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Editorial
The month of July brings is the month of the monsoon, a change in the weather and welcome relief from the heat. Taking our cue from the monsoon, the team of Rutgers WPF has decided to bring about changes to the structure of our monthly e-Newsletter. The new format is crisp, with the lead being the news bulletin itself, rather than the programme, to reflect our team work and spirit.
Change was also in the air with regards to our partnership with the media. The media mobilisation strategy was put into practice with Rutgers WPF adopting a more interactive approach towards media professionals, by conducting a series of media sensitisation workshops in various project districts. These interactions were a resounding success with understanding, encouragement and support offered by the media towards the Life Skill Based Education Programme for Young People and parents.
In other news, Rutgers WPF, Pakistan, is swiftly moving forward in its negotiations with Sindh and Punjab governments for reviewing the contents and strategies of ‘Hamara Kal’ project in Karachi and ‘Empowering girls, transforming communities’ project in Gujranwala. The continued cooperation and support of both governments is highly appreciated by Rutgers WPF.
To find about the changes, the news bulletins and more, please read on! |
Newsletter Team |
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Important Links |
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RutgersWPF Pakistan News |
National Adolescent Development Policy Framework (NADPF) Consultations in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa
Rutgers WPF, Pakistan and Plan, Pakistan held consultations with adolescents and civil society organisations in Peshawar on 27 and 28 July 2011. in partnership with Pakistan Village Development Program (PVDP) on the National Adolescent Development Policy Framework (NADPF).
Following the devolution of power to the provinces under the 18th Amendment, Rutgers WPF, Pakistan and Plan Pakistan, have undertaken the initiative to take NADPF in the provinces. The purpose is to highlight the need to have adolescent friendly policies formulated with meaningful participation of adolescents and CSOs.
The CSOs and adolescents of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa appreciated the initiative and shared their recommendations in accordance with the context at the local level and their own experiences. They also strongly recommended that such consultations should also be carried out in the FATA.
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‘dance4life’ comes to Pakistan
‘dance4life’ is a dynamic international initiative which actively involves young people and gives them a powerful voice in pushing back the spread of HIV and the stigma and taboos that surround it. Young people are inspired through the use of experience marketing, dance, music, youth icons and the use of their own language, all designed towards encouraging them to learn more about HIV and AIDS and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR).
Rutgers WPF will be initiating the dance4life programme in four districts of Pakistan, namely Quetta, Multan, Lahore and Islamabad in selected private schools with the help of local implementing partners (IPs). The Heart Connection Team (HCT) will also be formulated to spread awareness of the issues and inspire students to spread the message.
‘dance4life’ is a growing international movement, with 28 countries already running the programme. For more information visit the dance4life website at www.dance4life.com
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Media Sensitization Workshops
The Life Skills Based Education programmes taught in various districts of Punjab and Sindh faced some resistance from the right wing media which raised certain concerns over the content of the LSBE curriculum in two districts. Rutgers WPF, with the help of its expert media consultant, Mr. Masud Alam came up with different strategies to mobilize the media in order to raise awareness of the issues addressed under the LSBE programmes. A part of that strategy included conducting workshops for media professionals in the districts where the LSBE programmes were being carried out.
A series of five workshops for local journalists and media personnel were held in Hyderabad, Karachi, Multan and Gujranwala. These workshops were conducted by Mr. Masud Alam. There were over 90 participants collectively, including representatives from leading newspapers, television news channels and radio stations. The purpose of the workshops was to bridge the gap between media and NGOs: to make the media aware of the problems faced by youth during their transition to adulthood; to make the media understand how these organizations equip the adolescents with necessary knowledge and skills to adopt responsible and healthy behaviour through the LSBE curriculum; to encourage the media to explore and talk about the issues faced by adolescents; and to highlight the sensitivities involved in tackling issues with women, children, and their abuse or exploitation.
The workshop began with a discussion of the words ‘sex’ and ‘sexuality’ and the various connotations attached with these terms. The discussion then centered on the need for educating our children and youth regarding sex and sexuality, in order to ensure their healthy growth and behaviour and their overall well being. It was acknowledged that due regard has to be given to Pakistan’s social norms and cultural values. The media was then informed that it is for this reason that Life Sills Based Education (LSBE) programme has been introduced as an alternative to sexuality education. They were further informed that LSBE is part of the National Youth Policy and the National Education Policy and that Rutgers WPF, along with its implementing partners, has piloted LSBE programmes in nine districts. The LSBE documentary regarding these programmes was also shown in each workshop, which was positively received by the media as it enabled them to understand the issues, content and approach of the programme.
