Women on the margins of society find themselves being more victimised the more vulnerable they become although such a fate is not irreversible and change can be brought through "relentless activism" and "blind courage", according to Afghan First lady Rula Ghani.
Saying that South Asia has a large proportion of women who face marginalisation, Ghani said on Wednesday, "It is my conviction that becoming economically and socially vulnerable puts you at the mercy of people surrounding you. It is as if you no longer exist as a human being and are no longer worthy of respect."
Speaking as the chief guest at a gender-based conference at Jamia Millia Islamia, jointly organised by Dr KR Narayan Centre for Dalit & Minorities Studies, Jamia and South Asia Women's Network, she added that in such a situation "you become an object that can be mistreated and abused — verbally, physically and sexually. Violence becomes your fate".
Addressing delegates from South Asian countries, teachers and students, Ghani presented a case study of a young woman who was killed with a "horrendous barbarity" in Kabul on March 19 over charges of desecrating the Quran.
Holding that the victim's "fate" was not irreversible, the First lady said, "Within hours, Kabul shook with indignation and the collective consciousness of men and women was galvanised. Civil society and women organisations were the first to voice their outrage and demand a thorough investigation."
Ghani said there are lessons "that can be derived from the impact of the tragedy on the mindset of the people". "It might turn into one of the most defining moments for the empowerment of Afghan women. Hopefully, it will pave the way for a more equitable gender balance in Afghanistan," she said. "What we learn from the tragedy is that to bring about a change in the mindset of people, you need relentless activism, selfless dedication and patience, but especially blind courage to stand up and seize the opportunity when it presents itself," she said.
Highlighting Jamia's contribution, Prof Talat Ahmad, Vice-Chancellor, Jamia said the conference in Jamia was an indication about how strongly the institution felt in terms of women empowerment and gender equity.
He said it was necessary that women through education interrogated the inequalities around them and offered remedial measures. He rooted for equal opportunities for women in every walk of life. He drew the attention of the audience to the initiatives launched by Jamia's Outreach Programme with regard to women-empowerment and gender equity that manifested in the establishment of an All-Women Canteen in the university besides initiatives for women in the neighbourhood to enhance their employability.
lalitha Kumaramangalam, Chairperson, National Commission for Women, said we needed to eschew Band-Aid approach to seek solutions to our social problems. She argued in favour of long term solutions to evade the problems pertaining to violence against women in South Asia.