NEWS LETTER
April, 2013 to June, 2013
Volume-4 Special Edition
Patron:
Prof. Dr. Azra Asghar Ali
Chief Editor:
Dr.Javed Salyana
Coordinator:
Kamran Ishfaq
Editors
Saadia Naz Haider
Shahzad Mahmood
Department of Gender Studies
Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan
Message from Chairperson
It is a great contentment to reach out to students, parents and
faculty members through the 4th issue of News Letter of Department
of Gender Studies, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan along with
the glimpses of many activities in academic, co-curricular enterprises
and workshops. This News Letter reflects the diverse dimensions and
faculties of our students. This issue is an expression of the spirit of the
Department of Gender Studies, Bahauddin Zakariya University
Multan to encompass views, feelings and creativity of the students,
motivated by their teachers.
I congratulate the teaching and non-teaching staff of
Department of Gender Studies, Bahauddin Zakariya University
Multan for their tireless efforts, fervor and determination to groom the
students for their all round development personality. I am confident
that the Department of Gender Studies, Bahauddin Zakariya
University Multan in future will accomplish greater heights of success
and will soon achieve a higher status of gratitude and reputation. I also
congratulate the Editorial board for bringing out this wonderful issue
of “NewsLetter”.
Prof.Dr. Azra Asghat Ali
Note by Chief Editor
Welcome to the readers of Newsletter! We have devoted this
Newsletter to the Project of the USAID and Aurat Foundation with the
name of “Strengthening the Academic Capacities of the Gender
Studies Department and Adding to the Body of Research on GBV in
Southern Punjab”.
It is my sturdy belief that positive results for the Newsletter
circulation and for the dissemination of news concerning the
Department of Gender Studies, Bahauddin Zakariya University,
Multan activities and a part of the benefit for the Society, will give us
a tool of greater flexibility regarding the topics and length of each
issue. Highlighting the issues of different concern will carry on to
cover all aspects of the Society’s interests, and at the same time will
provide us with the opportunity to present articles and news
according to our members’ interests and suggestions.
It goes without saying that, to be successful with this effort,
we will need an actual feedback from all Newsletter. Their
suggestions and contributions are not only welcomed but rather sought
and requested.
Dr.Javed Akhtar Salyana
April, 2013 to June, 2013
VOL # 4 ISSUE # 4
GREAT WOMEN’S OF WORLD
Hazrat Fatima (R.A)
Hazrat Fatima (R.A) was daughter of Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W.W) and Hazrat Khadijah (R.A), wife of Hazrat Ali (R.A) and
mother of Hazrat Hasan (R.A) and Hazrat Hussain (R.A), and one of the five members of Ahl al-Bayt. She became the object of
great veneration by all Muslims, because she lived closest to her father and supported him in his difficulties.. She is the only
member of Hazrat Muhammad's (S.A.W.W) family establish lineage, numerously spread through the Islamic world. For Muslims,
Hazrat Fatima (R.A) is an inspiring example throughout the Muslim world.
Hazrat Fatima (R.A) was the model of Prophet’s teaching among women. Hazrat Fatima (SA) was a symbol of womanhood in
Islam. How a daughter, a wife and a mother should behave in their ordinary lives. She was devoted to her father, looked after him
when he was in distress by the hands of the non-believers of Makka. She was the exemplary wife, queen of her household, she was
a devout wife and the most loving mother to her children. Muslims regard Fatimah as a loving and devoted daughter, mother, wife,
a sincere Muslim, and an exemplar for women. It is believed that she was very close to her father and her distinction from other
women is mentioned in many hadith. After Hazrat Khadijah (R.A), Muslims regard Fatimah as the most significant historical
figure, considered to be the leader (Arabic: Sayyidih) of all women in this world and in Paradise. It is because of her moral purity
that she occupies an analogous position in Islam. She died a few months after her father's death, and was buried in Jannat Al-Baqi'.
