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print versionWomen’s Action Forum
Statement against Ban of Entry of Women on Picnic Spots by JUI-F Jirga in Bajaur
21 July 2022
The Women’s Action Forum strongly condemns the decision banning women’s entry on picnic spots in Bajaur, announced by a tribal Jirga. Not only is this in blatant violation of several fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973, including, Article 25 on Equality of Citizens and Article 26 on Non-Discrimination in respect of access to public spaces, it also raises serious questions on extent of application of the writ of the state and the increasing audacity of the informal sittings of all-male local elders issuing such proclamations in defiance of the Constitution. WAF also strongly denounces the practice of all-male informal sittings denying women their agency and rights to take their own decisions. Such proclamations imply that women are not fully autonomous, are unable to exercise rights over their person and are therefore not to be included in decisions that impact them. WAF demands that the provincial government ensure that no pressure groups are able to violate the Constitution and deny women their rights under any circumstances. We also demand that women’s autonomy and rights be respected and ensured by all citizens and authorities who should be proceeding in accordance with law and the Constitution as opposed to initiating an investigation into the issues to find out the circumstances under which the jirga made the verdict given that the practice itself is against the rule of law and writ of state. The provincial government and local administration must also ensure that no such informal and extra-constitutional sittings flouting women’s rights and their agency, relegating them to a lesser being be allowed to be held in the province. WAF calls upon the Federal Government to note that the jirga was held under the supervision of the Jamiat Ulema e Islam Fazl (JUI-F) - a key party of the ruling coalition government in the federal capital - and urges it to get the order of the jirga revoked at the earliest and prevent unconstitutional acts by its coalition partners in future.
