Speaking at the 9th Pak-Afghan Youth Dialogue at the Center for Research & Security Studies (CRSS) on ‘Uniting against Social Crimes in Pakistan and Afghanistan’ held on Friday, February, 16, 2018, Chief Guest and Speaker Dr. Farzana Bari shed light on the deep-seeded socio-economic inequalities, particularly prevailing poverty, existing in Pakistan and Afghanistan as the drivers setting fertile grounds for increasing social crimes, societal intolerance, and disobedience of the rule of law. Highlighting the role of the state in this regard, she stated that at the core of state’s responsibilities lies its duty to regulate and provide security to its subjects. In order to curb crimes, she emphasized, governments establish certain punishment mechanisms which are implemented as a result of the unspoken social contract between the state and its citizens. Mr. Aized Ali, Project Director CRSS, who was moderating the session, welcomed the participants and thanked Dr. Farzana. He apprised the participants about the ongoing CRSS Pak-Afghan Track 1.5/II Initiative ‘Beyond Boundaries’which is aimed at improving bilateral relations and bridging the gulf of mistrust between Pakistan and Afghanistan. He further told participants that Afghan Studies Center is an off-shoot of this initiative, aimed at providing a platform to the youth of both countries to interact in a healthy discourse, inculcate passionate debate and exchange ideas for finding common grounds. Introducing the Chief Guest, he stated Dr. Farzana is a widely-respected human rights activist and remained as a university professor at Quaid-i-Azam University for the last 26 years. Additionally, she is an authority on women’s rights and has been actively involved in raising awareness in this regard. Expounding on the social fabrication of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Dr. Bari stated that since long, both neighbors have primarily been engaged in state-building, instead of nation-building, as a result of the protection of...

Speaking at the 9th Pak-Afghan Youth Dialogue at the Center for Research & Security Studies (CRSS) on ‘Uniting against Social Crimes in Pakistan and Afghanistan’ held on Friday, February, 16, 2018, Chief Guest and Speaker Dr. Farzana Bari shed light on the deep-seeded socio-economic inequalities, particularly prevailing poverty, existing in Pakistan and Afghanistan as the drivers setting fertile grounds for increasing social crimes, societal intolerance, and disobedience of the rule of law. Highlighting the role of the state in this regard, she stated that at the core of state’s responsibilities lies its duty to regulate and provide security to its subjects. In order to curb crimes, she emphasized, governments establish certain punishment mechanisms which are implemented as a result of the unspoken social contract between the state and its citizens. Mr. Aized Ali, Project Director CRSS, who was moderating the session, welcomed the participants and thanked Dr. Farzana. He apprised the participants about the ongoing CRSS Pak-Afghan Track 1.5/II Initiative ‘Beyond Boundaries’which is aimed at improving bilateral relations and bridging the gulf of mistrust between Pakistan and Afghanistan. He further told participants that Afghan Studies Center is an off-shoot of this initiative, aimed at providing a platform to the youth of both countries to interact in a healthy discourse, inculcate passionate debate and exchange ideas for finding common grounds. Introducing the Chief Guest, he stated Dr. Farzana is a widely-respected human rights activist and remained as a university professor at Quaid-i-Azam University for the last 26 years. Additionally, she is an authority on women’s rights and has been actively involved in raising awareness in this regard. Expounding on the social fabrication of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Dr. Bari stated that since long, both neighbors have primarily been engaged in state-building, instead of nation-building, as a result of the protection of...

A United Nations report released on Wednesday presents a very bleak picture of Pakistan that is yet to make a serious start for women’s development, the majority of whom are deprived of education and basic healthcare. The report finds that 98.8 per cent of women from the poorest rural households are education poor (defined as having only completed six or less years of education), with the rural Pashtun women not only being the most deprived in education but also have the least say in decisions regarding their own health care. Released two years after world leaders had adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the report — Turning Promises into Action: Gender Equality in the 2030 Agenda — examines all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and shows their impact on the lives of women and girls. It highlights how the different dimensions of well-being and deprivation are deeply intertwined and suggests measures to tackle existing structural inequalities and turn promises into action. The most deprived population in education comprises rural Pashtun women, report indicates Pakistan is one of the four countries highlighted in the report where 4.9 million women aged between 18 and 49 years are simultaneously deprived in four SDG-related dimensions. Across nine out of 10 dimensions, women and girls from the poorest 20 per cent of households in rural areas fare worse than women and girls from the richest 20 per cent of households in urban areas. Disaggregation by ethnicity revealed further differences. In the case of malnutrition (proxied by a low Body Mass Index), Sindhi women and girls from the poorest rural households fare far worse than any other group across all wealth quintiles and locations. “However, the most disadvantaged ethnic group often varies across indicators, oscillating between the Sindhi, Saraiki and Pashtun. “A closer look at those most likely to be disadvantaged — that is, women in the poorest rural households — suggests that in six of the...