On 31st October 2000, while recognizing the evolution of conflict, the United Nations Security Council passed a unique resolution, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325), on women, peace, and security, which also tends to guarantee the safe conduct for women and girls in the periods considered as a war and to emphasize the significance of women in decision-making processes, noting the effects suffered by them in armed conflicts. UNSCR 1325 is the pioneer document, being dedicated to the impact of armed conflicts on women and the necessity to pay attention to women’s rights and gender equality for sustainable peace. The UNSCR 1325 gives significance in promoting women’s rights and gender equality in conflict and post-conflict situations in several ways:
- UNSCR 1325 laid significant stress on the need for gender perspectives for the participation of women in comprehensive conflict prevention, peace management, reconstruction, and all the decision-making processes, as well as negotiation and peace talks.
- UNSCR 1325 acknowledges the unusual situation of women and girls in armed conflict, like sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and confirms the need to protect women and girls from any kind of violence, discrimination, and abuse.
- UNSCR 1325 for instance, calls for equal and fair treatment for women and minimizes gender-based discrimination that leads to violent conflicts and the mainstreaming of a gender perspective in conflict risk factor identification.
- As necessary, UNSCR 1325 sets up a framework within which member states are encouraged to create national action plans/strategies for implementing the resolution at a national level and by doing so, the policy road map for governments and a range of other actors to mainstream the WPS agenda is being promoted.
Pakistan, being a member state of the United Nations, has also signed up to implement UNSCR 1325. In view of this, I have discussed some of the challenges Pakistan has encountered in the implementation of this resolution and observed the positively and negatively cultural effects of this resolution in society. The following is the general intention of this paper: to explain these impacts of the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in Pakistan.
It could be noted that Pakistan has a rather rich and diverse cultural background resulting from its history, social and religious factors. Traditional heritage in Pakistan suggests that the male is the central figure of society either as a decision-maker or bread earner, while the female’s place is subordinate, as the family supporter. Violence against women and girls and gender stereotyping have always been societal immoralities in Pakistani society, especially in the tribal areas of Baluchistan and Sindh. The culture and traditions of Pakistan to a great extent dictate the roles of women and men within a society and a family. All these roles stem from male dominance, male prerogative, and decision-making. All vestiges of women being confined to inferior roles with restricted roles in education, work, and politics.
It is quite noticed that conflict and natural disasters have unpredictable impacts on people in Pakistan, especially women and girls, who basically become more insecure due to power relations and gender disparities. Pakistan has experienced terrorist incidents where thousands have died and the nation has also suffered in economic terms due to the conflicts and crises. Pakistani women are highly exposed to violence, exploitation, and abuse during crises because they hardly go out of their homes and are not involved in community activities. In addition to these, sexual violence and abuse deny them any chance to work or access health and education facilities.
The violent extremism is the worst of women’s mobility, especially in KPK province, majorly FATA, because the Taliban have restricted women from moving around without their male guardian’s consent and restricted women from joining the workforce. Also, women who were displaced from their abodes due to military operations in KP suffer their supplies since they don’t have adequate identification documents. To tackle these problems and ensure that women’s needs and rights are specifically protected to the best level in emergencies, efforts need to be made. Such measures should involve the promotion of gender equality, efficient accessibility to basic facilities, and the enhancement of women’s authority in the social and economic domains.
The Government of Pakistan has already taken many initiatives to empower women in Pakistan according to Article 34 of the Constitution of Pakistan: “Proactive measures shall be ensured to secure the freedom, participation, and representation of women in all the national and international committees and forums.” Pakistan formalized the National Action Plan on WPS in 2018, which is the blueprint to work on UNSCR 1325. The NAP categorizes the commitments, plans, and measures on women’s participation in peace-constructing endeavors, protection of women throughout and after conflicts, and the impact of war on different genders. In order to support, promote, and monitor the implementation of the gender-related policies, including UNHCR 1325, Pakistan has also developed and created the National Commission of the Status of Women (NCSW) and the provincial women’s machinery.
Before moving forward, it is important to understand that women have responsive engagement in peace and security processing in Pakistan through gender-sensitive policy and legal reform. To check gender violence, a Gender Crime Cell was formed and also the act of protection of women against workplace harassment was passed. Currently, Pakistan has initiated the training and capacity programs to increase gender sensitization among the police and other forces of the armed forces. By means of these activities, security individuals will increase their understanding of the requirements and threats that women might face in the course of armed conflict so that they know how to promote women’s participation in processes for the creation of peace and security.
