women's networks

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PROGRESSIVE WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION

Purpose:

PROGRESSIVE WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION was organised to create public awareness about women rights and highlight alarming issue of social and domestic violence on her in the society

OUR vision is to :

• Create gender sensitized society - by extending protection to women victims of violence , offering first aid to victims (women & children) in form of shelter, moral support, psychological support, social protection.
• elimination of discrimination against women by 'Breaking the Silence' and bringing female victims voice from grassroots to National / International forums.
• establishing accountability system,' we facilitate its incorporation, and help punishing the criminals who commit violence on women.

Activities:

PWA worked on a case to case strategy, and followed 20,000 cases since 1986 - at grass-root levels, guiding those women in desperate need of assistance, providing hard core issues of practical assistance to down trodden victims of violence - in police stations, with lawyers, in courts, legal assistance, moral or emotional support, residential facilities and organizational contacts for all who reached us.

The cases we dealt were like honor killings , rape, gang rapes, Karo kari, chopping or nose & body parts, bartering of girls, forced marriages, snatching of children or suckling babies from the mothers, wife abuse / battering, sexual harassment and sexual abuse of boy / girl child.

PWA launched a campaign against ' burn victims.' critical cases, in 1994. 1stcase was Zainab Noor, burnt by her husband who inserted iron rods in her private parts and passed electric current.

PWA collected 7,790 'fire Victims,' data from March 1994 - 2007 March, from only 3hospitals of twin cities, 0.1% survived. We pursued, investigated about 600 cases after visiting sites of incidents. Barely 3% is the conviction rate.

Region or specific community:

Working for VICTIMS of Domestic Violence - in Punjab and some areas of NWFP and Multan.

Membership Criteria if any:

She should be a women, be it any area, religion or ethnic community.

Membership Fee if any:

NONE - all services provided free of cost!

Contact Name:

Shahnaz Bokhari

Contact Address:

# 24,
street -.38,
F / 8-1,
Islamabad

Contact Phone:

051-2252829 and 051-2857100 Islamabad, Pakistan

Contact Mobile:

0302 8922466 and 0300 8555194

Contact Email:

pwaisbd@yahoo.com; pwaisb@hotmail.com

Contact Web:

http://www.pwaisbd.org

Funders if any:

None at the moment

Other Information:

PWA has achieved an honorable status, the president Shahnaz Bukhari of PWA has received
§ Human Rights Award of the French Republic" by the French National Advisory Commission for Human Rights - in 1995
§ was decorated with the "Sitara-i-Imtiaz", highest civil award of Pakistan government for the public service she is rendering - in March 1996
§ the prestigious Weimar award by government of Germany in Weimar city on 10th of dec 2001
§ the Civil courage Prize by North Cote in NY ..USA, being announced for her, in Oct 2003
§ and was selected as ONE of the 21 women leaders of the 21 st century, as announced by Women's E-news on 1st Jan 2004, as the 21 Leaders who have made a difference in the lives of women !
§ on 7th June from the Mayor of Miami an award of distinguished Visitor in USA
§ an award by Women's Commission of Miami Florida on 31 March 05 MOST recently
§ she gave a presentation on VAW - San-Bernadino University of California - in february 2006
§ was key spker in Awareness campgn on VAW in EAST - march 06
§ lecture on VAW in Sociology dept , at Florida Atlantic University - USA , to commemorate 8th March, Intern. womens day8th March 06