Project description

Title: Support for good governance in Pakistan – gender reform component
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Pakistan
Lead executing agency: Economic Affairs Division (EAD)
Overall term: 2010 to 2020

Context

Figures indicate that violence against women has drastically increased in recent times in Pakistan. Some forms of violence have become ‘traditional’, such as honour killings (karo-kari), exchanges of women to solve disputes (swara), acid throwing, and forced and early marriages. New forms of violence, such as militant attacks and bombing against girls’ schools, have been added to existing forms of sexual and domestic violence, sexual harassment, kidnapping and murder. Women are exposed to threats and violent acts by extremist groups. Due to their social and cultural stigmatisation and the fear of further punishment and marginalisation, female victims of violence rarely report cases. The government, non-governmental organisations and facilities set up to protect and assist victims all fail to provide adequate basic services.

Objective

The policy and legislative framework for the protection of women and prevention of gender-based violence are well established. Services provided by the government and non-governmental actors to eliminate gender-based violence in Khyber Phaktunkhuwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) have improved. This includes the protection given to survivors of violence.

Approach

The programme supports the Social Welfare and Women’s Development Departments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas. It provides capacity development to enhance the skills and know-how of government officials, and is helping to develop new approaches and modules. Support is also given to the media, community members and civil society organisations to help them address violence against women. The programme also encourages the collection of reliable data which can be fed into the development of provincial polices and a legal framework that address gender-based violence. The approach is divided into four strategic pillars: prevention, response, advocacy, and networking and coordination.

Prevention work takes place at the community level and involves both men and women. Influential local figures, such as religious leaders and political representatives, are addressed in an effort to raise awareness about women’s rights and the damaging effects of certain customs and traditions. This part of the programme also involves capacity building for governmental and non-governmental actors to help them carry out preventive measures.

Response refers to work being done with the survivors of violence. This ensures their protection while also enhancing their prospects of rehabilitation and reintegration into society. One crucial aspect of the work is the support given to government-run women’s shelters – the ‘Dar-ul Aman’. These services for victims are improving thanks to the capacity development activities of the programme.

Advocacy is viewed as a crosscutting approach that involves all the other pillars. Governmental and non-governmental actors receive support for specific advocacy initiatives at provincial and national levels. To ensure the legitimacy of the advocacy work, it is vital that reliable data is available about violence against women. To this end, GIZ also supports research undertaken to improve the standard of information available at provincial level.

Networking and coordination is encouraged between governmental and non-governmental actors. This enables them to exchange their experiences of delivering services to survivors of violence, and to share any improvements they have achieved.

Further information

• Annual Report 2009: Violence against Women in Pakistan
  Download page of Aurat Publication and Information Service Foundation, Pakistan
  http://www.af.org.pk/...