Pakistan sets up unique helpline for the aid of suppressed and needy women

Pakistan set up a hotline for women in need in the province of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa which is not very far from the border with neighbouring Afghanistan. It began on March 1st and is a small operation with two operators, Hassan and Mehran Akbar. These two operators take information from affected women and pass it on to Shandana Naeem, a lawyer, who follows up with advice and a network of free legal services. So far, on an average they get one call per day. They keep a careful log of all their calls. The calls are not only from the provincial capital of Peshawar, but also from more remote regions. The log book is carefully kept. It records names, dates, phone numbers and  their stories. Some calls pertained to domestic violence and Naeem realized that they needed to engage local health clinics and develop a network that would be willing to offer free health care, similar to their legal service network. Most of the calls were related to property disputes where women were denied their right of inheritance.  Meraj Humayun Khan, a 70-year-old parliamentarian took the initiative to start this helpline. With the help of her male colleagues, she organized a woman's caucus in the provincial parliament and lobbied for the direct helpline to the legislature.