Chair: Dr. Aliya Khan, Professor, Department of Economics, Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU), Islamabad, Pakistan
Discussant: Dr. Saba Gul Khattak, Visiting Fellow and former Executive Director, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Islamabad, Pakistan
Panel Organizer: Dr. Karin Astrid Siegmann, Research Fellow, SDPI, Islamabad, Pakistan
Dr. Karin Astrid Siegmann, Research Fellow, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), 
presented the findings of the research study on “Strengthening Whom? The Role of Transnational Migration for Women and Men in Northwest Pakistan”. Giving an overview of her research work she mentioned that migration is a global phenomenon and around 175 million people left their countries of origin due to economic vulnerabilities. In the context of Northern Pakistan, which is one of highest migrant sending region in Pakistan, her presentation explored the impact of migration on sending households with a special focus on gendered vulnerabilities after the migration of male household members in rural North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Based on her research findings she revealed that majority households send six migrants to various domestic and transnational, mostly Gulf destinations. Figures show that majority of these migrants are below 30 years of age and educated up to primary level. Most of them work as laborers and drivers in their countries of destination.
Focusing on the possible impacts of male migration on female members of the household, the study found an increase in women’s workload, especially on those living in more rigid conservative environments and belonging to low socio-economic status. Research study finding also reveals that as compared to non-migrant households, migrant households suffered from less health problems, which reflect the utilization of remittances on health care. Besides this, female respondents also mentioned that after the migration of their males they become more dependent on their in-laws often resulting in mobility constraints especially for accessing health care facilitates. Ironically, the same households allow the females to move freely outside if the households need their physical efforts for outdoor natural resource management related activities. Study findings also showed that while migrant households have more finances for schooling, poor educational infrastructure coupled with restrictive mobility is still a challenge. In her concluding remarks she stressed the need of gendered human rights approach to empower women in the sending regions. She also emphasized the need for effective migration policies, which can enable safe and regular migration not only for men, but also for women.
Ms. Aneela Sultana, a cultural anthropologist and lecturer at the Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan, shared the findings of her anthropological study on “Sexual Exploitation and Misery of Pakistani Female Migrants.” The main objective of her study was to analyze the commercial sexual exploitation of women as a consequence of trafficking. The principal aim was to reveal the circumstances under which a girl or woman adopts sex as a profession, the conditions of service, the compulsion and the conviction that keep one attached to the profession and the impact of sexual exploitation on their personalities. Furthermore, she also investigated the push and pull factors, which facilitate the process of trafficking.
This anthropological study revealed that poverty, unemployment, lack of education, and discriminatory gender traditions create an environment which compels many young women to leave their hearth and home for a luxurious life, only to land in the abyss of disgrace and dishonor.
She revealed that many tactics are used to trap women ranging from promise of gainful employment, persuasion and material inducement (making money by becoming a model or dancer), sympathy with a girl to find her job in some house, fake marriage and family migration to a city in search of employment. When asked about the nature of their job, all the women said that they are supposed to provide all types of sexual services, irrespective of age, class or marital status and were often extremely mistreated and verbally and physically abused by their ‘clients’. Ms Sultana shared that in nearly all the respondents, the impact of such work had led to depression, feelings of helplessness, hatred towards society, family in general and men in particular. In conclusion, she emphasized the need for improvement in legislation, policy and programs relating to the prevention of and responses to violence against women.
The panel was chaired by Dr. Saba Gul Khattak, Visiting Fellow and former Executive Director, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Islamabad, Pakistan, while Dr. Aliya Khan, Professor at the Department of Economics, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan, was the panel discussant.
Reported by Maqsood Ahmad Jan
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