http://www.smh.com.au/world/womens-rights-become-a-fight-to-the-death-in-pakistan-20120714-222pz.html
Women's rights become a fight to the death in Pakistan Date July 15, 2012 Michele Langevine Leiby FARIDA Afridi, a 25-year-old women's rights activist, left her parents' home early in the morning of July 4, as she typically did. She was walking to her non-profit organisation's office when two men with Kalashnikovs pulled alongside her on a motorcycle and shot her multiple times, killing her. Ms Afridi's killing in the town of Jamrud, in the restive tribal Khyber Agency, shocked Pakistan's human rights community of non-governmental organisations, which are no strangers to acts of intimidation and terror, especially against foreigners. Some international NGOs, most recently the Red Cross, have pulled out their personnel. For activists, Ms Afridi's death made evident an escalating campaign by Islamist militants against anyone promoting equality for women. Zar Ali Khan Afridi, chairman of the Tribal NGOs Consortium, of which Ms Afridi was a member, said it was the first time a Pakistani woman working for an NGO had been killed by militants. ''We are all afraid,'' he said. ''If your activities are against fanaticism, if you are talking about human rights, they will kill you.' Ms Afridi was the founder, with her sister Noorzia, of an organisation that promotes social and economic development in Khyber Agency and other semi-autonomous tribal areas that border Afghanistan. In such areas, the traditions of purdah are the norm, meaning women are expected to conceal themselves from men. She was from a part of Khyber that only had one school but she managed to get an education, Mr Zar Afridi said. She earned a master's degree and learnt English. In 2004, she co-founded her organisation, SAWERA, or Society for Appraisal and Women Empowerment in Rural Areas. Female NGO workers have been accused of not observing cultural norms - not wearing their veils, encouraging other women to work outside the home, and working alongside male colleagues. ''The militants are labelling the NGOs, especially where women are working, as spreading obscenities and vulgarities,'' said a tribal elder in the region, who spoke anonymously. For colleagues of Ms Afridi, the message sent by her killers was chillingly direct: ''They don't want any women from NGOs to come to their areas and have discussions with their women, because they think we are propagating Western agendas,'' said Zainab Bibi of South Asia Partnership Pakistan, a pro-democracy group. ''Women are totally restricted there.'' Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/womens-rights-become-a-fight-to-the-death-in-pakistan-20120714-222pz.html#ixzz20iiIKpuk [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
