Brief 79:2021
Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE),
Quaid-i-Azam University Campus,
P.O. Box. 1091, Islamabad,
Tel: +92-51-9248074
Fax: +92-51-9248065
Ÿ The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics has organized a webinar to discuss the recent
book “Womansplaining: Navigating Activism, Politics and Modernity in Pakistan”, edited by Sherry
Rehman. Sherry Rehman talked about the central theme of the book and about the importance of
documenting histories and strategies of the women's struggle in Pakistan.
what is womansplaining?
Ÿ Womansplaining is an attempt to link several generations of women's activism and the challenges they
face. We see it as post-millennial activism and feminism emerging in Pakistan. It is a surge of
interrogations into the issues that women face.
Ÿ We hear about daily incidence of violence and that troubles a lot of people as it should. Therefore, it's
important to look at structural issues that underpin the daily realities and set of limited choices that
women have.
Ÿ The word Womansplaining is not meant to offend anyone and is not just a response to mansplaining.
Rather it is an attempt about women to tell their own stories in their own words and voices.
Pakistan Institute of Development Economics
Ÿ This book is a collective effort by 22 authors in 21 essays except for 3 to 4 authors who are frontline
heroes of identifiable women's movement of the 1980's.
Ÿ We ask questions, create intergenerational bridges between the types of different challenges that are
emerging, and the responses women are giving them in terms of activism whether episodic or
sustainable. How they engage with political arena, with government and with the society at large.
How the book penned out?
· Sherry decided to write this book when she met a young journalist, Asma Shirazi, at Jinnah
Institute whom she asked about the history and knowledge of women's activism, what laws have
passed and what laws have not. Asma replied, isn't it her responsibility to give them repository of
what a history has been and where should they go from this point. So, she realized that there are
serious gaps in history of women's activism and felt it's important to write about it.
22 authors 21 essays
· Hina Jilani, Fareeda Shaheed, Zohra Yusuf and Khawar Mumtaz have told their own stories in the
book. They have been a part of a very dark time in Pakistan's history when women's right was not
really at the center of public discourse.
· Afia Sherbano, who is a renowned feminism scholar, has discussed how they have not done enough
on documenting labor and women in the labor economy. So, Sherry requested Zenia Shoukat to
write about it.
· Nighat Dad and Shomaila has shed very compelling light on the activism in the digital world and on
the contradictions and challenges faced by #metoo movement.
· Sharmeen Obaid in her inimitable style tells stories from the edge of pain that how women are
suffering at the frontlines of resistance.
· Sara Malkani and Maliha Zia have written some remarkable essays on legal framework. Sara Bilal
has picked up from where our generation have not quite left-off, but they are carrying out that
legacy because that fight never seizes. So, while you have the same defining fights at court and legal
system, you also have the aurat march.
· Sherry asked Sofi Ibrahim to bring her experience about climate change and what is happening at
the intersect between acute climate changes and women's experiences especially in remote villages
of Pakistan.
· Rubina shah and Fifi Haroon have addressed different aspects of literature and writing resistance.
Fifi has looked at Pakistani soaps and how they stereotype women.How is today's activism
different?
· Today's activism is a broader spectrum. It even deals aggressively with body politics and other
things that they were not dealing with earlier. It also deals with the kind of encroachments on
women's rights and space that they at that time could not put to a challenge.
On women's rights in Pakistan as tradecraft
· Women rights in Pakistan are traded for bargains all the time. People are not gender sensitized and
we often end up making laws that negatively affect women. Telling her own experience about
traded bargains, Sherry Rehman recalled the sexual harassment bill. Normally secretary of
concerned ministry is supposed to present the bill before the cabinet. However, in this case
secretary had decided to make a presentation against the bill that they were supposed to pass. Upon
seeing that, she stood up and made the presentation herself. Yousuf Raza Gillani passed the bill on
principle, and she announced the law, so no roll back was possible. Therefore, all the male
secretaries have made a bargain.
Pakistan Institute of Development Economics
· Another bargain was when Sherry was an ambassador and have come down to Pakistan to re-open the
Ground Lines of Communications (GLOCs) for NATO supplies. Government was trying to cut the deal
which was not possible without the parliament. Then government had decided to open the NATO
supply lines to Afghanistan because US had apologized for 26 soldiers martyred in Salalah. They were
sitting in the parliament and one of their allies objected to this decision. The president said that he will
send Sherry and Raza Rabbani to explain the bill to him. So, they went to persuade him, and he asked
Sherry to step down from the domestic violence bill. She said that she was here in the national security
context and have no ability over it. He asked her to bring a change in the bill that men also would not be
subjected to violence. She agreed and the moment they left he announced that they have agreed to back
out on domestic violence which was not true. And to this day that domestic violence bill has not been
passed.
Women issues and parliament
· About the discussion in the parliament on women issues, Sherry Rehman said that they are very
substantive if you want to push them and if you have allies in the room. Nowadays women
parliamentarian no longer holds back, and believes they are crucial for bringing women and human
rights issues into the public domain.
Pakistan Institute of Development Economics
Prepared by
Muska Nazir
Edited by
Saima Bashir
Design by
Afzal Balti
www.pide.org.pk
[email protected].
92-51-924 8051
92-51-942 8065
f PIDEIslamabad PIDEpk PIDE Official pide.org.pk
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