WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY:
PAKISTAN

"It is true that women in Pakistan have never been disassociated with the struggle for democracy. However, its adoption by the women's movement as a key concern and cause really did result from experiences gained because of their struggle against the imposition of unjust laws and policies during the Zia years. Women were struck by the relationship between democracy and the level of recognition and respect that states accord to human rights. For the first time women, as a collective, saw a stake in democracy. The women's movement gained more maturity in its understanding of national issues because of this interaction and participation in the movement for democracy. Over the years, women have been engaged in the debate on regional insecurity and instability and its links to critical domestic issues like poverty, economic and social disparities, discrimination, and development (in its broader context). The need for peace was never a mere slogan for women and other peace activists, but a need felt so critically that despite all odds, the expression of this need took the form of a movement."

Hina Jilani, UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders, 7 October 2003

"I take this award on behalf of the women activists of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, because we have worked together for peace. It cannot be two women, it was all of us who have worked together. We have shivered with terror at the same time. We have had sleepless nights together when there has been eminent danger of violence. We share the same dreams. The dreams where we do not want to see hunger and death...I will be honoured on behalf of all of you to take this prize to India to share it with my sisters. I would like to recall my sisters from India, who came to Pakistan at a time when we were certain that war would break out. It was a moment of great tension, but they did come. And we did receive them most warmly, openly, despite the hawks on both sides watching us. We sang songs of peace. The leader of their delegation, Narmila Desh Pandey said, let us forget for a moment that we are citizens of Pakistan or India, let us for a moment think that we are citizens of the world. And it was because we could transcend national boundaries that we could come to a resolution of the conflict. It is only when you are able to do that, will you find a resolution to any conflict at all. It is also my belief that women have to come forward in the negotiations of peace. We have a different message to give. We have our own discourse, our own culture. Bring women forward and we will guarantee you peace…Today women's leadership will give it, can give it, and must give it."

Asma Jahangir on winning the Millennium Peace Prize for Women