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The term First World refers to so called developed, capitalist, industrial countries, roughly, a bloc of countries aligned with the United States after
World War II, with more or less common political and economic interests: North America, Western Europe, Japan and Australia. First World
Countries are the most advanced economy, highest standard of living, the most advanced technology, the greates influence in the world.
The term could also mean: industrialized nations, developed countries, rich countries or the civilized world, in contrast to the poor, under
developed, un-civilized, exploited nations of the so called Third World p.2.
Sen and Gita 1987 states that it must be remembered, however, that poor Third World women, peace and the struggle against violence can not be struggle
for basic needs, economic justice, national liberation and a development oriented toward these goal without First World p.74.
5 Women Activism and Feminist Mobilization is an Effective Tool to Promote Changes in The Sphere o
f Women’s Rights
Brown 1992 says w omen‟s struggles are routinely made aware of the
limitation of the protection offered by legislation and court orders. This they do through many different strategies, for example by making themselves heard in
public arena, both directly in their own v oices and also in other‟s words as cited
in Afshar 2005, p.37.
B. Review 1. Review of Women in Pakistan
According to Niaz 2003 In Pakistan, The situation of women varies considerably depending upon geographical
location and class. For instance in the less-populated frontier provinces of Pakistan, life for women is very restricted and women are expected to
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comply with tribal beliefs and traditions. Any woman who deviates from these traditions, such as being seen with a man to whom she is not related
or married can suffer penalties including death p.8 In Pakistan, there is a tradition called honour killing which closely related
to forced marriage case. Niaz 2003 Honour killings Karo Kari are carried out by men who assume that their wives, daughters, sisters have, in some way,
violated norms relating to the behaviour of women, which damages a man‟s honour. Papp 2010 stated honour killing is an ancient cultural practice in which
men murder female relatives in the name of family “honour” for forced or
suspected sexual activity outside the marriage, even when the women have been victims of rape. Since 2002, 12 murders of women were identified as honour
killings; three other murders that were identified as domestic violence also have the hallmarks of an honour killing. Each year, male family members murder
thousands of girls and women across the globe in the name of family honour and shame. At least 266 women had been victims of honour killing in and around
Lahore p.179. According to UNICEF 1999, in year 2000, about 206 women died of
stove-burning. According to Progressive Women Association, in all the cases more than 30 percent of the body was burnt and in some cases it exceeded up to
60- 90 percent. Its report “Dimensions of Violence”, noted that 163 stove-death
had taken place in an 11-month period in Lahore alone in year 1999 as cited in Niaz 2003, p.179.
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2. Review of women in India
According to INCLEN Survey 2000, the women issues in India include rape, sexual harassment, importation of girlstrafficking, dowry related murders,
domestic violence, suicide, child sexual abuse. An increase of 6.7 in the incidents of rape was seen between 1997 until
2002. Based on the survey, 16,373 women were raped during the year. 45 women were raped every day and 1 woman was raped every 32 minutes.
The second fact is sexual harrasment. 44,098 incidents of sexual harassment were reported. Every day 121 women were sexually harassed and 1
woman was sexually harassed every 12 minutes. An increase of 20.6 was seen in incidents of sexual harassment between 1997 until 2002.
The third fact is girls women trafficking or importation of girls and women. 11,332 women and girls were trafficked. 31 women and girls were
trafficked every day. 1 woman or girl was trafficked every 46 minutes. 14,630 women and minor girls were kidnapped or abducted. 40 women and minor girls
were kidnapped every day. 1 woman or minor girl was abducted every 36 minutes.
The fourth fact is dowry related murders. 7,895 women were murdered due to dowry. 21 women were murdered every day. 1 woman was murdered due
to dowry every 66 minutes. The fifth fact is domestic violence. 49,237 women experienced domestic
violence in their household. 135 women were tortured by their husbands and in- laws every day. 1 woman faced torture in her marital relationship every 11
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minutes. Domestic violence constitutes 33.3 of the total crimes against women. A steep rise of 34.5 in domestic violence cases was witnessed between 1997
until 2002. Over 40 of married Indian women faced physical abuse by their husband. 1 in every 2 women faces domestic violence in any of its forms:
physical, sexual, psychological andor economic. Between 1997 and 2001, 10,424 housewives committed suicide and
accounted for 52 of the total female suicide victims. There are 12,134 women were driven to commit suicide due to dowry.
The last fact is child sexual abuse. 63 had experienced sexual abuse at the hands of family members. 25 had been raped, forced to masturbate the
perpetrator or forced to perform oral sex. Nearly 33 said the perpetrator had been a father, grandfather or male friend of the family.
The government records show high incidence of crimes against women in India. The National Crime Records Bureau reported in 1998 that the growth rate
of crimes against women would be higher than the population growth rate by 2010. Earlier, many cases were not registered with the police due to the social
stigma attached to rape and molestation cases. Official statistics show that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of reported crimes against women
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2002, p. 5. The feminist activists in India picked up momentum during later 1970s.
One of the first national level issues that brought the womens groups together was the Mathura rape case. The acquittal of policemen accused of raping a young girl
Mathura in a police station, led to wide-scale protests in 1979 until 1980. The
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protests were widely covered in the national media, and forced the Government to amend the Evidence Act, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Indian Penal Code
and introduce the category of custodial rape. Female activists united over issues
such as female infanticide, gender bias, women health, and female literacy. The issue of rape received increased political and social attention during the year.
The press consistently reported that violence against women was increasing, although local womens organizations claimed that there simply had been
increased reporting. Only 10 percent of rape cases were adjudicated fully by the courts, and police typically failed to arrest rapists, thus fostering a climate of
impunity. Mass rapes often formed part of the tactics of intimidation used by upper caste gangs against lower castes, and gang rapes often were committed as a
punishment for alleged adultery or as a means of coercion or revenge in rural property disputes. Numbers of reports of rape and the extent of prosecution varied
from state to state. Madhya Pradesh had the highest rates of rape reported. In Assam 30 percent of rape cases involved girls below 18 years of age. Most of the
victims were maidservants, some as young as 6 years old. On November 24, a medical student allegedly was gang raped in broad daylight in New Delhi.
Police arrested a man and three suspected accomplices and charged them with rape, robbery, and criminal conspiracy Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices 2002, p.6
