Thursday, January 22, 2009

President Asif Ali Zardari
President of Pakistan
President's Secretariat
Islamabad
Pakistan

CC:

Meer Hazar Khan Bijarani
Minister of Education
E-Mail: minister@moe.gov.pk

Dr. Fehmida Mirza
Speaker, National Assembly of Pakistan,

Parliament House, Islamabad, Pakistan
E-mail: speaker@na.gov.pk

 

Dear President Zardari,

We are writing to express our deep concern about the violence and discrimination being faced by women and girls in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Swat in Pakistan and, in particular, the targeting of girls’ schools by militants who have announced a ban on girls’ education effective 15 January 2009. We are also concerned about reports that the Government of Pakistan is considering the adoption of shariah (Islamic law) in these areas as a way to compromise with the militants.

In addition, we are deeply disturbed at the military action being carried out by the Pakistan Army and the drone attacks by the US Marines in the region. As we know from past experience, such brutal interventions only add to extremist groups gaining credibility and other citizens to join the ranks of extremist factions. We urge you to consider peaceful negotiations, calling upon the people of the country to join hands in finding peaceful solutions to the current brutality being carried out.
 
We urge the Government of Pakistan to take immediate action, coordinated between law enforcement, legislature (both national and provincial), the Ministry of Education and other relevant ministries in order to ensure that women and girls in FATA and Swat are able to fully exercise their rights without fear of violence or intimidation, including the access of all girls to school as well as their security.

We urge the Government to ensure that any intervention upholds Pakistan’s commitments to gender equality and education under its Constitution as well as under international human rights instruments ratified by it.  As such, we also urge you to reject the endorsement of any alternative legal system which does not guarantee equality to all.
 
We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Asia Pacific Forum on Women Law and Development (APWLD)

 

 

APWLD is a regional women’s human rights network of 150 members in 23 countries of the Asia Pacific region committed to enabling women to use law as an instrument of social change, equality and development.