In 2006, APWLD held an Asia Pacific NGO Consultation on the theme of ‘Culture and Violence Against Women’ - the focus of the UN Special Rapporteur’s 2007 thematic report and a critical issue for women in Asia Pacific.

The Consultation was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and brought together 35 women from 22 countries including Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Burma, China, Cook Islands, Fiji, India, Iran, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Korea, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey and Russia. The Consultation provided an opportunity for women’s groups from the Asia Pacific region to inform the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women (UNSRVAW) of the critical issues relating to culture and violence against women in the region as well as inform the Special Rapporteur’s articulation of the scope of women’s rights based on the local and national experiences of women in Asia Pacific. Specifically, the Consultation aimed to understand and articulate how despite the fluidity and contestability of cultural norms, oppressive elements of culture, which invariably reflect and reinforce patriarchal power relations, gain dominant representation. The Consultation sought to strategise how a women’s human rights agenda can be advanced in this context, providing effective strategies for both the women’s movement in Asia Pacific and for the UN Special Rapporteur for inclusion in her recommendations to States and other actors. The Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Asma Jahangir, was also expected to attend but she was unable to come at the last moment.

The Consultation provided a critical forum for Asia Pacific women activists and lawyers to engage with the UNSRVAW to discuss critical and emerging issues relating to the theme and strategise on ways to address the problems identified. The two days saw rich discussions on the inter-linkages between culture and violations of women’s human rights in Asia Pacific. In many parts of Asia Pacific, culture and cultural practices, including religion, continue to be privileged over universally accepted standards of human rights and women’s human rights in particular. Discriminatory practices, including violence against women, avoid national and international scrutiny because they are seen as cultural practices which therefore deserve tolerance and respect. Discriminatory patriarchal values and beliefs are frequently enshrined, or purportedly enshrined, in the dominant cultural values and practices of a community. International law is clear that States cannot ‘invoke custom, tradition, or religious considerations to avoid their obligations with respect to the elimination of discrimination against women’ (Article 4, UN Declaration on Elimination of Violence against Women), but rather, the State is obliged to change the attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate the violence (CEDAW and ICCPR). Despite this, culture, of which religion is one aspect, is used by individuals, communities and governments alike to condone violence against women and to justify inaction in bringing perpetrators to justice and ensuring appropriate remedies for the survivors of violence against women.

In this context, the Consultation began by attempting to deconstruct culture, underscoring that it is not a single, unified entity. It is important to shape a more nuanced understanding of culture, distinguishing it from religion and understanding it as a system of assigned meanings which are dynamic and fluid. Discussions during the Consultation examined how dominant cultural norms and interpretations get established, and how culture has been used as a forceful tool for “othering,” or exclusion. Religion, as a faith and a social system, is distinct from culture. Culture predates religion and one religion can have many cultures and vice versa. But they are similar in that they are being given hegemonic interpretations and are both frequently advanced as a political agenda. One the main challenges we face is the articulation of culture as a static, unified, homogenous whole - an articulation which essentialises culture. Monopolistic interpretations of ‘a’ culture need to be challenged at every step. Cultural renegotiation by women is a critical form of resistance to patriarchal interpretations of culture, and one which women have used in all contexts and times and continue to use. This role of women as the makers and agents of culture is frequently overlooked and therefore de-legitimised in the framing of culture as a monolithic force of which women are the victims. We must therefore continue to rearticulate culture as a necessary step in resisting patriarchal interpretations of it. Some guiding principles for this re-articulation are:

• Recognising that dominance gets established in part by those who hold power and who claim to speak for ‘the’ culture. In reality, there are many cultures within any culture, including the ’dominant’ the ‘resistant’ and the ‘subaltern’ cultures.
• Expressing and articulating the intra cultural diversities and contradictions within culture;
• Active recording of women’s contestations and agency within culture to dismantle the victim narrative of women as victims of culture;
• Recognising the fluidity and diversity of culture, rather than essentialising it;
• Recognising that individual rights are necessary in establishing rules and ordering within collectives, rather than dichotomising group rights and individual rights;
• Differentiating between the right to privacy and state interference, and between state interference and intervention.

While the first day outlined the issues, strategies for addressing harmful cultural paradigms through engaging with international, state and non-state actors formed the second part of the Consultation. Specific experiences from the region were shared in addressing culture and violence against women and these included engaging with law and the legal system, monitoring state commitments, awareness raising within the community, engaging religious leaders, sharpening our advocacy strategies, using media effectively and building a support/solidarity network for women challenging our cultures from within who face serious risks including that of being silenced.

Participants collectively brainstormed on what we need to do within our own organisations and within the women’s movement to address the challenges identified. They defined the challenges and recommendations to end patriarchy in all forms and at all levels and to eliminate structures and institutions that reproduce violence against women, such as militarisation and development aggression. Concrete recommendations, including specific sub-regional recommendations, were also drawn up for the UN Special Rapporteur’s report.

A key expected outcome of the Consultation is the increased visibility of issues facing women in Asia Pacific at the international level through inclusion in the report of the UNSRVAW which will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in 2007 and the report of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief.

Arising out of this year’s Consultation is a report entitled “Negotiating Culture: Intersections of Culture and Violence against Women in the Asia Pacific”. This report details the proceedings of the consultation and provides in depth presentations on different aspects of ‘culture’ and its effect on women and violence against women as well as sets out effective strategies for addressing culture at the community, national and international level. The report is available from APWLD in both electronic (PDF) and hard copy. Please contact lisa@apwld.org if you would like a copy.

In follow-up to the Consultation APWLD’s Violence against Women Task Force is planning and beginning preparations for engagement at the UN Human Rights Council session in March/April 2007 in follow-up of the Consultation and the UNSRVAW’s report.

Yakin Ertürk, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women

This was the third Regional Consultation on violence against women APWLD has organised since I took up my mandate in 2003. These Consultations have offered an invaluable opportunity for engaging in a fruitful dialogue with women and women’s groups working on violence against women in the Asia Pacific region. Henceforth, I was able to gain insight into the critical and emerging issues in the region and explore, with the participants, effective strategies for enhancing women’s human rights and combating all forms of violence. I have shared the APWLD Regional Consultation model with organisations in other regions as a blueprint for organising similar events. Asia Pacific (through APWLD) is the only region that has institutionalised this mechanism of holding consultations with the UNSRVAW and I am grateful to APWLD for that. The 2006 Consultation responded to the topic of my n ext thematic report to the UN Human Rights Council which will address the intersections of culture-based discourses and violence against women. …. Many of the insights from the Consultation will prove useful for the articulation of the issues in my next report to the UN HR Council as well as the particularities of women’s specific experiences in this region. I thank APWLD once again for organising the Consultation and look forward to continuing this fruitful relationship.’ Yakin Ertürk, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women (excerpt from foreword to “Negotiating Culture: Intersection of Culture and Violence against Women in Asia Pacific) October 2006