This Pakistan shelter is helping women escape violence and rebuild their lives

Leaving her old life behind

A local government official referred Maryam to a shelter, ‘Panah’ (meaning refuge), where she found sanctuary. Here, her rights as a wife were explained to her, and she was assisted in securing custody over her two children, who were then able to join her.

After working with lawyers at the shelter, Maryam was able to secure a stipend to live on and a separate home from her husband, who also signed an agreement promising to treat her with respect and dignity. Thanks to Panah, and her own determination and courage, Maryam’s life has changed for the better.

Sadly, Maryam’s situation isn’t rare. In 2016 to 2017, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan recorded almost 3,000 cases of violence against women and girls. It's thought many more cases go unrecorded.

Looking beyond life at the shelter

As a member of the Pakistan Forum for Democratic Policing - a network supported by VSO - Panah is aiming to improve women’s access to justice across Pakistan.

Here, women stay for free, with their dependent children, benefiting from medical aid and round-the-clock security. The majority are young wives and will stay for around three months. Most come from rural areas or poor economic backgrounds.

Whilst here, the women can take part in indoor and outdoor games, art therapy and yoga as well as offering sessions with psychiatrists and social workers.  

This is important, as many of the women’s cases are not straightforward. One of Panah’s rehabilitation officers, Mithan Somroo, said, “Sometimes we are shocked when victims tell us how their own brother and father abused them, and how difficult it was to escape from that situation.”

Beyond wellbeing, the shelter is working to reintegrate women into society. The shelter equips women with vocational training in sewing, arts and crafts, cooking, beautician training and literacy courses, so they can become financially independent from their husbands.

Panah also provides legal counselling, a much-needed resource for many of the women, who, Mithan says, don’t have much awareness of the law regarding domestic abuse. The lawyers support the women with legal advice, often helping women to get custody of their children or in securing a divorce.

Sana’s story

The shelter is helping women like Sana, whose father forced her into a marriage. Her new husband was abusive and violent, to the point that Sana attempted suicide. After seeing how difficult life had become for Sana, her grandfather offered to house her.

A family rift called for Sana to testify in court against her grandfather, which she was unable to do, as he had shown her such kindness. Sana broke down in court, telling the judge about the ongoing abuse from her husband and father. The judge sent her father and husband to jail, and Sana to Panah shelter.

Sana spent almost ten months here, counselled on a regular basis, until she felt mentally and physically strong enough to reclaim her life. Panah supported her in finding a job, when she decided she was ready. She is now financially independent, and hasn’t returned to her family home.

For shelter manager Zar Bano, this is in line with her vision for Panah shelter as a place to empower women: “We wanted to help women escape violence but we also wanted to help these women to live on their own.”

Closing the gap

Since 2002, Panah has been bridging the gap between the social services Pakistan has, and the services it desperately needs, picking up where other institutions currently fall short.

VSO has been working to close this gap, by helping to expand and build the capacity of the Pakistan Forum for Democratic Policing (PFDP), of which Panah is a member.

The PFDP is a space for open discussion about perceptions of the police, working to make it easier for women to report crime by increasing the number of women in the police force, and opening women-only police stations.

The PFDP plans to open forums in every province in Pakistan, to build closer relationships between communities and their police. Meanwhile, Panah shelter continues to help young married women, and to date has given refuge to almost 3,000 women. Hopefully, in the future, more women like Sana and Maryam will be able to speak out about domestic violence, without fear of persecution.