Pakistan has made efforts towards enhancing women’s participation in peace and security, both in negotiating processes and in peacekeeping, without the omission of decision-making measures within security structures. For example, Pakistan has endowed women with higher ranks in the security forces and sponsored female armed force officers for the UN peacekeeping missions. In an attempt to deliver humanitarian aid assistance and increase post-conflict reconstruction, Pakistan has used gender-sensitive approaches. Some of these include the responsibility of catering for the special needs and priorities like economic resources, health, education, and childbirth among women and girls in conflict-affected regions and Pakistani civil society organizations have also supported the promotion of the implementation of UNHCR 1325. To empower women in peace and security, they have engaged in awareness creation, providing women with assistance and capacity building, as well as aiding in advocacy.
UNSCR 1325 has triggered certain favorable changes in the culture of Pakistani society, especially in the political, educational, employment, and leadership domains. Women’s political involvement has been enhanced through policies that included women’s representation in the national and provincial assemblies and thus the highest number of women representatives elected in the 2018 general elections. They are also employed in senior capacities in government organizations. The improvement of the flow of scholarships and awareness campaigns has also favored young girls and women to access education and enroll in schools and higher education institutions. They have also been employed in the formal workforce, most especially in sectors believed to be dominated by male employees and in leadership positions, thus confronting traditional aspects of gender by providing employment opportunities that enable participation of women in decision-making.
There are so many successful women’s present in Pakistan, especially in these few years, who are leading the fields of business, politics, law, science and the arts, etc. Some examples are Benazir Bhutto, the first ever female PM in Pakistan for two nonconsecutive terms; Lt Gen Nigar Johar Khan, the first three-star general and first ever female Colonel Commandant of AMC; Asma Jahangir, the first ever female president of Pakistan SCBA; and Shireen Mazari, the former minister for human rights in the federal government of PTI. In education, I would like to mention Malala Yousafzai, the young activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner who fights for girls’s right to education and Dr. Nergis Mavalvala, a Pakistani scientist who worked on gravitational waves.
Pakistani women have also come a long way in the business world, as a variety of women entrepreneurs like Saba Gul, Nida Malik, Ayesha Khan, and many others are heading unique projects. In social work, the change has been driven by social advocates such as Nighat Dad, an activist for digital rights and women’s rights or Khalida Brohi, a social entrepreneur and activist on education for rural women. Such achievements speak volumes for the Pakistani women’s crusade against odds to challenge gender prejudices and progress both theoretically and in practice.
Apart from all these innovations, there are problems and constraints to women venturing into areas that were previously dominated by men in Pakistan. They include cultural practices and perceptions, discrimination and oppression, gender violence, and limited chances and opportunities. The cultural barriers in Pakistan concerning the implementation of UNSCR 1325 consist of gender roles and stereotypes, patriarchal norms, traditional conflict resolution mechanisms, and societal attitudes towards gender-based violence and religiosity.
By socializing the societies in such a manner, women in Pakistan dance to the tune of the traditional culture as being provided for while the men folk are expected to fend for their families. This can lead to low education, poor health, a lack of economic implications, and poor representation and participation in peacekeeping and security decision-making processes. Such hold cultural sentiments that limit women’s participation and their authority to influence decisions, especially in more patriarchal domains like the peace talks. Most traditional mechanisms of conflict resolution are not gender sensitive; although women can participate, they may be compelled to withdraw due to cultural or religious reasons. Religion, especially the conservative religion, may also hamper women’s rights and political freedom in a country, affecting the adherence to UNSCR 1325. Societal culture, customs, and traditions also act as barriers to combating gender-based violence in Pakistan, and this is why aspects of UNSCR 1325 are a challenge to the country.
There are absences in the fulfillment of UNSCR 1325 in conflict-affected areas of Pakistan where women and girls’s particular concerns like displacement, livelihood loss, and increased risk of gender-based violence. They also face challenges in accessing essential services and political rights and civil liberties are also restricted for them. In response to these challenges, strategies such as culturally appropriate practices, legal changes, and gender sensitization, creating awareness and availability of information, and advancement of women and stakeholders’ compliant and integrated model have to be employed. The direction of gender and women’s issues will require improved government and development partner policies and practices as well as change in social attitudes regarding gender relations and roles and the fulfillment of rights and responsibilities of women in conflict in Pakistan.
It will therefore occasion enhanced efforts addressing GBV ‘causes of concern’ and enhanced effectiveness of current policies and plans. More needs to be done to conduct enlightenment on the principles and objectives of UNSCR 1325 to the societies, including the women. By performing these actions and raising awareness of culture sensitive to women and psychosocial effects of conflict, the realization of Resolution 1325 can be promoted to increase women’s rights in conflict and post-conflict countries such as Pakistan.
The Author, Muti Ur Rehman is pursuing his bachelors in Strategic Studies from National Defense University, Islamabad. He has a keen interest to analyze the complexities of nuclear arms development and strategic policies in Asia.
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