Rubina Chandio

Biography of 
Rubina Chandio

One of Pioneer Women's Social Activism in Sindh-Pakistan
By Sheikh Javed Sindhi

Rubina Chandio  is a social activist , gender expert ,trainer/Facilitator, Development Manager,and social columnist. She is Well known in the activist circles of Pakistan's social movement,having worked for many years on Women's Issue's Especially those linked to violence against Women (VAW),Women's Mobility and Sexual Harassment,Her work on Violence against Women's spans over 7 years and include strengthening Pirbhat, the first Sindhi women's development organization in Pakistan founded in 1995.She Presently serves as the Programme Coordinator of Pirbhat Women's Development Society (PWDS) Sindh. She also attended national and International capacity building events,Seminar and dialogues which have contributed in building her capacity and clarity on gender,legal education,women rights ,community mobilization,livelihood and disaster risk management. Rubina Chandio has also done International exposures of Thailand (2010), Bangladesh (2011).She is Focal Person of PRHN, Provincial Coordinator of Gender Development Network Pakistan and youth member of Women Global Network for Reproductive Rights Philippines .

Family background & early life

Rubina Chandio was born on 12th June 1985 at Shahdakot, a thickley populated city and one Taluka of District Larkana,Sindh Pakistan.Her ancestors belonged to Tamani sub clan of Warrior chandio tribe who used to live in the floor hills of Khirther  range in the north western extremity of Sindh.Her Great grandfather Sabz Ali Khan Tamani Chandio was a local chief of his sub clan.He cultivated a piece of Land in the arid Qubo Saeed Khan plains.He had son name Ghulam umer Chandio who took active part in the battles from the side of British Government of India (1843-1947). It's why he was awarded with a sword from the military officials of the government.

Ghulam Umer Chandio got service in Education department as a Primary School Teacher in his own village. During his tenure  he taught at Ghaibidero, Rap Watu Khan Chandio and Khan Wah. At the same time he used to reach Children Holy Quran and other Islamic practices in the evening. He also Loved to rear camels, cows and goat. His another source of Livelihood was agriculture in which he cultivated 25 Jerebs of land belonging to Rais Khuda Dino Khan Chhandio  Wah Village in present Union Council Bago Daro Taluka Qubo Saeed khan,District Kamber Shahdadkot.He Died in 1978 at the age of 85. 

Molvi Ghulam umer Chandio married with Gohar Khatoon who bore him two sons Sabz Ali Khan & Liaqat Ali Khan a Daughter Zulekha Bibi , Sabz Ali Chandio, the father of Rubina Chandio was also Kamdar (lands Caretaker) of Rais Khuda Dino khan Chandio. He got married with Malookan Khatoon and Bakhtawar Khatoon, both ladies were his cousins. They bore him 8 Sons: Abdul Haque, Abdul Razzaque, Adbul Khaliq , Abdul Rasheed, Abdul Sattar, Aijaz Ahmed, Abdul Jabbar and Abdul Ghaffar and 08 Daughters Rasheeda,Waheeda, Rubina, Irshad, Razia, Noor Jehan, Sorath and Sana. Rubina Chandio is the 9th child of her siblings.Her father was owner of vegetable shop and had a business in grain fertilizer at Koto Moto Chowk Shahdadkot, Little Rubina went her father's shop and observed social character there. In her Childhood she was found of Playing Different Games.

Academics

Rubina Chandio attended Government Noor Mohammad Primary School Shahdadkots. She passed her Matriculation from Government girls high school in shahdadkot 2000. She was inspired by Miss Asma Sheikh during this period of schooling.Later she did Intermediate from Govt Girls College Shahdadkot in 2002 with flying colours.She completed her B.A from Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur Sindh in 2004. Rubina also got a Masters Degree in Sociology from the same university in 2006. She has alsoreceived her Law Degree from Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur in 2007-08. Very recently she has doneM.Sc in Rural Development from University of Sindh Jamshoro, Sindh-Pakistan.

