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**http://www.arabnews.com/?page=9§ion=0&article=77993&d=18&m=2&y=2006
Saturday, 18, February, 2006 (19, Muharram, 1427)
'Empowerment of Women Has Begun'
Maha Akeel, Arab News
Pakistan's first lady Sehba Musharraf with Arab News correspondent
Maha Akeel during the interview.
ISLAMABAD, 18 February 2006 - Women in Pakistan have started to call the
shots. They are figuring prominently in all walks of life. They have made it to
the Senate, the National Assembly and are at the helms of various government
departments.
Pakistan's first lady Sehba Musharraf said women have been given
prominent roles in the government. They are being empowered to shoulder more
responsibilities and play their part in the development of the country. They
are now ministers, advisers and members of Parliament.
In an exclusive interview to Arab News Mrs. Musharraf dwelt on the role
of Pakistani women in the government and in society.
Attired in a traditional shalwar qameez, Mrs. Musharraf greeted us with a
smile at the high-security president's residence, called Army House - a simple
but elegant place in Rawalpindi - on the outskirts of Islamabad.
A beautiful and intelligent woman, Mrs. Musharraf, who has firmly backed
her husband's policies on national and international issues, spoke about
women's empowerment, obstacles and other factors that concern them in Pakistan.
Since President Gen. Pervez Musharraf came to power in 1999, women have
been given a greater and more prominent role in government at all levels, she
said.
"Women constitute 50 percent of our population, and so they need to be
empowered in a way that they can play a complementary role," said Mrs.
Musharraf. "It is enshrined in our constitution, and when my husband came to
power in 1999 it was among the main thrusts of his agenda. He wanted to
strengthen the economy and the only way to do so was to empower the lower
strata of society. Of course you need to empower the more educated middle
class, but you cannot ignore the lower strata, and women play a significant
role in this."
Nevertheless, women in Pakistan still have to overcome obstacles such as
illiteracy, poverty and abuse. Honor killing is a very serious and disturbing
issue.
Mrs. Musharraf pointed out that honor killing has been made a crime by
the assembly. Some laws still need to be amended - such as laws that do not
differentiate between rape and adultery.
"There are some discriminatory laws that are very abhorrent. In my
opinion, they are crimes. Now the National Commission for the Status of Women
has gone through those laws and has tried to redefine them, but they have to go
through the assembly first," said Mrs. Musharraf.
The case of Mukhtaran Mai, who was gang-raped by five men three years ago
as retribution for her brother's alleged affair with a woman from the rapists'
tribe, drew international publicity and critical attention by the media. The
district court initially acquitted the accused men, but the government
intervened and took it to the Supreme Court where it is still being looked at.
"All developing societies have their problems, even developed societies
have problems. Women are always discriminated against; they are never treated
at parity. But in our country unfortunately there are times when one event is
given extraordinary treatment, and it happened to be so in this case. It's very
sad that the incident happened, but the media hype that followed created a bad
impression about Pakistan," said Mrs. Musharraf.
According to her, it is only a very minor segment of the population that
mindlessly engages in these inhumane, un-Islamic practices. "They have to be
educated and made aware of what they are doing to their fellow human beings,"
she said.
The government is also working on educating women about their rights and
empowering them.
"The focus is to empower women, to give them a sense of their own worth -
empowering them politically," Mrs. Musharraf said. "That is why 33 percent of
seats were allocated for women in the local government elections. They have
also been given more seats in the national and provincial assemblies and the
Senate. Women are encouraged to use their common sense and intelligence on how
to play their part in society and play it effectively. They have to learn how
to negotiate their position."
The strategy is to implement measures at the local and provincial
government levels to ensure that women are not marginalized, ignored or
rejected, and that they are recognized politically as an important part of
society. More women have run in local elections and have won seats in recent
years. They have won from areas where men used to dominate.
Mrs. Musharraf did not say that she had played a role in bringing forth
these empowerment measures, but she did say she is a very strong supporter of
her husband and the initiatives and policies that look favorably at women and
children. She feels that her main role as the first lady is to firmly support
her husband.
"My role is to always support whatever I feel close to my heart and my
husband's. He's an extremely good man. In many ways he's head and shoulder
above other men and I'm not saying this because I'm biased in his favor but he
is a very good person, so my role is to be a very strong supporter of him,"
said the first lady.
During her travels with her husband, she said, she tries to project her
country and considers this as part of her role. She says she is always ready to
engage in activities that are close to her heart and interests - education,
health and women's empowerment.
Her personal life certainly changed "dramatically" after becoming the
first lady and she fears for her husband's safety, especially after the two
attempts on his life.
"It was very scary, but Allah is great and He keeps us safe," she said,
adding that she prays for her husband a lot. "Allah is much powerful than those
misguided people. I hope and pray they know better. No one has the right to
take someone's life, only Allah has."
She considers those who resort to violence and terrorism in expressing
their objections to her husband's policies as criminals. "They have no respect
for human life. There is a better way to deal with conflicts through
negotiation," she said.
Mrs. Musharraf has taken more interest in issues since she became first
lady and she is certainly more conspicuous than previous Pakistani first ladies.
"In this age, women have to be, if they can manage it, positively
visible. I believe strongly that the nucleus of every society is the family and
the linchpin of that nucleus is the woman," she said. Women have to play a
balanced role between their duties at home and outside, said Mrs. Musharraf,
adding that society gets "fragmented" if women give more priority to their
duties outside than at home. She used to teach until 1986 and when her husband
was given greater responsibility, she had to make a choice.
"It's good to have the extra money, it gives women enormous feeling of
strength," she said. "But you have to weigh the situation. I made my choice and
I have no regrets."
The day before the interview was Kashmir Solidarity Day when Pakistan
commemorates the struggle in Kashmir, another "very close issue to our heart,"
as Mrs. Musharraf put it.
"For no fault of theirs, Kashmiris were being treated unfairly. I hope
and pray that the peace process initiated by my husband comes to a positive
conclusion. I'm not a political person but when I look at the human suffering,
I feel that we should not be heading ourselves to self-destruction," she said.
Unfortunately, the disastrous earthquake added to their miseries, but the
Pakistani government from day one made efforts for their immediate recovery and
rehabilitation which is in the process, according to Mrs. Musharraf.
"My husband has given a year-end deadline for as many people as possible
to be rehabilitated. I think it's going well and the way our people responded
to the emergency was extremely satisfying," she said. Mrs. Musharraf wishes to
see Pakistan among the well-developed countries. As for women in Pakistan, she
perceives the lack of recognition of their achievements and valuable
contributions to society as a major challenge for them. Their work and
achievements need to be recognized by the media and the society, she said.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny.
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