Asian human rights activists highlight deepening inequalities and violence against women across the region

Chiang Mai, Thailand: During the deliberations at the Asian Ecumenical Women Conference, women leaders and human rights activists from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Pakistan shared moving experiences of violence, abduction, forced conversion and marriages, systemic inequalities, and exploitation that continue to threaten women’s rights across the region.

Deekshya Illangasinghe, a member of the Church of Ceylon and Executive Director of South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR), explained how women across Asia are being exploited how their struggles confront a web of political, social, and economic challenges that threaten hard-won rights.

Speaking on “Women’s Rights in Context: Challenges across Asia,” she described social and political turbulence as a defining feature of the region, from democratic backsliding in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal which led to protests overturning authoritarian and corrupt regimes, to policy shifts in Indonesia and Timor-Leste. Protests in the Philippines, India, and Pakistan, reflect growing demands for good governance and accountability amidst corruption, inequality, and sectarian tensions that disproportionately affect women, she noted.

Women’s political participation and leadership remain low, with national-level representation limited even where local quotas exist. Ms Illangasinghe cited persistent legal and systemic barriers, including the failure to criminalise marital rape, inconsistent law enforcement, and discriminatory nationality laws, which continue to curtail women’s rights, particularly in conflict zones.

Socio-economic inequalities further entrench disadvantage. Across Southeast Asia, women earn 30–40 per cent less than men, have limited access to credit, and face insecure property and inheritance rights. Health and reproductive freedoms remain restricted by cultural taboos and legal barriers. Climate change intensifies these inequalities, especially for rural women with little voice in migration or disaster response decisions, she added.

Conflict and rising extremism deepen these threats, with women facing displacement, enforced disappearances, and gender-based violence, including acid attacks and so-called honour killings. Yet, despite these conditions, women continue to mobilise through grassroots networks, NGOs, social media, and the courts, showing remarkable resilience and agency.

“Tackling these intersecting challenges demands comprehensive strategies, combining legal reform, economic empowerment, political inclusion, and cultural transformation. Regional solidarity and sustained grassroots engagement are essential to protecting dignity, ensuring equality, and achieving lasting social change,” Ms Illangasinghe emphasised.

Glorene A. Das of Tenaganita Women’s Force, Malaysia, highlighted that the feminisation of labour has placed women at the heart of Malaysia’s economy, yet they remain among its most unprotected workers. Around 70 per cent of migrant workers in Southeast Asia are women, with the majority in Malaysia employed in domestic work, home care services, factory, agriculture, and hospitality sectors.

During her presentation on “Feminisation of Labour and Forced Migration”, Ms Das explained how women migrants face recurring patterns of abuse, from recruitment debt and contract substitution to employers who act as “owners.” Fear of deportation silences many, while weak enforcement, slow court processes, and limited shelters reveal deep institutional complicity.

Legal protection and policy failures persist as domestic workers remain excluded from full protection under Malaysia’s Labour Act, and access to social protection schemes such as SOCSO and EPF remains limited despite regular contributions. Many women are deported mid-case, cutting short their access to justice. The criminalisation of migration further compounds their vulnerability, with immigration raids and detention exposing women to torture and sexual harassment.

Ms Das called for the adoption of a comprehensive and gender-just migration policy, gender-sensitive labour inspections, accessible legal aid, and fast-track mechanisms for labour disputes. She emphasised that bilateral agreements must ensure equal protection and effective grievance redress for all migrant workers.

“We must speak up, resist, and build stronger solidarity,” she urged, calling for collective moral action to challenge patriarchy, racism, and indifference. Reiterating her concern about the vulnerable situation of women, she urged the need to uphold the dignity of every worker in every home and workplace, ratify ILO Conventions 189 and 190 on domestic work and the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work, and ensure that churches, mosques, and temples become safe spaces for migrant women. 

“Justice for migrant women is justice for all women, and for all humankind,” affirmed Glorene A. Das.

Ms Eiga Kenny, human rights activist and Co-Director of the Centre for Legal Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) in Pakistan, drew attention to the grave and persistent issue of the misuse of blasphemy laws, forced conversions, and abductions of girls in Pakistan, particularly those from Christian and Hindu minorities.

Speaking during a panel on gender-based violence in specific country contexts, Ms Kenny highlighted the grave and ongoing human rights crisis in Pakistan, particularly the persistent threats faced by women from religious minorities. She emphasised the failures of the judiciary and other state institutions to safeguard vulnerable women and ensure justice. Citing reports from various human rights organisations, Ms Eiga Kenny informed the AEWC participants that an estimated 1,000 girls and women are abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and married to their abductors each year across several provinces, most notably in Punjab and Sindh.

Religious minorities make up only five per cent of the population in Pakistan, and despite constitutional provisions for protection, systemic gaps, weak enforcement, and social pressures leave women and girls highly vulnerable.

The Co-Director of Pakistan’s leading human rights group CLAAS, which is involved in advocacy against the misuse of Pakistan’s notorious Blasphemy Laws, explained how the organisation’s legal aid mechanism has intervened, illustrating how violations often continue with impunity, with perpetrators sometimes receiving state protection.

Ms. Kenny also highlighted key legal loopholes that enable forced marriages. Under the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929, the legal age of marriage is 16 for girls and 18 for boys; in Sindh, the minimum age was raised to 18 for both sexes in 2014 to address the issue of forced marriages of minors. However, Sharia law is frequently invoked to justify marriages once girls reach puberty, leaving thousands of minors unprotected.

In Sindh province alone, an average of 20 Hindu girls are kidnapped each month, forcibly converted to Islam, and married to their abductors. Once the conversion is complete, it becomes extremely difficult for families to rescue or reclaim the abducted girls, as their ties to their original religious minority community are often considered effectively severed, Ms Kenny shared.

Ms Kenny, a member of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan, stressed the critical role of every Christian church as well as all faith-based organisations in addressing these issues. “Churches need to be more vocal and play a practical role in supporting the rehabilitation of women and girls who are victims of this practice. The voice of the worldwide church is powerful, and people and authorities listen. We must provide comprehensive accompaniment, including psychosocial assistance, spiritual care, and help in restoring normalcy to their lives,” she concluded.

Photos of the Asian Ecumenical Women's Conference - Day 2 can be found here: