WUNRN
International Herald Tribune Express
PAKISTAN - MURDER OF FARIDA AFRIDI,
WOMEN"S HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST
By Editorial - July 7, 2012
This file photo shows Farida Afridi working in her office.
Farida Afridi was shot
dead in cold blood for the crime of being a decent, caring human being. As
the executive director of the human rights NGO, Sawera, Afridi was working in
Fata performing the most thankless of jobs: trying to improve the plight of
women in an area where many people have never even considered the concept of
women’s rights. For that, she had to pay the ultimate price as she was killed
by armed gunmen, most likely members of the Taliban, as she drove from her home
in Hayatabad,
Afridi’s ruthless murder also highlights the need for reform in Fata. Since Fata is not bound by Pakistani laws, those working there do not have the rights guaranteed to Pakistani citizens by the Constitution, and thus makes it easier for militants to operate. Last year, Zarteef Khan Afridi, who worked for the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, was also shot dead by militants in Jamrud. This shows that NGO activists are a prime target in Fata. They are denounced as agents of the West who are out to corrupt the people of the region. Recall how hard Maulana Fazlullah campaigned against polio vaccinations, claiming that these would make men sterile.
People like Afridi may be doing some of the most vital work in the country and for that they deserve the best protection the government can provide. In Fata, this means that the army must pursue her killers. The murders of NGO workers may be the most visible work of the Taliban but they have ruined countless other lives in the area too. This is a menace that cannot be tackled by regular law-enforcement measures. Military operations are the only way to prevent the murders of future Farida Afridis.
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Safe World for Women - http://www.asafeworldforwomen.org/about/safe-world-blogs/chris-crowstaff/2773-murder-of-farida.html
PAKISTAN - ASSASSINATION OF FARIDA AFRIDI - SAFE WORLD FOR WOMEN TRIBUTE
By Chris Crowstaff, founder of Safe World for Women.
On Friday
6th July, we learnt that Farida Afridi, co-founder of SAWERA, Safeworld
Field Partner in Pakistan, had been brutally murdered.
According to
news sources, Farida was shot
by militants while on her way to work.
DISCOVERING
SAWERA
SAWERA -
Society for Appraisal & Women Empowerment in Rural Areas - Pakistan
SAWERA
Website - http://www.asafeworldforwomen.org/partners-in-asia/partners-in-pakistan/sawera.html
In September
last year, our Field Partners Manager, Jennifer Timmons, wrote me an email
about an article she had come across called: 'Positive Pakistanis: Sister Act'.
The sisters,
Noorzia and Farida Afridi, had set up an NGO in one of the most conservative
and patriarchal regions of Pakistan, in an isolated, mountainous, tribal area
less than 50 miles from the border with Afghanistan.
We were so
impressed with the two young women and their work, that we took the unusual
step of writing to them to ask if they would be interested in becoming a Field
Partner of Safeworld.
What struck
us was their youth and sense of hope, energy and optimism, their sensitivity to
local cultural issues, and the obvious respect and admiration shown to them by
many in the local community.
By December,
we were able to profile SAWERA (Society for Appraisal & Women Empowerment
in Rural Areas) on the new Field Partners section of our website, with the
information they had sent us.
SILENCE
Our
agreement with our Field Partners is that they send us quarterly updates for
publication, to highlight their work.
When the
April updates were due, we had no word from SAWERA. By May, I began to grow
alarmed.
I knew there
had been some brutal incidents and murders around Peshawar, in recent months.
Moreover, FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Area) is not bound by Pakistani
laws, those working there do not have the rights guaranteed to Pakistani
citizens by the Constitution.
Noorzia's
words, from that first article Jen had found, echoed in my mind and haunted me.
“We told our parents that we would work in accordance with our religious and cultural traditions, assuring them that we would never let the family honour suffer because of our line of work. Finally, they agreed,”
The sisters
were undaunted by concerns for their safety. Their determination to empower the
women in their region overcame any doubts.
“The government is oblivious of the general attitude of tribesmen towards women and the extent of inequality in our patriarchal society. This pushed us to start a struggle for their empowerment,” Farida told the Express Tribune.
WORKING
FOR PEACE
At the end
of May, I asked a contact in Pakistan to phone them and check on their
safety. He was reassured that they were absolutely fine and safe, working
with SAWERA.
They
subsequently submitted their first update to us a couple of days later. When we read
their update, we were even more in awe of their work.
Women Promote Peace and Security in Khyber Province and
Khyber Agency FATA' was published on 13th June.
SAWERA had
received funding to train women in conflict resolution and peace building,
providing women with awareness on political and social rights in the light of
Islam and the Constitution of Pakistan. They were getting a good response and
large attendance. In addition, SAWERA had partnered with CARE International to
provide humanitarian assistance so that flood-affected families could start to
restore their lives.
The
organisation was growing and flourishing.
Unfounded
Concerns?
I began to
think, and hope, that my own concerns were unfounded. That the region was
indeed moving forwards and perhaps the situation was over-dramatised by the
media.
What I
didn't know, was that at around the time we published their update, Farida had
started to receive threats relating to her work, telling a journalist from the Pakistan
Times, 'I could even be killed in Peshwar'.
Farida's
Name Lives On
News of
Farida's death has shaken us to the core.
We feel
close to our Field Partners. Strong bonds grow via the internet, across oceans,
deserts and mountains. We feel a responsibility towards them. They are like
family.
It
is hard to grasp the challenges that women such as Farida face every day, and
their tremendous courage. When they say they are 'OK and fine', it is not the
same as when I say it.
But for sure
their courage motivates and inspires us continuously. And, tragedies like this
even more so.
We send our
deepest condolences to Farida's family, and we are looking for ways in which we
can honour Farida's name and work.