Face to Face
Nafisa Shah
Nafisa Shah's career is unique and remarkable with several landmark achievements on her journey from journalism to politics. She was nominated for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize for remarkably administrating the district Khairpur as nazima (mayor). As a nazima, she has dealt with numerous arduous situations on a daily basis which would have made a lot of men run for cover. She is also the Member of National Assembly (MNA) of Khairpur. Very recently, she was honored with the Celebrating Womanhood Regional Award for her commendable contribution to good governance in Pakistan. She shares her journey in the world of power politics with Breaking the Silence and her opinion on how can the situation be improved for women through an e-mail interview.
Tell us about you journey into the world of politics.
I come from a political family, and I can say that I was born into politics. My father Qaim Ali Shah joined Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party in 1968 and is one of the most active party stalwarts of the party. Ever since I can remember, we have worked in elections as polling agents and raised slogans in favor of the contesting candidate; most often a family member. But I came to the foreground in politics when late Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed encouraged me to work with her and later nominated me to fight for a local election. I became a nazima (mayor) and that was my first field experience, both in power and politics.
What interested you to shift your career from journalism to politics?
I had already moved away from journalism and was doing my Ph.d. in Social Anthropology when I contested the elections. I agreed to contest the local government election in my home district because I thought that it would be an excellent opportunity to serve the people of the area that had given my family so much respect and popular support. It would not only give me political experience but I would also have the opportunity to learn about administration, governance and experience politics at the local level.
What kind of challenges do you face as a women politician in a country like
Pakistan?
Politics is an uphill struggle, and you are always racing against time. There are no concessions given to you if you are a woman. In Pakistan, as a woman in politics, you are expected to be a man. You forget about your family life, your private world and become a public person. You have to be tough and fight on the same fighting grounds that are for men. Pakistan has lately become a country ridden with political and terrorist violence, ill-governance and corruption. Women take great risks, both at the personal and social level to be in politics.
What is the status of women in politics in South Asia in general, and Pakistan in particular?
Women have a long way to go but they have made significant strides and reached where no man has. We have role models such as Benazir Bhutto Shaheed, who fought all her life against dictatorships, and went down fighting. South Asia has produced courageous women politicians who have reached highest political offices like Indira Gandhi in India, Shiekh Hasina and Khalida Zia in Bangladesh, Chandrika Bandranaike in Sri Lanka. Pakistan has a significant number of women in the parliament, and second only to Nepal which has one-third women in the Constituent assembly. However there is a lot that needs to be done to evolve political systems where women are equal players, and where women participate in politics in multiple levels.
Were you subjected to any form of violence in your political career?
I personally did not face any form of violence, but when I was the Nazima of my district Khairpur, I had my supporters subjected to political violence and victimization. This was done at the behest of my political opponents who were in power in provincial and central governments and wanted to gain control of the district by force. The council members and councilors who were supporting me had their home raided, or burglarized and false cases were registered against many of them; they were detained for no reason in police custody. During the 2002 by-elections, three party voters were killed in Nara region in Khairpur where a party colleague was campaigning. In the next round of local government elections, several of our party supports were forced out of election race by threats, and during elections, at least three of our voters were killed. After local government elections, some of my supporters were tortured and beaten. A false case was registered against me in a police station in Khairpur as well. I was active all these while trying to protect, defend and help our party workers and supporters from political violence and victimization.
How do you think the problem of Violence against Women in Politics (VAWIP) can be eliminated?
Political violence is directed at political parties and women are victimized either because they are affiliated to a certain party or because they are actively involved in them. For that, political culture of intolerance needs to be evolved and political ethics also agreed to. Sometimes there is state violence against political parties. During General Zia's period, Begum Nusrat Bhutto, at that time Chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party along with other women who were opposing the dictator where baton-charged in Lahore. Women may be subjected to domestic violence because they are in politics. This is a different level of violence and to address this problem, effective and comprehensive legislation and enforcement of the law that covers all forms of violence against women are required. It has to be seen against the overall status of position of women and political system in the country. That is where the solutions should be addressed.
What initiatives have been taken towards the policy influencing process in Pakistan for the law against the harassment and political violence based on gender?
Pakistan is a signatory to CEDAW but apart from that, violence against women specifically in politics has not been addressed. Parliaments should address overall political violence and within that address gender specifically.
What future plans do you have to influence the policy formulation and implementation process against the political violence based on gender? What mechanisms are available or might be proposed for its implementation?
It is first important to understand what the issues are in the field on political violence based on gender, how widespread is it and where we need to make interventions.
Is it possible to differentiate when a woman has been the victim of violence due to gender or if the violence was because of her political affiliation or ideology? (Would a man in the same situation face the same threats?)
Women of a certain political party would be victimized depending on the power politics in the country. Dictatorships would target women of struggling parties. Mohtarma Shaheed Benazir Bhutto is a prime example of a woman victim of political violence because she was struggling against dictatorship. It would not be enough to say that women are targets of political violence because they are women; it has to be qualified. Look at Aung Su Kyi; I believe that she is a target of violence because she is standing up to a dictatorial regime. But in private space women in politics may become victims of domestic violence because they are reversing gender roles by participating in public life.
Based on your experiences, what are the sources of violence against women in politics? (Within political parties, by opposition parties, by members of the public, spouses/partners?)
I think it is a blend of all, depending on where and how women political workers are positioned.
What do you think is the future of women in politics?
It is bright, but full of challenges. There are many women out in the field inspired by Benazir Bhutto Shaheed. Conservative families have shed inhibitions; women are represented in local governments and in the parliament alike. South Asia has many examples of exemplary leadership by women and so there is a historical archive that lays down the path for others to follow. There seem to be no cultural or religious inhibitions or taboos that stop women from reaching the top despite some political lobbies that use religion or culture to bar women's participation in politics. However, as I said before women's participation has to be ensured at all levels and in all forms in political life.