Interaction with Civil Society
Organizations
A Project of USAID and Aurat Foundation
Dated: 23-05-2013
This was the second round of interaction with civil society
organizations working on the issues of gender based violence in
the region of South Punjab. Eight different organizations like
CHOPAL, SPO, AWAZ Foundation, CRESCENT LION
CLUB,RAAS, DARUL AMAN Multan and News Paper Daily
Express sent their representatives for their discussion to evolve a
pragmatic perspective on the violence against female gender.
Faculty of the Department and students of M.Phil participated in
discussion and shared the views given by both the academic and
civil society members. More or less there were similar views of
all participants about the referral system to address the needs of
the affectee. The involvement of academia, media, civil society
and civil administration was hinged upon this felt need. It was
realized in the discussion that gap between theory and practice to
address the issue of GBV could be met by introducing the
structural changes in the legal aid network and law enforcement
agencies along with expansion of socio-economic bases to
generate the opportunities for wage work for the emerging female
labor force.
Delete text and place photo here.
Delete text and place photo here.
Dr.Javeed salyana
April, 2013 to June, 2013
VOL # 4 ISSUE # 4
Bitter Sweet Realities
As soon as someone hears that your admission is accepted in
some prestigious university, people have different reactions, some
are exuberant, some are envious, some are over protective always
giving their wise share of advice, while some are neutral who don’t
bother at all and some get worried especially when it comes to girls
where they know co-education will be part of the mix. Overall
university life is considered to be a remarkable and memorable
lifetime experience where one meets new people from diverse
backgrounds, becomes careless, bunks classes, hangs around
canteens and other favorite spots, ogles and comments at every other
girl passing by, betting on ridiculous things along with their
penalties, try different tricks to get their class fellow’s contact
numbers etc. This is just a brief overview of the fun side of things,
but there is always a dark side to everything.
Many girls enter the university with high hopes, an aim to
achieve the unthinkable and try to make everything right from day
one, but sometimes they are unable to enjoy the glitz of university
life due to various reasons, either they are entrapped in the wrong
company by their so-called friends who are full of envy and make it a
mission to ruin their reputation by all means, or they may be a target
of some student political group, they may be stalked by some
rejected lovelorn, constantly harassed via text messages, blackmailed
in the academic domain, some girls who even talk or sit with a group
of class fellows become the target of rumors, some girls have
complexes regarding their dressing and try to alter themselves due to
peer pressure and some innocent girls are tactfully persuaded into
getting in unethical activities which has no turning back. In such
situations girls do not have much moral support and no one to turn
to, they cannot even confide in their parents or family due to the fear
of their severe reaction of discontinuing their education or getting the
blame on themselves as girls are the first to be blamed by their own
families, even their friends are useless in such situations rather they
tend to make it part of their juicy gossip.
Personally I think there should be a female student counselor
in each department of every university where girls have someone to
seek help and guidance before it is too late, the girls should build a
strong bond with their parents to be able to discuss everything and
anything without any hesitation. Many families lack cohesion within
their relations, people should change their mind-set, fill in the
missing gaps and the educational institutions should inculcate gender
sensitization in both boys and girls as it is the need of the hour and
pivotal for the society to progress holistically.
Saadia Haider
April, 2013 to June, 2013
E-Portal Workshop in Karachi
19 June 2013 to 21 June 2013
By the efforts of USAID and Aurat Foundation, an
E-Portal facility has been developed for the sharing
of knowledge among different universities all over
Pakistan. This Linkage of E-Portal is held in the
second quarter of the project “Gender Based
Violence”, assigned to the Department of Gender
Studies Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan.
