Men and Women united to promote human rights and fight acid violence.
Debate session
Inclusive approach : women and religious representatives are part of the discussion
NO debate can be significant without the survivors' voice and perspective
Men engaged to promote women's rights
Partnership!
Press Training in Peshawar in collaboration with UN Women and UK Aid
Interactive methodology
survivors sharing their stories
Zaigham Khan, WS facilitator, talking to TV channels
Distribution of certificates to participants.
Because Acid Violence As The Worst Form Of Gender Based Violence Concerns All Of Us.
ASF team, EVAWG alliance KP-FATA representatives, religious representatives of Haqqania watching the documentary Bushra survives.
Qamar Nassem, co-chair EVAWG alliance KP-FATA exlplaining why acid violence is one of the worts forms of gender based violence.
A representative of Haqqania reading 2 pages explaining why acid violence is against islamic principles and why a comprehensive legislation must be passed at provincial level
Praying for comprehensive Acid and Burn crime Bill to be passed in KP assembly
Despite a national resolve, provinces have not passed any bills on acid crimes.PHOTO: FILE
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy’s Oscar for a film on acid survivors got national and international acclaim and helped to move public opinion against this crime. The suicide death of acid victim Fakhra Yunus was another jolt. After numerous operations to normalise her face and body, she finally gave up and committed suicide in Italy. Many in Pakistan mourned her loss and wanted to put a stop to the menace of acid attacks, but the horror stories continue. Many more have become victims, blinded and deformed by egotistical criminals. Each of these attacks defaces the image of Pakistani society.
Since 2010, the Acid Survivors Foundation has led a movement to criminalise these inhumane acts. It received support from government officials, health practitioners, the academia, burn centre officials, civil society and parliamentarians. They worked together for a year to produce two draft bills. One was the PPC amendment to criminalise the action of acid and burn attacks, while the other was a comprehensive bill to strengthen the courts’ ability to convict the criminal and support the victim.
This second bill is necessary because the judicial process is complex. These crimes will not end only by criminalising the specific act. There are a number of other issues relating to the process of reporting, investigation, collecting medical evidence, compensation for rehabilitation, and protection for the victim and the witnesses. Both of these bills, like the twin laws against sexual harassment, are needed to address the complex social web surrounding this crime. Without these comprehensive laws, criminals will walk free while their victims will continue to live in shame and misery.
With regard to devolution, the provinces must address the issue in their assemblies while the federal government must take forth the bill for Islamabad. By October 2011, the National Commission on the Status of Women had reviewed the second, more comprehensive bill with its own legal experts and civil society. However, despite national resolve on this issue, not a single assembly has taken any step towards the passage of bills.
One wonders what is preventing the assemblies from taking up a bill that has been well-prepared, and is essential for the handling of heinous crimes. We have a federal government which has proven its commitment to women – having passed seven pro-women laws in the last three years. We have provincial governments that have taken on their devolved portfolio of women’s development quite well after June 2011, and are picking up the pace of action on implementing anti-sexual harassment laws.
One realises that the clash of our major national institutions has deflected priorities away from substantive issues, but the daughters of this country cannot keep losing their faces. How many more women will be deformed before the wake-up call is heard by chief ministers?
In the last three years, the partnership between the government and civil society on social legislation has been well established. The draft is ready, but the bill has to be moved. Who can we count on to keep up the pressure until a comprehensive law on acid crimes is passed? Can we count on the prime minister to push for passage of the bill for Islamabad, setting a positive lead for the provincial assemblies to follow? Can we count on the chief ministers to take this draft law up urgently, as if the next woman to lose her face will be their own daughter?
The latest democratic period has brought us many needed changes in our laws, and one continues to be optimistic that the society will soon move in a direction to resolve this issue as well.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 30th, 2012.
Dear all,
We have been talking a lot about the need to go further and beyond the amendment of HURT in the Pakistani Penal Code (the second criminal law amendment 2011 (act 25) that was enacted on 26th December 2011. The Acid and Burn Crime Bill 2012 is a comprehensive legal mechanism that will complement the criminalisation of acid throwing.
The comprehensive legislation addresses the challenges related to the investigation and trial process, it makes the provision of free medical and rehabilitation services an obligation for the state and it provides a funding and monitoring mechanism that will facilitate the implementation process. Hats off to Dr Atiya Inayatullah who has tabled the bill in the national assembly in March 2011!
