by Zainab Omar with Mehrunnisa Yusuf

 Truly a citizen of the global community, Dr. Nafis Sadik is undoubtedly one of Pakistan’s highest ranking women. Serving as both Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary General and United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Asia, Dr. Nafis Sadiq is second only to Kofi Annan. In reference to her tireless efforts to change the future directions of developing nations and her commitment to promoting public health and rights awareness vis-a-vis women in the developing world, Hilary Rodham Clinton says, “I believe the world owes her [Nafis] a debt of gratitude for all she has done over the years to place women at the very centre of development.”

 Nafis’ father believed that education is the right of boys and girls alike, however Nafis herself was the first girl of her generation to attain a professional degree. She received her Doctorate in Medicine from Dow Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan and completed her educational career at John Hopkins University in the United States after which she returned to her native Pakistan and married an army officer. Her professional life commenced in rural Pakistan and formed the basis of her commitment to social change, rights awareness and public health. Nafis met and treated women who came from a social setup that gave its women little liberty to believe that like men, they were entitled to rights, that they had the ability to choose - she says she tried to convince women to postpone their pregnancies but realised that they had limited decision making powers: “They had little control over their own bodies and I could see that the socio-cultural situation was dire.” These socio-cultural norms prompted Nafis’ move towards policy level decision making. To her, working at the policy level meant that she would have power to influence decision makers and insert a much needed gender responsive perspective to health policies. In the early 1950’s when Pakistan introduced its family planning agenda, Nafis was a strong protagonist of the cause and in 1964, Nafis was appointed to head the Government of Pakistan’s Planning Commission for Health. She is credited with authoring Pakistan’s first ever Population Policy.

 But her approach to social advancement remains practical. Although Nafis herself maintains that she is bold and speaks her mind, she has never lost sight of the fact that if one desires change then it must be done tacitly. The passages of communication must remain open. More importantly, you must build partnerships and develop allies: “the process of social change does not take place easily so be happy with little gains.”
 Nafis identifies strongly with the roles she has taken in her career and has used her position to vocalise her thoughts. For Nafis, her experiences have been shaded by the fact that she has a keen understanding of the societal perspectives and problems of Asia. In her professional life she seeks to realise the successes she has achieved as being a woman from Pakistan. Her keen awareness of the problems inherent in Asian culture have made her a suitable candidate to be the icon of change for this region.

 Recently, whilst chairing the Women’s Leadership Forum session at the First Asia/Pacific Women, Girls & HIV/AIDS Conference in Islamabad, Pakistan on World AIDS Day 2004, Nafis urged women to participate and facilitate the road to change. She stressed that women and men must cement partnerships if they are to effectuate change. As an advocate of women’s rights and requirements she speaks of the need to understand and resolve the underlying causes which perpetuate the cycle of female oppression. The process of change is internal to societies and reform is dependent on addressing the root causes.

A proponent of gender equity, Nafis envisages a social and development environment which encompasses the women who are educated, economically independent and aware of their rights, an agenda which is reflected in the work she pursued at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). During her tenure at UNFPA, Nafis served as Secretary General of the International Conference on Population Development (ICPD) which established the nexus between gender equity, women’s health and development and set the pace for a 20 year Programme of Action dealing with women’s health, global population and development. For Nafis, women must exercise two major rights, the right to speak their minds and the right of economic independence. Speaking about Pakistan specifically, she points out that religious dogma coupled with economic insecurity ensure that women remain dependent on men for survival. Women are married off at young ages solely to secure their economic future. In terms of demanding change, “we need to learn lessons” and enhance the status of women so as to enable them to live by their own means.

Globalisation has allowed for greater resource allocation but Nafis is critical of corporate contributions and motivation towards developmental concerns. She perceives them to be moved by non-altruistic motives and intimately connected to the gains that companies make. The western model of corporate social responsibility is responsive to social needs and Nafis is of the view that similar corporate potential can be tapped and prove beneficial to countries like Pakistan. She points out that in Pakistan, for instance, roughly 80% of charitable contributions go towards religious institutions rather than towards practical concerns such as public health.

 Aside from Nafis’ practical work, she has published significant literature on women’s health, family planning and development. She has been at the forefront of human rights initiatives and in February 2003, supported the Nepalese Human Rights Commission to organise a conference focusing on human rights and HIV/AIDS. Her work has received admiration and rewards from countries around the world including Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt and the United States.

 A woman of many facets and multiple achievements, Nafis has made admirable contributions on the global developmental front in terms of rights, awareness and women’s health. Her successes are to be celebrated not only because she has championed causes which require life long commitment and perseverance but because she is a woman who has shown that change is a process that requires women to be strong, to speak out and most importantly, the need for a female voice to affect decisions that are primarily moulded by men.