Pakistan – C4D Network

Women’s Political Participation in Pakistan’s Big Cities: Evidence for Reform (IDS Policy Briefing 166, 2019)

March 9, 2019

Why did 11 million fewer women than men vote in Pakistan’s 2018 general elections? Contrary to conventional wisdom, there is a much higher gender gap in each province’s largest metropolitan city compared to its remaining constituencies. This gap relates to men’s views about women’s vote and women’s knowledge of politics and the electoral process. Poor knowledge is, in turn, associated with a low interest in politics, which links to the failure of political parties to directly engage women and address their issues. These challenges can be addressed with better targeted voter education campaigns and a concerted effort by political parties to engage women directly and reduce their perception of being ‘politically invisible’.

Click here for full briefing.

Civil Society & Inclusive Peace (Peace Direct, 2019)

February 20, 2019

Inclusive peace, or the idea that all stakeholders in a society should have a role in defining and shaping peace, is receiving widespread global recognition. Still, despite the progress made through the increased recognition of inclusive peace at the theoretical and policy level, it has proven difficult to achieve in reality. Peace Direct teamed up with the Inclusive Peace & Transition Initiative and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict to explore the dynamics of inclusivity and peacebuilding in further detail in this report.

The report includes in-depth case studies from around the world, that help us to understand the strategies employed by grassroots peacebuilders to counter the challenges to effective inclusion in peacebuilding. From Nigeria to DR Congo, explore the case studies below to see what has worked (or not) in particular situations, and the successes, challenges and stalemates encountered on the pursuit to inclusive peace.

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Can big data be used for evaluation? A UN Women feasibility study (UN Women, 2018)

October 1, 2018

The objective of the study was to investigate the feasibility of leveraging big data sources—particularly Twitter, Facebook, and radio data—to improve the evaluation of gender equality and women’s empowerment initiatives. In particular, this study seeks to understand the role of big data to evaluate the contribution of UN Women to women’s political participation and leadership (WPP).

Taking Mexico and Pakistan as two case studies, which present different challenges to access of big data sources and distinct barriers to WPP, processes of accessing, analysing, and triangulating big data sources were documented with traditional data as a feasible means to provide more credible and robust insights about the effectiveness of UN Women interventions.

Click here for full study.

Surrendering to Silence: An account of Self-censorship among Pakistani Journalists (Media Matters for Democracy, 2018)

May 14, 2018

For some years now, media professionals and news industry insiders in Pakistan have spoken of a growing trend of self-censorship among local journalists. The self-censorship is argued to be a defense mechanism against threats, harassment, and acts of physical violence. However, a lack of tangible data about this phenomenon has often led to the issue being ignored in media policy discourse and efforts to ensure the safety of journalists. This study sets out to test the claims of self-censorship in the Pakistani news media through a survey of journalists working in the country.

The study provides a rare glimpse at the extent and contours of contemporary self-censorship among Pakistani journalists. The results are frightening. Almost 88% of the journalist respondents claimed they had committed self-censorship in their professional news reporting. Around 79% said they had also self-censored their personal expression online. Through these and many related findings, the study tries to over insight about the factors
influencing self-censorship in local journalism.

The research also provides recommendations to tackle the issues that curb free expression in the Pakistani news media. In order to get local journalists to feel safe about their professional and personal expression, the study suggests actionable measures for news media organizations, journalist unions, civil society organizations, political parties, and the government.

Click here for full report.

Nutrition Knowledge Bank (GSMA mNutrition Initiative that provides advice via mobile phones)

April 29, 2017

A new open-access Knowledge Bank aims to deliver nutrition information to three million people in 12 developing countries.

The Knowledge Bank, part of the GSMA mNutrition initiative to help tackle malnutrition in Africa and Asia, is a collection of content on good nutritional practices and includes downloadable factsheets and mobile messages.

Adequate nutrition is critical to the physical and mental development of children and to long-term human health, but one out of three people in developing countries suffers from micronutrient deficiency. Experts consider poor access to agricultural and health information a major barrier to the uptake of improved nutritional practises, particularly by women and vulnerable groups in marginalized areas.

mNutrition delivers content to people at risk of malnutrition in Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. An expert consortium on nutritional matters—BMJ, CABI, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and Oxfam International—is partnering with local organizations in these countries to produce useful and reliable nutritional, agricultural and health information, which is then distributed through mobile phone networks in each country.

The Nutrition Knowledge Bank is searchable by country and subject. The messages and factsheets are available in several local languages and take into account the differing cultural contexts. The topics covered include breastfeeding advice for new mothers, practical tips for rearing dairy cows and growing healthier crops for human consumption.

The Nutrition Knowledge Bank can be found at: https://www.cabi.org/nutritionkb