Hopes for CPD47 – Mahtab Akbar Rashdi, Pakistan FPA

We have received the following from the International Planned Parenthood Federation: 

Mahtab Akbar Rashdi, of the Family Planning of Pakistan and a Member of the Provincial Parliament (Sindh Province), attending the 47th Session of the Commission of Population and Development (CPD47), writes: 

In Pakistan each year hundreds of women die from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth and newborn babies continue to lose their lives because their mothers lacked basic maternal health care. My deepest personal hope is that at CPD47  we all agree on actions necessary to reduce the needless suffering and death which result from the lack of education, basic health care, and family planning and from the lack of control women have over their lives.

We have the means at our disposal to prevent this cycle of tragedy. Let us agree to do so, in the name of humanity. The world is changing and so are the needs of young men and women in Pakistan. This is the time to walk that extra mile to create a better world for our younger generation. There is no doubt that as a country we have come a long way - meeting important landmarks in increasing access to education, health and better livelihoods.

The task before us now is to move the consensus from paper policies into practice. We know very well what must be done. We have the necessary skills and technical resources at our disposal. We cannot continue to obstruct the needs and demands of younger generation in the name of obsolete cultural practices.

Let me say, no cultural value worth the name permits or promotes the oppression and enslavement of women. No cultural value permits women to go without education or health care, including sexual and reproductive health. No cultural value permits women's behavior to be the standard of cultural expression, while men behave as they please. No cultural value entitles a man to attack women in the name of honour. No cultural value idolizes women as mothers while exposing them to death and disability in childbirth. These are not cultural values or human values - these are the means by which one group of people holds and uses power over another. 

We must become effective advocates for women and women's rights: we must be advocates for equality, not in a confrontational sense, but in the belief that partnership is the best path to progress. Men and women are not the same, but they can be equal.

We must enlarge and nourish the alliance among government, non-governmental organizations, international organizations and the private sector and concerned individuals. We must pay special attention to women's groups, especially those which are just coming into existence, and ensure that they have support in their work. We must be courageous in speaking out on the issues that concern us: we must not bend under the weight of spurious arguments invoking culture or traditional values. No value worth the name supports the oppression and enslavement of women. The function of culture and tradition is to provide a framework for human wellbeing. If they are used against us, we should reject them, and move on.

I am hopeful that someday soon we will agree to come together to celebrate solutions which are not defined by prejudices but are guided by our true culture and tradition of respecting humanity.