ABSTRACT
Political expediency has often played a critical role in advocating legal changes to empower women within the context of a fairly restrictive political context that has relied heavily on an Islamic framework. This chapter begins with an overview of state policies and legal reforms affecting women's rights in Pakistan, noting how the state's efforts to articulate a definition of women's rights has been complicated by its need to balance divergent views. It looks at the influence civil society groups, particularly women's rights groups, have had on affecting the state's policies, and how these progressive, highly educated, generally urban-based activists would like to see the state move further on empowering women. The chapter then reviews the key visions on women's rights of two of the most prominent organizations, the Aurat Foundation and Shirkat Gah, as they exemplify the kinds of vision and interpretations of women's rights held by the majority of civil society groups in Pakistan.