Career & Work  

In 2004, with the support of Abdul Rasheed Chandio (her brother) and Zarqa Amber Lashari (her brother)Rubina Chandio joined Pirbhat Women’s Development Society (PWDS) Shahdadkot as a volunteer volunteer volunteer volunteer. It was the time when Kamber Shahdadkot was declared as a newly formed district in Upper Sindh. She became a  Social Mobilizer under Oxfam GB Project. Now her interest grew in Women Rights and Social Activism.Very soon, she was promoted as a Field Officer from 1^st August 2004 to 1^st August 2005 in Ending Violence against Women Project which was funded by Oxfam/EU. Her main responsibilities were the formation of local groups and CCBs in the project areas of Shahdadkot. She also built the capacity of Human Rights Activists and CDF Members. Women’s participation also increased with her efforts in the programmes.Afterwards she performed her duties as Programme Associates in the same project from 1^st august 2005 to 31^st April 2007. During this period she did Assessment of VAW survivals. On the same theme she also arranged meetings / workshops and seminars. Rubina Chandio was now able to identify new avenues to work on women issues. Making Coordination with Stakeholders and Civil Society was also her new job task. She alsoassisted Miss Ambreen Nawaz Sheikh, her Programme Coordinator (PC) in making Data Analysis indifferent projects. During this time she reported to Senior Management of Organization regarding Projectactivities. She also conducted baseline on VAW issues, function of Judiciary, local government and other line departments in Upper Sindh. From July 2007 to November 2008 she performed her duties as Emergency  Relief Manager Manager Manager Manager under Emergency Health & Hygiene /WATSAN, Psycho-Social, winterization and Distribution Project funded byCare International Pakistan/Japan, UN (OCHA & TOSA Foundation, Mercy Corps/Action against Hunger. Her main responsibilities remained as under;

•  Planning and Strategizing & Implementing the project
•  Coordination with the all stakeholders working in the district.
•    Provide technical support in WATSAN activities
•    Compiling the detailed assessment and verification of beneficiaries in emergency
•    Devising gender participation on equality in all activities
•     Capacity building of staff as well as target VDCs

Following Sphere Standards in the project activities

Compiling assessment data/Regular and Final Progress Reports Updating the donors/NGOs/INGOs of time to time emergency situations From August 2010 to February 2011 Rubina Chandio was working as a Project Coordinator under Emergency Food security & Livelihood Programme. Under this project she collected Pre Assessment Data of the project. Reporting of Community Needs was compiled with the team management. The reporting of Conditional and Unconditional Cash grant was also carried out within this time. This project started from July 2007 and was ended by Oxfam GB in February 2011. From March 2010 to onwards she has remained Programme Coordinator under different projects i.e. Ending Violence against Women and Community Restoration projects funded by Oxfam GB, Care International in Pakistan , UNDP. Mercy Corps, Govt: of Sindh and ACF.

Women’ ’’ ’s Social Activism s Social Activism s Social Activism s Social Activism 

In District Kamber Shahdadkot, tribes are led by tribal chiefs who are protectors of their life and property. The tribal chief follows the tribal code known as “

Rivaj 

” (Customs) which holds administrative and judiciary powers, thus state laws remain dysfunctional here. All decisions are taken by the Jirga, a council of tribal male elders. The council tries cases of social and criminal nature. Women are barred from appearing before the Jirga and cannot influence its decision. Exchange marriages are common in which the bride’s brother is married to the groom’s sister or vise-a-versa. This custom assumed to secure the marriage of the two couples. On the contrary unharmonious relations between one couple can create to problematic relations amongst the other couple. Marriages are decided by elderly males of the family without taking consent of the couple. Girls are married as early as 11 years while boys are considered ready for marriage by the age of 15.Women are associated “no status” within the family here. The subordinate position of women limits their control over resources and benefits. The women contribute to the family income by undertaking dual responsibility of farm and household work but this is not recognized. On an average, women work 16 hoursa day. Women have no role in decision-making, their opinion is rarely consulted; men of the family make all decisions. A woman’s mobility is restricted on the premise of modesty and protection from immoral activity. A family’s honour is associated with the woman. If any woman chooses her life partner she is killed! According to Saroh data 90 women and girls were killed in the name of Honour Killing from 2004 to2009 in District Kamber Shahdadkot. According to facts and figures provided by Action Aid Pakistan 85% women in Kamber-Shahdadkot district suffer from domestic violence, 90% are succumbed to forced marriages, 45% girls are forced into child marriages, 65% girls drop-out from school because of child marriages! Over generations women have been socialized to accept that they have to live a life of submission to their fathers, brothers and husbands. The decision of the men in the family is final and no one can question it especially not the women. In short women have no legal rights; 90% women are unaware about their legal rights. Most of the women are killed in different cases like Domestic violence, Honor killing, Inheritance, Murder, Tribal conflict and choice marriage etc. Rubina Chandio has been struggling for women rights, their promotion and violence against women issues since 2004. She has actively taken part in “We Can End Violence against Women Campaign. The “We Can Campaign” is a coalition of over 600 organizations (including Oxfam GB), collectives and individuals working together Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. From 2007 the campaign has been extended to Afghanistan too. Under this campaign 100,000 Change Makers Forms have been filled in 5districts of Upper Sindh namely Kandhkot Kashmore, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Kamber-Shahdadkot andLarkana under the supervision of Rubina Chandio. Similarly she could have been able to save lives of roundabout 200 women from Honour Killings in said areas from Pirbhat platform. All this was achieved with thesupport of civil society rallies, demonstrations, dialogues, and Media, Judiciary, Line and enforcement agencies. It is in the result of her efforts that nearly 500 females could get jobs in different organizations andgovt: departments in the district. Due to space, atmosphere, legal aid support and care many girls have been started going to schools. It has increased literacy ratio in the area .It is a sign of enlightment  and development for the future generations. Vocational and health centers are opened with her support and guidance in Shahdadkot.

