The government plays a significant role in our lives. It provides safety and support meanwhile voicing the hearts of its people; at least that was what Asma Jahangir and Hina Jilani thought of their own Pakistani government before they became lawyers. Just imagine your life in a caged box, being a victim of injustice, witnessing injustice and knowing you cannot do anything about it because the core of the problem comes from lack of government regulation. This is how Jahangir and Jilani felt when they were lawyers. Women being accused in false crimes, honor killings rampant and execution without trial did not add up to what Jahangir and Jilani thought of as justice. What these sisters witnessed during their time as lawyers led to become human rights activists (“Asma Jahangir and Hina Jilani”). Since the 1980s, Jahangir’s and Jilani’s life journey has consisted of installing the nonexistent idea of human rights in Pakistan through creating organizations and raising public awareness; even if it means rebelling against a harsh unfair government regime, with unstoppable fearlessness, courage and dedication. There was a once a client of Jahangir and Jilani, she sought help from the two sisters to carry out a divorce. She ended up being killed in their office by a gunman hired by her father (“Asma Jahangir and Hina Jilani”). Eventually, the story went public and allegations began to circulate in the newspapers, such as Jahangir and Jilani being involved in the murder of the woman (“Asma Jahangir and Hina Jilani”). Even worse there were rallies and open threat directed towards them. In her Robert F. Kennedy center interview Jahangir proclaimed that “The government stood by as silent spectators. In fact, they helped the murderers, who w... ... middle of paper ... ...d Hina Jilani." Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights. Ed. Umbrage. Robert F. Kennedy Center, 2000. Web. 07 Mar. 2013. "International Women's Day: Veteran Activists See Small Victories over the Years." The EXPRESS TRIBUNE with the INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE. The Express Tribune News Network, 09 Mar. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. Raval, Anjli. "Human Rights Lawyer and Activist Speaks out against Pakistani Military Dictatorship." NOUSE The University of York's Student Newspaper. ERNST&YOUNG, 20 Feb. 2008. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. Rumi, Jahane. "Asma Jahangir – A Formidable Fighter." A Safe World For Women. The Safeworld International Foundation, n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. "STTP Defender Asma Jahangir Calls For Balance Between Pakistani Military And Government." Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights. Robert F. Kennedy Center, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.
Salisbury, Joyce E. and Andrew E Kersten. “Women in the United States, 1960–1990.” Daily Life through History.ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 19 Jan. 2014.
The events of World War II have established a new public perspective on women. Through women’s accomplishments, they justified females were capable of achieving high standards that existed once as only attainable by men. Once vulnerable to prejudices, they’ve given an opportunity for all to comprehend there can be a life when the populaces aren’t segregated by race or gender. Women have rehabilitated the faded thought of their rights and responsibilities, bringing history closer to a more righteous and responsible dawn.
It amazes me how a few decades ago can seem like a whole different world. A course of time can impact our lives more than we know it. In the article, A Day Without Feminism by Jennifer Boumgoidnei and Amy Richntds, both of these authors created this piece to inform their audience that although women have gained more rights over time, there was still more progress to be made. These authors gave many examples of how life for women had been, the obstacles they had to overcome, and the laws women had to break for equality.
In “Four Human Rights Myths” Susan Marks discusses several conceptions (or misconceptions according to her) about human rights. She begins her paper with a case study of the 2011 London riots and how distinctively different is their coverage by the British prime minister and two scholars.
The Islamic women of Afghanistan are denied many of the same liberties that Americans take for granted everyday. Although the religion that they have faith in, according to Janelle Brown’s “Terror’s First Victims”, “guarantee[s] women status in society as individuals and religious d...
Declaration of Human Rights: Dignity and Justice for All of Us. Accessed on October 29,
Given the fact that Pakistan is situated between a failed state and a rising economic superpower that has twice attempted to invade Pakistan in the last 30 years, as well as the pathetic state of the country's judicial and executive branches, it would seem understandable that the ordinary Pakistani would view her military as the only functioning branch of government that can provide safety in such unstable conditions. However, as any educated and informed Pakistani will tell you, the military has committed innumerable hu...
Brown, A. Widney., and LaShawn R. Jefferson. "VI. ILLUSTRATIVE CASES." Afghanistan, Humanity Denied: Systematic Denial of Women's Rights in Afghanistan. New York, NY.: Human Rights Watch, 2001. 16+. Print
Malala is globally acclaimed for her courageous efforts in promoting children and women’s education under such extreme conditions. Recently, she was nominated for the European Union’s Sakharov human rights prize at a ceremony held on World Children’s Day this year. She was the first Pakistani woman to b...
Since I first picked up Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, as an assigned text for my senior AP English literature class, I was fascinated with the small Middle Eastern country of Afghanistan. Of course I had heard about Afghanistan before. Every child my age was taught about Osama bin Laden and the 9/11 attacks. Thus Afghanistan was portrayed in a negative light, with a focus on the Taliban and al Qaeda, so I, along with my classmates, grew up to view this country rather negatively. My view changed when I finished The Kite Runner. I realized that this was an incredibly old country, rich in its unique culture, and should not be solely defined by its recent interactions with the United States. However, another issue was brought to my attention at this time, as highlighted in this novel and Hosseini’s follow up, A Thousand Splendid Suns. This issue was gender and human rights.
Declaration of Human Rights: Dignity and Justice for All of Us. Accessed on October 29,
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, etc.” (textbook citation). The right to be free from discrimination based on sex is a very important part of this universal human rights legislation, as it is also outlined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESR citation). When this specific portion of these human rights legislations is read, the majority of individuals will think of the rights of women. This is because for much of history, women were not given all the rights and freedoms set forth in universal legislations simply because of their sex, and articles had to be implemented into universal human rights legislations to ensure that this form of discrimination did not happen again. The human rights of women are an extremely important subsection of international human rights. Women have been placed as second-class citizens for much of human history, and although women are not overtly discriminated against in human rights legislations anymore. Women face gender-specific violations of their human rights in society, and governmental bodies often neglect to give women the justice they deserve for the violations they have faced (India rape test article). Much of the time choices are taken away from women and they are easily victimized within society. Every society in the world has faced some sort of gender-specific discrimination at some time in human history, and in some countries the violations of women’s human rights are ongoing and extreme. For this reason, the human rights of women are an extremely important topic, as the struggle to have th...
Honor killings have become very common in Pakistan especially in Sindh and in tribal areas of Pakistan. In Pakistan hundreds of women are killed every year in the name of honor. Such a cruel custom has existed in our country from so many years. Honor killings are common in all over the country, though in some areas the incidents of honor killings have taken a shockingly high amount of incidents in recent years. In Azad Kashmir a mother helped her husband in killing their 15 year old daughter because they saw her talking to a young man. They killed her by dousing her acid. Her elder sister was not in favor of this custom and she was very anxious about that crime which her parents had committed. She demanded justice and police investigation for her sister but all went in vain because it was done in the name of so called ‘honour’. Our state also goes after the satisfaction of honor in foreign policy. Our society has become so cruel under the involuntarily accepted conduct guideline of the Taliban. The people who are killed in the name of honor are mostly women.
Contemporary Readings in Law & Social Justice, 5(2), 454-460.