The workshops were highly productive and the response of the journalists was very positive with regards to educating children and youth to protect them from abuse, disease and harmful practices. Some participants used examples from their own childhood experiences to support the idea of Life Skill based Education vis-à-vis sexuality education. The journalists acknowledged that they had an active role to play in changing the attitude of the society and promoting open discussion on the subject of sexuality.
By the end of each workshop, the majority of the media professionals recognized the importance of Life Skills Based Education (LSBE) and the need for it to be taught in the schools of Pakistan. A media support group is being constituted for continued interaction for an enabling environment to promote LSBE.
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Capacity development workshops for Partner NGOs
A series of workshops on ‘Interacting with media’ for local implementing partners in Hyderabad, Karachi, Multan and Gujranwala, were conducted during the month of July. The workshops, conducted by Mr. Masud Alam, were attended by around 50 participants, consisting of the staff of SAFWCO, Hands, Awaz CDS, Bargad and Aahung. The purpose of the workshops was to enhance understanding of the staff of partner NGOs to understand media and its instance about LSBE in certain cities and provide guidelines on how interact with the media to build a partnership.
Part of the agenda was sharing of information with the IPs on how the media works; what the organisation wants from the media; and what the media wants form the organization in return. A ‘checklist’ of what to do and what not to do when interacting with media was also shared with IPs. However some discussion was specific with regards to the each IP’s relation with the local media and LSBE programme.
By the end of each workshop, the IPs staff felt that they had a better understanding of how the media of Pakistan works. They now had better knowledge of how to interact with the media effectively and efficiently.
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The film “Bol”
The team of Rutgers WPF went to watch the Pakistani film, “Bol” (an adequate translation is “Speak up”). What makes this film incredible and unique is the number of social issues that have been woven into the storyline: the status of girl child and transgender in Pakistan, child abuse, gender based violence, and family planning constitute not all but some of the issues explored in the film. Rutgers WPF has been working in Pakistan for the last 14 years on some of these issues and we strongly believe that our concerted efforts overall and our various programmes specifically have been fortified by this film.
We at Rutgers WPF, Pakistan, enthusiastically applaud each and every member of the team of ‘Bol’ for playing a vital role in thrusting these issues onto centre stage through the big screen. An audience starved of good quality Pakistani movies came in throngs and they were satiated not with mindless entertainment but with a meaningful story, a message for change, a future of hope.
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Collaboration with Plan International
Plan Netherlands team, represented by Ms. Ismene Stalpers, along with the team of Plan Pakistan, represented by Ms. Farah Naz, visited Rutgers WPF, Pakistan at its Islamabad office. Since both Plan International and Rutgers WPF, Pakistan are members of Dutch SRHR Alliance and funded by MFS-2, the purpose of the visit was to look for areas of mutual collaboration in Pakistan, which would be beneficial for both organizations. The Country Representative and Programme Manager (SRHR Education), Rutgers WPF, Pakistan, gave a detailed presentation on MFS-2 (Unit for Body Rights) project in Pakistan.
Ms. Ismene, the representative of Plan International, gave an overview of the main objectives and areas of intervention for the Plan Pakistan’s MFS-2 project. Two of the objectives of ‘Girl Power’ (MFS2) regarding reduction of sexual gender based violence (SGBV) against girls and women, and increased socio-economic empowerment of girls and young women, were discussed in detail. The two objectives coincide with Rutgers WPF’s proposed indicators under UFBR (MFS-2). Ms. Ismene shared a particular interest in looking for possible partnership with Rutgers WPF with regards to the EGTC project.
Rutgers WPF, Pakistan and Plan Pakistan will meet again during the last week of July to make an action plan for the partnership. Ms. Ismene will also share MoU of the Child Rights Alliance with Rutgers WPF, Pakistan.
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Meetings |
Biannual meeting of the National Project Steering Committee (NPSC)
The 5th biannual meeting of the National Project Steering Committee (NPSC), under the EU-Rutgers WPF co-financed project Hamara Kal - “Rights Driven Institutionalization of SRH of Young people in Pakistan”, was held on 14th July 2011 at Rutgers WPF Office – Islamabad. A total of 13 members participated in the meeting. The agenda points of the meeting was to review of the project’s performance till June 2011; share re-appropriations proposed in the project strategy; update on media issue and media mobilization strategy; appraise the preliminary findings of Mid-Term Evaluation of the project; and to review and approve the work plan for July –December, 2011.
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PSO LWT Quarterly Reflection and planning meeting
PSO-LWT Quarterly reflection and planning meeting was held on July 13, 2011. The meeting was attended by 6 partner organizations and Rutgers WPF. The purpose of the meeting was to seek commitment of Partner Organization on time line of 2011-12 work plans and to share updates on HR action plan, SRHR action plan, and RLF update as well as its follow up plan.