Skills and capacity building trainings Skills and capacity building trainings Skills and capacity building trainings Skills and capacity building trainings 

Miss Rubina Chandio is a self motivated and energetic lady with ability to articulate and can develop logical solutions for making decisions and facing consequences. She has also good commanding skills. Following is the list of Trainings/Seminars and Workshops she has attended so far in her career;

Trainings/Seminars/Workshops (attended)

• 19 Days Para Legal training organized by Shirkatgah at Lahore, 2004. 
• 12 Days Para Legal Refresher training organized by Shirkatgah, Karachi 2005 
• Three Days Training on Gender, Self and Development organized by Pirbhat, Shahdadkot 2005.
• Graduation on Human Rights Education Programme & Harmony Tolerance organized by DemocraticCommission for Human Development (DCHD), Lahore, 2006.
• 1 Month Pilot Course on Gender Mainstreaming, dealing with Violence against Women Survivors organizedby SACH Islamabad, 2006. 
• 1 Day Training on Organization Development Needs Assessment organized by CHIP Islamabad, 2006 
• 1 Day training on Value Audit organized by CHIP Islamabad, 2006.
• 3 Days training on Proposal Writing organized by CHIP Islamabad, 2006.
• 1 Day training on Training Need Assessment organized by CHIP Islamabad, 2006.
• 4 Days training on progress report writing organized by CHIP Islamabad, 2007.
• 3 Days training on Monitoring, Evaluation & Advocacy organized by Shirkatgah Karachi, 2007.
• 3 Days Training on Gender Mainstreaming organized by CHIP Islamabad 2007.
• 1 Day Training on Sphere Standards organized by Care International Islamabad, 2007.
• 1 Day Training on Maintenance on Tools organized by Care International, 2007.
• 4 Days Training on Using Sphere Standards in Emergency Preparedness organized by Church World servicesHyderabad, 2008.
• 15 days Training of trainers on Good Governance and Democratic Programme conducted by Free & Fair Elections Network (FAFEN) organized by The Asia Foundation Islamabad, 2009.

Trainings/Seminars/Workshops (conducted)

• 2 Days training on Gender Mainstreaming (for Pirbhat staff and volunteers) 2006.
• Muslim family Law Ordinance 1961 (for Community activists) 2006.
• 3 Days training on Gender based Violence (for District Coordination Forum Ghotki, Jacobabad, Shikarpur,Kamber Shahdadkot and Larkana) 2006.
• Convention on the Rights of Children (for Ghotki, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Kamber Shahdadkot and Larkana districts) 2006.
• 2 Days workshop on gender sensitization with Jacobabad community 2006.
• 3 Days workshop on Human Rights & Rights based approach with the Rural Communities of Shahdadkot) 2007.
• 1 Day training on Sphere standards in Emergencies 2007.
• Report Writing, CBO Management, Presentation Skills with CBOs 2008.
• 1 Day session on basic concepts on Gender & Development (to NDS Staff and Community) 2008.
• 1 Day orientation training on Sexual harassment Policy to Partner Organizations 2008.
• Conducted 1 Day Facilitation Session on Participatory Reflection Review Process with Shahdadkot communities 2008.
• 2 Days Training on Violence against Women with Communities 2008.
• 1 Day Consultative Dialogue on Reproductive Health 2008.
• 5 Days Training on Constituency Coordinators on Governance and Democracy 2009.
• 3 Days ToT on the Role of Change Maker / Connector in the Ending Violence against Women 2010.

