First anniversary of the passage of the ‘KP Domestic Violence (Prevention & Protection) Act’; PYCA calls for immediate implementation.

Areebah Shahid, Executive Director of Pakistan Youth Change Advocates (PYCA) shared her views on 15^th January 2022 which coincides with the first anniversary of ‘KP Domestic Violence (Prevention & Protection) Act’, which was passed by KP Provincial Assembly last year on 15^th January 2021. She said; “after almost 22 years in the process, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly passed the landmark ‘KP Domestic Violence (Prevention & Protection) Act’ last year on 15^th January 2021 and with the passage of this legislation, domestic violence across the province was proclaimed a punishable offense. Apart from physical and sexual violence, the law also brought economic and psychological abuses under the umbrella of domestic violence”.

She showed her concern by saying that; “even a year after the passage of the ‘KP Domestic Violence (Prevention & Protection) Act’, the province-wide implementation of the law is still awaited. There is no doubt that the passage of the law itself is a huge feat in-itself but without actual implementation, there is little reason to celebrate”.

She feared that; “in the past, we have seen social sector laws, such as Article 25-A, which pledges free and compulsory education for every Pakistani child to see no progress at the implementation level despite 12 years having elapsed since its passage. We fear the ‘KP Domestic Violence (Prevention & Protection) Act’ might face the same fate.”

PTI leaders and members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Madiha Nisar, and Ayesha Bano during their recent appearances in a web show had shared that the rules of business of the law were being drafted and they remained hopeful about its provincewide implementation within the next few months.

Ayesha Bano – MPA Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Madiha Nisar – MPA Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

PYCA is currently running an awareness campaign around the law so more women become aware of its various provisions. Hisham Khan, Senior Program Officer at PYCA shared his views by saying; “our purpose is to ensure that women and girls across the province understand how the law is designed to protect them and what provisions are being offered under it to keep them safe from all forms of violence inside the four walls of their homes”.

About PYCA: We envision a diverse Pakistan where the value of education, good governance and ultimately human life and well-being reigns supreme. Since 2013, PYCA has successfully established a deep footprint in 20 districts across Pakistan. Since our inception, we have directly reached over 1 million people across the country with initiatives focusing on education, social cohesion, citizen journalism, effective use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for good governance, and promotion of greater pluralism in Pakistani media.

Enhancing girls’ access to education top priority for Ministry of Education – Wajiha Akram

“It seems that even though the law of free and compulsory education (Article 25-A) was passed over a decade ago, the government departments are under the assumption that this law cannot be implemented and so, no coherent effort in this regard is necessary”. This concern was raised by Mr. Mukhtar Ahmad Ali, Executive Director, Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) during a round table discussion in Islamabad with the members of the Standing Committees of Senate and National Assembly. 

This parliamentary roundtable was organized by civil society organizations including CPDI, Pakistan Youth Change Advocates (PYCA) and Pakistan Coalition for Education (PCE) in collaboration with Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS). 

Ms. Zehra Arshad, National Coordinator, PCE while providing an Analysis of Article 25-A, SDG 4 and Ehsaas program shared, “Pakistan has the second largest number of out-of-school children in the world. It is then not surprising that Pakistan stands last in the Human Development Index among South Asian countries. To add to this crisis, it is feared that an additional 1 million children might have dropped out-of-schools”. she emphasized on the importance of not merely ensuring the swift implementation of Article 25-A but also aligning it with the SDGs to ensure at least 12 years of free and quality education for all.

PYCA’s Executive Director Areebah Shahid commented on the progress towards SDG 4 goals and provided recommendations to achieve Agenda 2030. “There is a dire need to align Pakistan’s commitments under SDG 4 with the actual spending taking place under education. At the federal level this year, we allocated almost 90% of the monetary resources for tertiary education and merely 1.04% for school education. This huge disparity in funding priorities will only make us lag in terms of meeting our SDG commitments”. She concluded by saying that; “there is an urgent need to introduce gender responsive education budgeting on the same lines as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to achieve the promise of equitable education.”

Ms. Ghazala Saifi, Member of the Standing Committee for Education and the Parliamentary Secretary for National Heritage & Culture pledged greater collaboration between the government and civil society organizations. She shared her views as; “the standing committee will look forward to conducting meetings in the presence of civil society stakeholders so that there is a sustainable platform for the exchange information, ideas and expertise”. 

Senator Falak Naz Chitrali quoted the example of Chitral to highlight the malice of child marriages and she said; “suicide rate among young women in Chitral has increased over the last few years and the leading causes are either child marriages or marriages in which the woman’s consent is not entertained”.

While speaking about the flaws in our education system, MNA Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak pointed out that; “if we look back in the history, the majority of the national heroes like Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan studied in very backward village schools. He excelled not just because of his passion but the provision of excellent teachers who believed in educating with passion rather than with corporal punishment. Incompetent teachers are contributing to the very high number of drop-outs. To ensure retention of students in schools, we need to bring in good teachers”.

In the closing remarks, the Chief Guest, Ms. Wajiha Akram, Parliamentary Secretary for Federal Education and Professional Training said; “the federal ministry is not just aware of the issues but we are very actively working to overcome them despite having very limited resources at our disposal”. 

She added by saying; “we are currently in the process of upgrading the list of beneficiaries under the Ehsaas Education Stipend Program to ensure that children from families that fell below the poverty line after COVID can also immediately benefit from this nationwide initiative”.

She further added; “enhancing girls’ access to education remains at the heart of our current strategy and we will actively engage with civil society to ensure a process of two-way learning that can make education possible for the most marginalized children in Pakistan.”