remains)
the only organization all over Pakistan dealing with the issues
of rape other forms of sexual abuse specifically.
In the yesteryears, one could find WAR in the press with an
outstanding regularity. One favored form of putting pressure
on the government and those who abused authority to suppress
women was putting items in the newspapers and elsewhere, to
strongly protest against the rising trend of abuse of women.
One of these abuses was in the form of the intolerably cruel
Hudood Ordinances. Galvanizing the power of the press, WAR
took on the task of religiously opposing the Ordinances with
full force, a battle that is on going.
In
the links below, one can find information on how WAR used
the fettered press to wage a war against the most tragic laws
ever to grace the statute of Pakistan.
| Improving
access to justice
Source: Daily "DAWN"
Dated: Dec 29, 2005 |
|
OUR obsession with beggary has taught us the skills
needed to put forward compelling reasons, dressed in
nebulous grammar, in order to procure a few hundred
million dollars from international institutions. On
one such occasion in December 2001, we managed to extract
a loan of $350 million from the Asian Development Bank.
The jargon experts came out with a brilliant buzzword
— “access to justice” — that
was equally appealing to every shade of opinion.
Read
full story...
|
Helping
victims of violence
Source: Daily "DAWN"
Dated: Nov 21, 2005 |
IN
the days when Ayub Khan ruled the roost, and the 22
families set up their baronetcies, draconian press laws
were introduced to keep at bay journalists who had not
yet recovered from the long hangover of the Tamizuddin
Khan years. Read
full story... |
| Setting
up of women’s police liaison committee recommended
Source: Daily "THE NEWS"
Dated: Sept 19, 2005 |
Tariq
Jameel, Capital City Police Officer, has recommended
the establishment of a Women’s Police Liaison
Committee to tackle with the grievances of women victims
of abuse with particular reference to the denial of
FIR registration, basic and related cross- questioning,
and dispensation of justice. Read
full story... |
| Women
seek end to harassment
Source: Daily "DAWN"
Dated: Sept 29, 2005 |
Speakers
at a conference on Wednesday expressed concern over
the growing incidents of sexual violence against women
and children and urged authorities to take stern steps
against the culprits so that the menace could be checked
effectively.Read
full story... |
Four-year-old
assault victim waits for justice
Source: Daily "THE NEWS"
Dated: Sep 23, 2005 |
Four-year
old rape victim Fauzia lies in Civil Hospital with both
arms and a leg fractured, a damaged right-eye and multiple
scars of burns on her body. The almost lifeless body
of what would once have been a happy and bubbly girl
shows little signs of life or a will to live. Read
full story... |
| NGO
worker threatened for helping rape victim
Source: Daily "DAWN"
Dated: Aug 29, 2005 |
A
worker of a non-governmental organization (NGO), who
was assisting a victim, has been harassed and given
life threats. She has been warned not to provide any
assistance to an alleged rape victim, it is learnt.
Read
full story... |
| NGO
worker threatened for helping rape victim
Source: Pakistan Press Foundation
Dated: Aug 29, 2005 |
A
worker of a non-governmental organization (NGO), who
was assisting a victim, has been harassed and given
life threats. She has been warned not to provide any
assistance to an alleged rape victim, it is learnt.
The
member of the NGO, War Against Rape (WAR), Khalida Ahmad,
in her application to the DIG Operations, has demanded
that she be provided protection, justice be done to
the victim, and action be taken against the culprits
according to the law.
Narrating
her ordeal, the NGO worker said that on the orders of
the Sindh Ombudsman, she had taken a women victim (SA)
to Civil Hospital so that her medical examination could
be carried out.
She
said a medico-legal officer of the CHK, Rohana Hassan,
after carrying out the examination called the police
to carry out their routine work.
Khalida
said she along with the victim waited for over three
hours and while the police never came, a few other people
arrived at the hospital and started abusing her.
They
warned her that if she provided any assistance to the
rape victim or helped her in taking legal against them,
they would kill her (the NGO worker).
Talking
to Dawn on Sunday, Ms Hassan said that the victim (SA)
was working as a maid servant at a house in Gulistan-i-Jauhar,
where she, at the behest of her employer was allegedly
raped by two people.
When
she raised a hue and cry, her employer called the police,
which took her to the police station.
The
police rather than registering an FIR regarding her
rape on her complaint not only stripped her, but also
registered an FIR against the victim’s husband.
Khalida
said the victim then approached the Sindh Ombudsman,
who after carrying out investigations directed the police
to register an FIR on the victim’s (SA) complaint. |
| The
symbol of a struggle
Source: Daily "THE NEWS"
Dated: June 29, 2005 |
Probably
for the first time in three years, Mukhtaran Mai had
tears of joy, not pain, in her eyes as the Supreme Court
in Islamabad on Tuesday suspended the Lahore High Courts
acquittal of her alleged rapists and ordered their non-bailable
arrests. Read
full story... |
| A
survivor, not a victim
Source: Daily "THE NEWS"
Dated: June 19, 2005 |
A
great deal has been written in the press about Mukhtaran
Mai and her continuing struggle to ensure that the voices
of the oppressed of our country do not go unheard. In
these articles, whether they are written in support
of Mukhtaran's visit to the US or not, she is constantly
referred to as "the gang rape victim." Read
full story... |
| Over
700 sex-related cases reported last year: WAR
Source: Daily "DAWN"
Dated: June 03, 2005 |
As
many as 728 sex-related crimes were reported in the
city during the year 2004, says a report prepared by
an NGO, the War Against Rape (WAR). It investigated
57 cases reported by print media, and found that only
15 surviving victims appeared willing to move a court
to seek justice. Read
full story... |
| The
battle ahead for women
Source: "THE NEWS"
Dated: Mar 08, 2005 |
Every
year March 8 is religiously celebrated globally as International
Women's Day, but the plight of the majority of women
all over the world remains unchanged. Read
full story... |
| HR
bodies demand arrest of culprits: Rape of lady doctor
Source: Daily "DAWN"
Dated: February 09, 2005 |
A
meeting of various non-governmental organizations working
for human rights condemned the assault on a lady doctor
in Sui and decided to hold a demonstration, in support
of the victim who was raped on Jan 2. Read
full story... |
PMA
demo condemns doctor's rape
Source: Daily "DAWN"
Dated: Jan 19, 2005 |
Pakistan
Medical Association, condemning the rape of a doctor
in Sui has demanded that the culprits be arrested and
given stern punishment. Read
full story... |
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