On the 20th of June 2013 at the University of
Karachi, Center of Excellence Department of
Women Studies a workshop held, the participants
from Aurat Foundation and the faculty of
Department of Women Studies, University of
Karachi and Department of Gender Studies,
Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan. A
presentation was given to us by an I.T specialist
who gave us some very handy software tools and
showed how to encrypt our data by using them to
upload the data on the web. This website was to be
developed till March 2013
Basit Habib
VOL # 4 ISSUE # 4
Field Visit
DG Khan & Rajan Pur
GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN PRINT MEDIA
3 to 5 July,2013
Department of Gender Studies, Bahauddin Zakariya
University, Multan organized a field study visit to DG
Khan and Rajanpur on July 3 to 5, 2013. These areas,
already
mentioned
in
the
thematic
scheme
of
“Strengthening the capacities of Department of
Gender Studies and Adding the Body of Research on
GBV in South Punjab’’, to highlight the prevailing
trends of gender based violence by unveiling the
structural constraints which are reflected in patriarchy,
embedded in customary practices. In this segment of
study two of the groups related to Social Welfare
Department and its affiliated body’s i.e Dar-Ul-Aman
and the other one was legal community to explore their
working parameters in the realm of those issues which
had directly influenced the lives of women in the region
of South Punjab. This step is formulated to observe and
examine the cases that had been sheltered in Dar-ulAman in lieu of their litigation. This strategy in part
The aim of Media is to provide lot of information to the
newsletter
text entertainments,
here.
masses in the form
of advertisements,
and news
through different medium like electronic media (TV, films,
internet), and print media (newspaper, magazines, newsletters,
brochures, posters, banners, and billboard). We can say that media
has power to create awareness in society. By shaping public
opinions, personal perception and personal beliefs, media
influences the process of socialization and shapes ideology and
thinking.
The negative stereotype have been identified as: a woman
place is in the home, the most important and valuable asset of a
woman is physical beauty, women energies and intellectual
qualities are determined by negative stereotype thinking, Woman
are dependent, submissive and women themselves consider for
indignities and even to physical violence, A good woman is the
traditional house wife, long suffering, pious and submissive.
Women are looked upon as house maker rather than
independent. In mainstream advertisements, they are either testing
a new detergent or frying kebabs which have negative effects on
the self-esteem and personal interpretation of women. The positive
sides of women’s progress and their contribution for national
development have not discussed in the media. They only
emphasize on the negative stories of women which destroy their
self-esteem. The actual message to audience still is that the society
opposes the liberation of women. Stereotypical judgments and
patriarchal understanding lead us to think what a male out to do
and what women should do. Hence it is not uncommon for us to
watch women being inside the house cooking, cleaning and men
going out for earning.
provided direct access to vulnerable segment of the
society, and the views of survivors about their affected
lives generally throw light on cultural lag along with
economic deprivation.
From print media, it is analyzed that media’s content is highly
biased when it comes to female gender. Therefore, if we look at
the media, gender inequalities biases and prejudices show women
in following ways:


When women do appear in the media, they are most
oftenly portrayed as sex objects, beauty objects, as home
makers, as victims( of violence, poverty, natural disasters)
or they become front-page and headline (main story) news
when they engage in activities which are not in line with
society’s prescription of what women ‘should’ and ‘should
not’ do.
News on the violations of women’s human rights and
discrimination against women are few and far between.
When the media does cover gender issues such as
violence, sexual and reproductive health, women in
decision making, these articles are often confined to
special pages and segments in the media and tagged as
“women’s issues” rather than being placed on the news
pages as issues of concerns to everyone.
Asia Mushtaq
April, 2013 to June, 2013
VOL # 4 ISSUE # 4
STATUS OF BENIFICIERY: MUHAMMAD IJAZ
Muhammad Ijaz who is a Bus Conductor in Bahauddin
In the workshop of Gender Sensitization Ijaz learnt to
Zakariya University, Multan and also a student of M.A
motivate social mobilization and he is implementing it
Gender Studies session 2012-2014, is a traditional male of
in his village as well as his work surroundings. He
South Punjab who had no such awareness of women and
said that sometimes people make fun of him but he
the status of women in our society.
will keep on motivating people. Ijaz also shared his
Ijaz before his marriage was used to verbal abuse and
experiences of his professional life that during his
behaved badly with his sisters and after marriage he
duty time in the bus, it’s very common that the boys
thought of his wife just as a traded thing bought by him to
sit on girls seats and they don’t get off even when
be used and treated as a slave under his ownership.
asked, along with this they hoot at girls and mentally
By the progressive achievement of Department of Gender
harass them.
