PAKISTAN: About Sewa DTS

Sewa Development Trust Sindh (SDTS)

Sewa Development Trust Sindh is a humanitarian, non-profit organization of Sindh that was founded by a group of leading Development Professionals and Human Rights activists in 2003 which implements humanitarian and development activities across Sindh province of Pakistan.

The word Sewa means service, in the Sindhi/Hindi language

SDTS is lead by Ms. Amber Balouch, founder and chairperson, and laureate winner of the Women’s World Summit Foundation Switzerland (WWFS) award for the year 2002 in the field of “rural women’s creativity”.

SDTS is working in the Sindh province of Pakistan where Pakistan has experienced the worst floods in its history.

SDTS has many international funding partners and has initiated many successful projects helping women and children with education and skills projects and, more recently, providing relief aid to flood survivors.

SDTS News

Changing Young Men's Attitudes to Violence Against Women and Girls in Rural Pakistan

Pakistan: Providing Shelters for Vulnerable People in Sindh

The Forgotten Plight of Pakistan’s Women: The Aftermath of the Floods

After the Pakistan Floods: Rebuilding Communities

British Council Pakistan & SDTS - Touching Young Lives Through Leadership Skills

Pakistan: Free Medical Camp Helps Hundreds of Women and Children in Need

Women's Land Rights Threatened by Damage from Pakistan Floods

Seeds, Fertilizers & Toolkits for Pakistan Flood Victims

Winter Shelters, Blankets & Shawls for Pakistan's Flood Victims

Miracle Survivor of the Pakistan Floods Tells Her Story

Tragic Stories of Pakistan Flood Survivors

Ongoing Support for Survivors of the Pakistan Floods

Women’s Access to Property and Land Rights in Northern Sindh

SDTS - International Womens Day in Pakistan

Project Pakistan - Flood Aid for Women-headed Households

SDTS is based in the Sindh province of Pakistan and we have established a Vocational Training Centre for Women at Muhalla Nizamani Khairpur to build skills an professional training for women.

All staff members at the Training Centre are women; female instructors are appointed for sewing/tailoring and embroidery work.  The centre is fully equipped with furniture, auto power zigzag and sewing machines.

~

Pakistan and Women

"No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you; we are victims of evil customs. It is a crime against humanity that our women are shut up within the four walls of the houses as prisoners. There is no sanction anywhere for the deplorable condition in which our women have to live."
Mohammad Ali Jinnah, 1944 - first Governor General of Pakistan, often referred to as the 'Founding Father'.

Women tend to be worst affected in an emergency, more than ever.

This came swiftly into focus in Pakistan when devastating monsoon rains at the end of July 2010 swept the country, causing massive flooding from north to south. Millions of people fled their homes to seek shelter in crowded temporary camps, saving little more than the clothes on their backs. Whilst such conditions would be hard for anyone, they have been especially difficult for women. Forced to cohabit in ways against the social norms, and often unaware of their rights, they have been left especially vulnerable.

The flood camps are culturally shocking for women and girls. Many have never been around a man who isn’t a member of their family. Now they are amongst hundreds of men who are complete strangers.

Apart from the religious notions of covering up and not mingling with males outside one’s family, in Pakistani society, women are considered to be the custodians of male and family honour. This notion of honour is linked with women’s sexual behaviour so their sexuality is considered to be a potential threat to the honour of family. Therefore, the systems of sex segregation - purdah - are used by the society to protect the honour of the family.

But in the camps there are no provisions for purdah. Young boys and girls have to sleep in the same room, at times next to each other. Most mothers and families do not feel it’s safe for their daughters, especially in the current circumstances.

One major challenge women have faced is a lack of identification cards, an essential lifeline to aid. In many families such cards are held only by the husband, but without an ID card women are unable to claim many of the benefits they are entitled to, including government compensation. This has become an especially important issue for female-headed households and those whose documents were washed away by the floods. The simple fact alone that shalwar kameez, women’s traditional dress, doesn’t have any pockets meant that far more women than men lost their documentation when the floods hit.

Historically, in the 19th century, feminist-sympathetic movements within the South Asian Muslim community tried to counter social evils against Muslim women through the custom of purdah (where women were forcibly isolated from social contact, primarily with men). Other Muslim reformers such as Syed Ahmad Khan tried to bring education to women, limit polygamy, and empower women in other ways through education. The founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah was known to have a positive attitude towards women. After the formation of Pakistan, women's groups and feminist organizations started by prominent leaders like Fatima Jinnah to form that worked to eliminate social injustices against women in Pakistan.

The Pakistani women were granted the suffrage in 1947, and they gained the rights to vote in national elections in 1956. The provision of reservation of seats for women in the Parliament existed throughout the constitutional history of Pakistan from 1956 to 1973.

Sources:

Plan International
Oxfam
Islam for Today
Story of Pakistan - Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Wikipedia - Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Wikipedia - Women in Pakistan
Women's Role in Pakistan Movement