A champion for burn survivors since 2001, Dr Atiya Inayatullah has been very active in promoting the Domestic Violence Bill and enhancing the cross party synergy within the women parliamentarian caucus, to promote pro=women legislation…
The work has just started!
Dr Atiyya Inayatullah, MNA, PML-Q
Nusrat addressing her plea: democracy in process!
| Islamabad, 3rd March, 2012 |
PRESS RELEASE
After the struggle to eradicate acid violence was highlighted globally through the Oscar Award winning documentary, Saving Face,
ASF, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Rukhsana and EVAWG alliance call for the Acid and Burn Crime Bill 2012 to be passed in the provincial assemblies.
Islamabad: After the announcement of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s winning an Oscar for best short documentary Saving Face, this week, the whole of Pakistan is jubilant and feels proud to win this distinction for the first time in its history.
The Pakistani nation is proud and thankful to Sharmeen and her team, ASF’s team, its survivors as well as PIMS Burn Center, ASTI and Islamic Help for achieving this historical result and featuring a brave and daring Pakistan. The message is very clear: we have a problem, we face it and address it with the citizens of Pakistan (men and women together), striving to find solutions and stand by the victims. This message is a ray of hope for burn victims against this heinous crime globally and the documentary will help in spreading awareness and will encourage the stakeholders to find solutions all over the world.
We would also like to avail this opportunity to thank Dr. Jawad and his team from UK, who contributed to improve the lives of the survivors. There are also many other heroes in this country, and we would like to pause and celebrate them: doctors, nurses, lawyers, journalists, government representatives, parliamentarians who are fighting for the cause in a permanent and dedicated manner. To mention only a few of them: Pr. Hamid Hassan, BBH, Rawalpindi, Dr. Tariq Iqbal, PIMS, Islamabad, Dr. Charles VIVA, Interplast, UK, Dr Naheeed Chaudry from Nishtar Hospital in Multan, Dr Mazhar Hussain, staff of Civil Hospital Karachi and Friend of Burns, Marvi Memon, Anusha Rehman, Bushra Gohar, Atiya Inayat Ullah, Nilofar Bakhtyar, Raza Rabbani, Jan Mohammad Jamali, Haji Adeel…
However, the work has just started, we need to do more to show the world that Pakistan can and will eradicate acid violence: Acid Survivors Foundation along with Sharmen Obaid Chinoy and Working Group on Acid and Burn Violence (Acid Survivors Foundation, Mehergarh, PODA, SPARC, Aurat Foundation, Sisters Trust) call upon the legislators to pass Acid and Burn Crime Bill 2012 in all provincial assemblies of Pakistan.
While the recently passed criminal law amendment related to HURT has officially made acid throwing a crime against the state, much more now needs to be done to address the challenges of investigation, fair trial, free medical and rehabilitation services, funding and monitoring mechanism: this is precisely what the Acid and Burn Crime Bill 2012 is proposing.
Consequently, today, Rukhsana and the other agents of change will raise their voice again, to build the Pakistan we have all been dreaming of…
The panel for discussing gender Justice Programme from UNDP and eradication of violence against women.
Screening of Documentary and Panel Discussion on VAW
December 2009: An event titled ‘16 Days and Beyond….’ to commemorate the end of the 16 Days of Activism on Eliminating Violence against Women, was organized by the project on 9 December 2009 in Islamabad. The event featured screening of a documentary “Bushra Survives” by the Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF), one of the implementing partners of GJP, followed by a panel discussion on VAW.
Mr. Toshihiro Tanaka, Country Director UNDP and Mr. Mr. George Turkington, Head of the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) were the chief guests for the occasion. The eminent panelist for the event included: (i) Ms. Saba Gul Khattak, Member Social Sectors, Planning Commission; (ii) Ms. Marvi Memon, Member National Assembly; (iii) Dr. Farzana Bari, Head of Gender Studies, QAU University; (iv) Dr. Rakshinda Parveen, social activist; (v) Ms. Samar Minallah, human rights activist and documentary film maker; (vi) Ms. Valerie Khan Yusufazi, Chair of Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF); and (vii) Mr. Salman Asif, Gender Advisor, UNDP. A large number of stakeholders also participated.