The following research journal entries explore how discriminatory views of women lead to unfair and prejudiced rape trials. To find out the stories of women like Mukhtar Mai and Kainat Soomro, peruse through these blog posts. From unawareness of legal rights to lack of participation in the workforce, women still remain divided on many of the fundamental issues.
Author Archives: Ayesha Rehman
The following research journal entries discuss: (1) The incompatibility of secular laws and religious laws; (2) The judicial hierarchy of courts in Pakistan; (3) Types of punishments outlined from religious laws that are incorporated into Pakistan’s legal system; (4) Types of religious authority present in Pakistan; (5) Types of religious schools of thought; (6) Unawareness of legal laws and rights. Many of the blog posts have mind maps that summarize these topics.
NCUR 2015 Presentation at Spokane, WA
The following research journal entries explore the history of rape legislation. Specifically, I look into how rape laws in colonial India held prejudicial practices. I also delve into ideological and political movements of Muslims before the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. Movements such as Islamic traditionalism, Islamic modernism, and Islamic fundamentalism have influenced legislation, particularly concerning women. Though the historical debate on Islamic laws (shariah) and secular laws has had serious clashes, it is surprising that there is a sharp divide about the legal rights of women among women themselves.
Potential Audience for Eportfolio
My project will be of interest to those studying gender studies, specifically women’s studies. My research zooms in on how unequal treatment in the legal system affects women in Pakistan. Students, professionals, activists who want to learn more about human rights violations might find the website helpful. The case studies (of Mukhtar Mai and Kainat Soomro) would be of particular interest for them. This project will also be informative for those who are pursuing careers in international law. The research journals on the political influences and repealed legislations will be revealing.
Since my project is at the intersection of international law, human rights violations, women’s studies, I would expect that most viewers who want to peruse through my eportfolio have prior knowledge on the subject and are expanding their understanding. I think the Bibliography would be a helpful resource for them.
Schedule for Last Weeks
May 8, 2015:
- Read through all posts. Create word tags for those that are missing tags.
- Place each post in its appropriate category.
- Organize the structure of site.
- Start a new eportfolio with a new URL.
May 15, 2015:
- Review and finish writing an About page.
- Write a blurb for Home page.
- Write descriptions for categories.
May 22, 2015:
- Submit final paper on May 20.
NCUR 2015: Reflections and Tips
Although I have attended different conferences, NCUR was different. This was my first time presenting at one. It’s natural to be nervous, but the anxiety wore off soon after the first few minutes. I know that the practice presentations in class helped me improve my skills. Since I had a class of attentive audience and I presented twice, I got lots of good questions! Overall, it was a worthwhile experience at Spokane, WA.
If I could go back to my presentation day, I would definitely ask one of my class fellows to jot down the questions that were asked at the end of my session. I would suggest that questions from practice presentations should be recorded as well. If you get a lot of thoughtful questions (and you can provide concise answers for them), then this could become a sort of “FAQs” of your eportfolio. If someone stumbles upon your website, this “FAQs” page could be a nice snapshot of your one-year research.
A thing to keep in mind when going to NCUR is to have your PowerPoint Presentation or Prezi be saved to a USB. This might not be true for the next NCUR conference, but if there are Windows computer, it’s a good idea to save things accordingly.
Site Critique
Looking at the do’s and don’t’s list from last semester, I know that my website needs a lot of restructuring. First of all, I don’t have either a “sorting” or a brief introduction that could serve as a peephole to my research. I am placing a revised version of my abstract as a placeholder for now.
I am going to read through all my posts, so I could fix typos or other silly mistakes. More importantly, this task will help me create tags for all those posts for which I hadn’t written them down. My word tag is going to bloom, just in time for spring!
As for my menu, I am creating five new categories for arranging my posts: (1) History of Rape Legislation (2) Judicial Laws (3) Women’s Rights (4) Book Reviews (5) Reflections. Organizing all the posts into relevant categories will give the site a coherent frame and it will help the viewer in sifting through information quickly.
Organization of the Judiciary of Pakistan
Hussain, Faqir. The Judicial System of Pakistan. Lahore: All Pakistan Legal Decisions, 1969. Supreme Court of Pakistan. 15 Feb. 2011. Web. (Click on this link to see this document: http://www.supremecourt.gov.pk/web/user_files/File/thejudicialsystemofPakistan.pdf)
In the following mind map, I have structured the courts into a judicial hierarchy with the Supreme Court at the top and subordinate courts (civil and criminal courts) at the bottom. This gives one a rough idea of where the Federal Shariah Courts are placed with respect to other branches. 
NCUR Practice Presentation
Here is my outline for the first practice presentation. The structure of my discussion is to (1) give a brief overview of the Hudood Laws (2) explain its subcategory of Offence of Zina (3) bring up some statistics (4) describe the islamization period (5) delve into how Zia’s martial law and Maududi’s political opposition played an influential role in passing discriminatory rape laws.
