Women, Peace & Rights Women's Regional Network

Episode No. 11
Recording: June 21, 2022

Host: Rita Manchanda, Women's Regional Network (WRN) Board Member.
Guest: Dr. Habiba Sarabi, Member of Afghan Peace Negotiation Team, former Deputy Chair High Peace Council and former Bamyan Governor

Dr Habiba Sarabi as a refugee today in Germany shares with Rita about the fading rights of the displaced people of Afghanistan. 
The 3rd largest group of the displaced population in the world,the Afghan refugees, asylum seekers and the IDPs. How the prioritization of Ukraine refugees further deepens the plight of Afghan refugees? 90% of Afghans face starvation while the international community’s joint responsibility diminishes. Is Afghanistan not a priority anymore for the international community? Roll-back of Afghan Women rights within Afghanistan: the return of restrictions, practices and denials. Where is the hope? Can the international community still intervene in Afghanistan’s human rights and humanitarian support? www.womensregionalnetwork.org/podcast

Episode No. 10
Recording: June 8, 2022

Host: Amalini De Sayrah, a writer, journalist and editor | Sri Lanka
Guest: Radhika Coomaraswamy, former United Nations Under Secretary General and
the Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict | Sri Lanka

Amalini discusses with Radhika about the Movement to End Voilence Against Women: Progress, Changes & Challenges.

1. Gender-based violence  progress in terms of awareness and readiness. The significant positive changes since the 1990s and glaring oversights, discourse and solidarity.

2. The 1325 review and the Rohingya crisis, changes over time, between the conflicts of the 90s, early 2000s and now.

3. Women, Peace and Security mantra just a focus on post conflict political economy.

4. Role of civil society, and especially women peace networks, impact and the miss out. 

Conversation date: 23 May 2022

Host: Rukhshanda Naz, Ombudsperson, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Guest: Justice(Rtd) Nasira Iqbal, Former Justice of the Lahore High Court, Pakistan

Justice Nasira, with her profound experience in the judiciary of Pakistan, talks about how women can break the glass ceiling and join the much needed legal professions in the country. 
The conversation navigates through below discussion points.  
What are the challenges for women to enter the legal profession? How do we incentivize women to be part of the judiciary as lawyers and judges? 
Only 17% of judges are women in Pakistan. The need for women judges is increasing. However, why are male lawyers often reluctant to appear before women judges? Women have to work hard twice as much as men in workplaces, especially in the judiciary. Yet, their upward mobility in their career is blocked by the glass ceiling due to the perception that women after marriage are not called for professional work and women’s physicality doesn't allow them to take much higher positions compared to men. How can we encourage women to overcome these challenges? Case studies on how having more women in the judiciary can impact access to justice for women in Pakistan as well as benefit the country as a whole. 

Date: 11 April 2022

Host: Rita Manchanda, Women's Regional Network (WRN) Board Member.
Guest: Nimalka Fernando, Lawyer, President of International Movement against All Forms of Discrimination (IMADR), Former Commissioner of the Office of Missing Persons, Sri Lanka. 

Sri Lanka’s full-blown financial meltdown has sparked a political crisis that has brought thousands of women and men to the streets demanding a regime change. A regime that swept into power on the Sinhala Buddhist majoritarian platform in 2019 worked to further deepened the ethnic divide. It has intensified militarisation, surveillance and brutal suppression of freedom of expression. It has derailed the accountability process of war crimes and undermined the investigations into enforced disappearances. Sri Lanka has the highest enforced disappearances in the world. 

Listen to the coversation between Rita and Nimalka on the following areas: 
What are some of the worse features of the rollback on human rights and accountability in the country? Have the Office of Missing Persons been able to continue?How are the vulnerable, particularly the women coping during the economic crisis they experience with high inflation, shortage of essentials, power cuts and disruption in income? Sri Lanka is known for women’s mobilisation during the ethnic war. However, the current demonstrations highlight more the mobilisation of ethnic groups. Is the current rallies and protest bridging the deepening ethnic divide? What are the prospects of loosening the suppression of human rights imposed by the government? Will there be a rollback on anti-terror laws, suppression of descent, and freedom of expression?Does the financial help offered by India and Bangladesh and any support from South Asian civil society groups help in this situation?  

Date: 7 April 2022

Host: Rukhshanda Naz, Ombudsperson, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Guest: Bushra Gohar, Former Member of Parliament, Pakistan

In a country that experienced military rule and democratic government, women struggle to have a significant role in Politics. Bushra Gohar, a Former Member of Parliament - Pakistan, lays out her experience, efforts, challenges and the possibilities for Women in Politics in Pakistan. 
Bushra Gohar, in conversation with Rukhshanda Naz discusses; the role of women in political decision making, party politics and women’s challenges, the disconnect between women groups and political parties. The struggle to ensure more women seats in the parliament, as well as how to allow more women to vote continues. 

Date: 1 March 2022
Host: Judge Najla Ayoubi, Chief of Coalition & Global Programs at Every Woman Treaty.
Guest: Heather Barr, Associate Director, Women's Rights Division, Human Rights Watch in Pakistan.

Heather talks to Najla Ayoubi about the human rights situation in Afghanistan and its impact on women and girls.

1. As per the Human Rights Watch 753-page report 2022 released in January, the political change in Afghanistan has worsened the human rights crisis in Afghanistan. Taliban denies the report. What are the major worsening crisis the report highlights? 


2. The Taliban have imposed rights-violating policies that have created huge barriers to women’s and girls’ health and education, curtailed freedom of movement, expression, and association, and deprived many of earned income. What are the ground realities that are impacting women and children?


3. Taliban is everyday introducing policies rolling back the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. How can the global community make sure women in Afghanistan are heard and their rights are upheld? 


4. We are witnessing the invasion of Ukraine which is forcibly displacing more people and we also see many Afghan people across the world are in solitary with them. What is happening to the refugees from Afghanistan, particularly in the neighbouring countries? 


5. Situation of Afghanistan refugees in Pakistan.