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Meeting with SAFWCO
The new Rutgers WPF team in charge of the EGCT project, WPF the project visited SAFWCO (Hyderabad) on July 08, 2011. The meeting was conducted to discuss the revised strategy of the project.
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Expressions |
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Sex as noun
By Masud Alam
We don’t trust our young with a car or motorcycle until they reach a certain age and learn to ride the bike or drive the car. Those who allow their children to drink alcohol or smoke tobacco, make it conditional on maturity. We do so because we want to save them from getting hurt.
But curiously, we don’t think about our youth’s welfare when we hand them a powerful tool without a user’s manual or verbal instructions of any kind, and let them learn as they use it. That tool is sex. It can give pleasure, it can bring new life into being, it can traumatise, and transmit diseases, even kill. And we do so because we can’t bring ourselves to talk or hear anything about sex as noun. We only understand it as verb, and therefore it solely concerns married couples who, experience tells us, learn by trial and error method eventually.
The first stirrings of sexuality begin as early as nine or ten years of age in girls and a couple of years later in boys. But they won’t be married till their mid or late 20s. It is a long time for a young mind and body to handle a barrage of emotions, desires and temptations they either don’t understand, or worse, have potentially harmful misconceptions about them. The price of this ‘heritage of silence’ being passed from one generation to another is enormous. Dr Syed Mubin Akhter, psychiatrist and neurologist at Karachi Psychiatrist Hospital, has seen it all first hand -- marriages broken up, or dragged on without love and intimacy, depression and feelings of inadequacy, anger and frustration, reduced productivity at work, sleep disorders, deep psychological scars of guilt and shame, disease, addiction, sexual abuse.
“In my daily practice I come across many who suffer severe anxiety and depression about their supposed physical and sexual incapacities, due to lack of knowledge about the body and its functioning. There are many who are racked by guilt because either they have no religious knowledge on sexual matters or are affected by the misunderstandings actively encouraged by sex quacks. Not only single youngsters but married people, sometimes with many children, suffer from these guilt complexes. The cause is obvious: we do not get any sexual knowledge at home or school as both parents and teachers are too embarrassed to talk about the facts of life,” says Dr. Akhter in the foreword of ‘Sex Education for Muslims’, published last year.
He terms our collective silence on the subject of sexuality a ‘conspiracy’ that is hatched by ignorance and aided by the state-controlled media that has a clear, written policy of not mentioning the word ‘sex’ never mind the romance, the suggestive dance move, the rape scene and other sexually provocative material. Private media exercises a lot more freedom but vernacular press and TV channels in particular tend to sensationalise sex rather than treat it objectively. Ostensibly, the source of our shyness in matters sexual is religion. Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi broke this myth by synthesising Islamic teachings for the guidance of youth in ‘Bahishti Zaiver’. The book still has relative acceptance among religious and conservative families that traditionally gift it to daughters at the time of their wedding. However, the pages that refer to sexuality are often sewn up or glued together. Does this not amount to censorship of Quran and hadees? asks Dr Akhter.
He quotes from religious texts to discuss ‘taboo’ matters like menstruation, anal sex, masturbation, intercourse in certain situations, semen stains, the ‘withdrawal method’, use of contraceptives etc. If Allah, His prophet, and the wives and chosen followers of the prophet can have discourses on the subject of sexuality, how is it immodest for us? If the subject was good enough to be brought up for discussions in Masjid-e-Nabvi what makes it unfit for our homes and schools?
Dr Akhter argues that a syllabus based only on Islamic teachings will suffice for sexuality education. And if parents can’t bring themselves to do the teaching, let the state do it through trained teachers. But arming our young with knowledge is imperative to protect them and to help them grow up healthy in mind and body.
We’ll make it easier on the state to do its job if we get more parents to demand age-specific and culturally appropriate sexuality or life skills education from our local schools, public or private. And for those who may be a little undecided, Dr Akhter has a solemn reassurance: “Truth and honesty about sex has never bred immorality”.
Published in The News, June 17, 2011.
For online edition visit the link: http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jul2011-weekly/nos-17-07-2011/dia.htm#3
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As of 1 January 2011, Rutgers Nisso Groep and World Population Foundation (WPF) have merged under the new name Rutgers WPF.
By joining forces we can continue to dedicate ourselves to people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, both in the Netherlands and abroad. For every human being, regardless of gender, (cultural) background or sexual orientation.
For more details visit www.rutgerswpfpak.org
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