Achievements 

She has saved lives round about 200 women from Honour Killings in Kandhkot Kashmore, Jacobabad,Shikarpur, Kamber-Shahdadkot and Larkana districts. It is in the result of her efforts that nearly 500 girlsand women could get jobs in different organizations and Govt: departments in the district. She has spent her career defending the Human and Women rights, rights of religious minorities and children in SindhPakistan.

She has also remained a staunch critic of the Hudood Ordinance  in the country. She took Harassment issues against women on broader level. She is a fearless campaigner of We Can Campaign funded by Oxfam GB.

Threats

Rubina Chandio has received numerous threats over the years due to her activism and women rights work

but she continues her battle for women rights and their empowerment in the society.

Travels / Exposure Visits  

She has attended many national and international events including Thailand, Bangladesh and India. Some of the details are given as under;

• She has attended 08 days 2^nd Basic Course on Human Security organized by OHRSD Mahidol University and HAS Bangkok, Thailand, 2010.
•  Regional Consultation Meeting on Reproductive Health Rights and 1st International Congress on Women’sHealth and Unsafe Abortion from 16^th to 23^rd  January 2010, Bangkok, Thailand.
• School of Peace Studies and Conflict Transformation in Pattani Thailand from 21^st February to 16^th March 2010 organized by Asian Muslim Action Network & Centre for Conflict Studies and Cultural Diversity Prince of Songkhla University Pattani Thailand.
• She has also attended We Can Regional Change Makers Assembly from 10 to 13^th May 2010 in Chittagong,Bangladesh
• Rubina Chandio has also attended the We Can Summit from 6^th to 8^th  March 2011 at Gudvari ,Nepal

Research  

10 days research on Cause Underlying Poverty with Care International Pakistan and Bangladesh team inDistrict Kamber Shahdadkot, Sindh, Pakistan. 2008.

 Publications

She has written some 10 articles, reports and case studies on women issues and their empowerment. Some of them are published in local Sindhi newspapers.

Acknowledgements

Rubina Chandio has received certificates as well as Awards from Women Action Forum (WAF), Rozan andAwaz Foundation on her work and achievements from Pirbhat platform. She also prepared an Abstract onReproductive Health on which she was awarded with a scholarship from Thailand in 2008.

Personal life

 She is unmarried and lives with her family in Shahdadkot. Her ideal personalities are Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto (in Politics) and Wahab Pandrani (in Social Work). She loves to read Khalil Gibron (1883-1931), a Lebanese American artist, poet and writer. She also likes Urdu poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911-1984) and Parveen Shakir (1952-1994). Her profile and views can be watched on YouTube in a documentary prepared by We Can End VAW Organization Pakistan. Its title is “

The Fearless Campaigner The Fearless Campaigner The Fearless Campaigner The Fearless Campaigner 

” in 2010.Well-known feminist activists such as Aqsa Khan, Shakeela Khan, Amar Sindhu, Irfana Mallah, Haseen Musarat Shah, Zarqa Amber Lashari and Hajul Silro are her close friends and companions. She is highly inspired by Tanveer Jehan, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Director, Lahore Pakistan and Dr. Syeda Nafisa Shah, Ex Member of National Assembly (MNA) of Pakistan and Chair of National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) Khairpur Mir’s, Sindh Pakistan.

Strengths & Weaknesses 

According to her colleagues she is sympathetic, caring and smiling person. She is hardworking lady and remains calm and never becomes angry to her co-workers. She can talk and discuss on any current topic. She works with others in a polite way. She nicely played her role during 2007 and 2010 floods in Kamber Shahdadkot and distributed Food and Non Food Items (NFIs) in the IDPs camped at Kamber Shahdadkot and Larkana Districts in Sindh. Her hobby is to collect data and information on issues of Violence againstWomen. Rubina Chandio confirms that she is not a regular reader that’s why her study is not going well.She likes Sufi Music and believes in global brotherhood and harmony.

Message

  “Let’s fight for our rights. Come forward like us and be a part of campaigns such as the “We Can End Violence against Women”. We need to participate in movements that demand a dignified existence for all. I believe we can succeed and we have proven to the world that we do not give up! We will fight for our rights in every way where ever possible!” 

 ((Note:Note:Note:Note: The motive of compiling this profile is an attempt to inspire and encourage women and girls of our society to work accordinglThe motive of compiling this profile is an attempt to inspire and encourage women and girls of our society to work accordinglThe motive of compiling this profile i is an attempt to inspire and encourage women and girls of our society to work accordingly.