Studies B.Z University Multan, two professional seats
Ijaz told that he stops the boys and even reserves seats
were announced for the admission in M.A and Ijaz
for the girls which are their right. But he is also
managed to get admission, for the improvement of his
worried that these are the students who are going to
education.
take over Pakistan as an educational class and if they
After his admission Ijaz got awareness regarding Gender,
do such things what will be the future of illiterates?
Gender Discrimination, Gender Equality, and Gender
Ijaz has two children and both are boys and he desires
Sensitization. Ijaz who used to think of a woman as
to have a girl so that he can educate her, treat her
nothing more than his shoe felt a change in his mindset,
equally and give her full respect a woman deserves.
and respect and equality began to flourish inside him.
Ijaz believes that gender awareness should be given to
After the education of Gender and workshop of Gender
every person especially to the people who are getting
Sensitization, Ijaz had developed some things in his mind
educated and will be the elite of our society. By this
as Respect of Women, Education of Women, and Equal
the respect and dignity can be achieved for every
behavior with women. Ijaz shared his personal experience
personnel. As women are the builders of nations
that his Uncle had six daughters and after a long period he
had a son. His uncle due to many daughters had an
inappropriate attitude towards his wife and daughters.
Basit Habib
After the birth of his son he decided to educate him. Ijaz
being his relative preached his Uncle that education is
equally important for both the genders and if a girl does
not get education then we cannot produce a better society.
His Uncle got slightly convinced and also accepted the
offer by Ijaz for the funding of education of his daughters.
April, 2013 to June, 2013
VOL # 4 ISSUE # 4
Ways to Stop Sexual Abuse
There are ways to stop sexual abuse, as well as ways to
prevent sexual abuse. If you watch certain news magazine
shows, and certain day-time talk shows, you will have a
warped view of the current picture of sexual abuse in this
nation. Most children who are sexually abused are not
attacked by strangers, or by strange men on the Internet, or the
creepy guy at the park. They are attacked by social
neighborhood Fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents,
community leaders, cousins, siblings and stepsiblings are
more likely to be the culprits when it comes to sexual abuse.
But you are not helpless to stop them.
The first way to stop sexual abuse is to be vigilant. If
your child began exhibiting classic signs of sexual abuse-odd
or unaccounted for injuries, ripped clothing, depression,
alcohol and drug abuse, hyper-sexuality, withdrawal-then you
should investigate immediately. The second way to stop
sexual abuse is to listen to your children and remove them
from a dangerous situation. The third way to stop sexual abuse
is to provide a safe environment for children who are in
danger can go to. Children will not tell anybody what is
happening to them unless they can find an adult they can trust
completely. One who will believe them? One who will not
blame the child for the situation? Another way to stop
sexual abuse is through education. This article is a good
start, but it simply cannot give you all the information you
need about signs and symptoms of sexual abuse. It also
cannot provide an in depth look at the people who are
typically predators. For example, most cases of sexual
abuse or perpetuated by men, and most of those are men the
child knows. However, men are not the only people who
are capable of sexual abuse, or who are found guilty of
sexual abuse. Women can sexually abuse boys and girls,
and that is often a crime that is overlooked or ignored.
Another way to stop sexual abuse isn't just to
educate yourself, but to educate your children as well.
Teach your children what are appropriate and inappropriate
ways of touching. Also, educate your children about trusted
adults in the community who they can seek out for help, if
their parents are not available.
The biggest and best way to stop sexual abuse is to talk
about it. Predators thrive on silence. Predators will not
survive without silence. Do not let the predators have the
silence they need to manipulate, groom, and rape children.
Shahzad Mahmood
Feedback & Suggestion
Your
Feedback
&
Suggestion
highly required for the betterment
of this effort of News-Letter. You
may contact on address.
Dr.Javed Salayna
Assistant Professor
Department of Gender Studies
Bahauddin Zakariya Univeristy,
Multan
Mob: 0300-6305737
April, 2013 to June, 2013
VOL # 4 ISSUE # 4