8th March is celebrated worldwide as the International Women’s Day, to spread awareness and bring topics such as discrimination, equality, honor killings, collective punishment, domestic violence, and many more related issues under hot debates to resolve those cunning issues bringing a woman on the verge of breaking in a society. When we talk about women’s rights, the first thing, I guess should be considered, is that she is a human too – a whole complete human just like the other genders which would be the most helpful thing in the development of any country.
How will ‘they’ consider the fundamental rights of women who do not deem women as human beings? We, every day, hear about certain cases such as domestic violence and honor killings increasing greatly, but can we do something to resolve them as a civilised nation? Of course we can, while feminism can help us understanding the hurdles in a decent way.
We are all entitled to human rights. That is what feminism teaches. Equal rights for everyone around the globe and free from any race or any other barrier. Mostly, feminism is puzzling for many people as they misunderstand the real meaning of feminism. It is a wave of revolution that is held on the goals such as the right to live free from violence and discrimination; to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; to be educated; to own property; to vote; not to be understood as just a symbol of honor or a jewel to showcase at houses and to earn an equal wage as a male in this cutting-edge world.
Feminism and Baloch women have come a very long way; from Banadi to Zareena Marri, from Gohar Malik to Rashanda Taaj and till today’s Lummah-e- Watan Banuk Karima Baloch, Baloch females have proved themselves in the male dominated society that they have struggled from shoulder to shoulder and played their prominent role in every aspect of life in Balochistan. But across the globe, many women and girls still face discrimination on the basis of sex and gender while in Balochistan the cases are even worse.
The same things occur in Balochistan too. Yesterday, on 6th March 2021, a woman along with 2 men, got killed in the name of honor while no one is ready to talk upon this considering it a taboo.
Gender inequality underpins many problems which disproportionately affect women and girls, such as domestic and sexual violence, lower pay, lack of access to education, and inadequate healthcare in Balochistan.
When it comes to demanding for fundmental rights, for many years women’s rights movements in Balochistan have fought hard to address this inequality – through organization and forums– to change laws or taking it to the streets to make sure their demands, their rights are respected, to highlight the prevalence of gender-based violence and sexual harassment. While many have successfully done so till now, but much more work has to be done.
What are we fighting for?
What do we mean when we talk about women’s rights? What are we fighting for? Here are just some examples of the rights which activists, throughout the beginning, have been fighting for, which need to be implemented in order to bring the wanted reform, to make this world a better place to live.
Political Liberation:
In Balochistan, women do not participate in politics collectively. In some areas women have been effectively prohibited from participating in politics due to considering it a taboo and owing to powerful figures in their communities using patriarchal local customs to bar them. If we wanna gain women rights, we need involvement of women in politics too. They need to be set free to practice politics according to their field of interest.
Financial Liberation:
Financial liberation is one of the most momentous things needed to promote equality. If a female is independent financially, she faces less problems and can even contribute in welfare of the family without being considered a burden.
There are still many places around the world where it is very difficult for women to exercise this right. This leads to a lifetime of financial disparity for women, prevents them from fully exercising independence and means an increased risk of poverty in later life, if they are not allowed to be independent financially.
Protection as humans:
Women should be able to live without fear of gender-based violence, including rape and other sexual violence, forced marriages, forced pregnancy, forced abortions after knowing the sex of the fetas.
Females need help in their fight against forced marriages, which affects a huge number of girls especially in rural areas of Balochistan.
Freedom of Movement:
Freedom of movement is the right to move around freely as a female pleases, not just within the country they live in but also to visit others. But many women face real challenges when it comes to this. They may not be allowed to have their own passports, or they might have to seek permission from a male guardian in order to travel or go anywhere they want.
Feminism and Women’s Rights:
When looking at women’s rights, it is helpful to have an understanding of feminism. At its core, feminism is the belief that women are entitled to political, economic, and social equality. Feminism is committed to ensuring women can fully enjoy their rights on an equal footing with men.
Why is it important to stand up for women’s rights?
Women’s rights are Human Rights:
It might seem like an obvious point, but we cannot have a free and equal society until everyone is free and equal. Until women enjoy the same rights as men, this inequality is everyone’s problem.
Protecting women’s rights makes the world a better place.
According to the UN, “Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is not just a goal in itself, but a key to sustainable development, economic growth, and peace and security.”
Developed countries have proved that the way to success is paved by both genders together working as a nation unitedly.
We are stronger when we work together;
when everyone comes together to support women’s rights, we can be so much stronger. By working alongside political activists and campaigners on the ground as well as running our own targeted campaigns whether online or on the ground. For the Women’s Day resolution, let’s take our first step towards feminism and consider a female a human and give her the rights to live, to choose, to earn, and to decide her fate.
