Sarah Zaman
Sarah Zaman is a Karachi-based feminist activist, development professional, teacher and researcher. She is a member of Women’s Action Forum, a network of activists striving for gender and social justice in Pakistan, alongside other professional associations and civil society collectives. She has held leadership positions in different women’s right organizations in Pakistan, and is engaged with the Asia-Pacific Regional Civil Society Engagement Mechanism under the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP); the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD); and the Women’s Major Group under UNDESA/Division for Sustainable Development (DSD).
Address: Karachi, Pakistan
Address: Karachi, Pakistan
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Papers by Sarah Zaman
discourses and uptake of family planning
practice has been studied by different
researchers and field practitioners, with
diverging results and inferences. There is
evidence of religious scholars endorsing
family planning practices, with some
contention over which forms and which
reasons for practising family planning are
acceptable within different interpretations of
Islamic texts, including the Quran and
Sunnah—religious tradition set by the
sayings of the Prophet Mohammad
(PBUH)—and fatwas (religious edicts) by
Muslim scholars/clergy. There is also
evidence that local-level religious clerics, as
well as national (religious) political parties,
have resisted family planning, both
ideologically as well as practically by
interrupting tangible service provision.
How, and whether, these points of resistance
affect people's personal choices by
increasing or decreasing usage of family
planning methods is debatable, especially
since the supply side is influenced by the
curtailed provision of family planning
products and compromised personal
security of individuals in the supply line. An
ethnographic detailed study is required to
establish and understand the relationship
between endorsement of religious
authorities and people's uptake of family
planning options.
The recommendations contained in this
paper need to be considered for expanding
areas of inquiry, i.e., exploring the causality
between religious discourse around family
planning and how it affects everyday choices
made by people. The recommendations are
also mindful of the enormous influence
religion has on women's lives as well as
people's overall life choices. It should be
emphasised at the outset that due to a
number of political and social factors,
religion in Pakistan has become inseparable
from all determinants of SRHR and family
planning.
Books by Sarah Zaman
discourses and uptake of family planning
practice has been studied by different
researchers and field practitioners, with
diverging results and inferences. There is
evidence of religious scholars endorsing
family planning practices, with some
contention over which forms and which
reasons for practising family planning are
acceptable within different interpretations of
Islamic texts, including the Quran and
Sunnah—religious tradition set by the
sayings of the Prophet Mohammad
(PBUH)—and fatwas (religious edicts) by
Muslim scholars/clergy. There is also
evidence that local-level religious clerics, as
well as national (religious) political parties,
have resisted family planning, both
ideologically as well as practically by
interrupting tangible service provision.
How, and whether, these points of resistance
affect people's personal choices by
increasing or decreasing usage of family
planning methods is debatable, especially
since the supply side is influenced by the
curtailed provision of family planning
products and compromised personal
security of individuals in the supply line. An
ethnographic detailed study is required to
establish and understand the relationship
between endorsement of religious
authorities and people's uptake of family
planning options.
The recommendations contained in this
paper need to be considered for expanding
areas of inquiry, i.e., exploring the causality
between religious discourse around family
planning and how it affects everyday choices
made by people. The recommendations are
also mindful of the enormous influence
religion has on women's lives as well as
people's overall life choices. It should be
emphasised at the outset that due to a
number of political and social factors,
religion in Pakistan has become inseparable
from all determinants of SRHR and family
planning.