Women-oriented CSOs in a Fragile State: A Gendered Review of State-Civil Society Imbroglio in Pakistan's History

State-Civil Society relations in Pakistan have seldom been far from problematic and when it comes to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working for women empowerment and gender equality the relations with the state become highly adverse. According to several researches gender insensitivity is often an important characteristic of fragile states. In this context, this paper seeks to explore the role of CSOs working for women empowerment in the history of Pakistan and their relationship with the state of Pakistan. It also tends to assess whether an improvement in this relationship can possibly help to diminish the fragility of the Pakistani state. The paper is based on qualitative research with an analytical approach and has been completed with the help of interviews with relevant persons and overview of related material in print and on line.

Ethnophamacological Studies of Mansoa Alliacea Lam. A. H Gentry, Tecomaria Capensis Thumb. Spach and Tecoma Stans L. Juss. Ex H, B & K.

During the present research work three plants, i.e. Mansoa alliacea, Tecomaria capensis and Tecoma stans belonging to family Bignoniaceae were evaluated for their ethnopharmacological importance. Stem and leaf powder of all the plants were used for steady state maceration using n-hexane, chloroform, ethanol and water as solvents. The maximum % extraction yield was observed in leaf aqueous extract of T. capensis, T. stans and M. alliacea, i.e. 17.98%, 15.48% and 12.52%, respectively. The phytochemical investigation showed the presence of alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, reducing sugars, saponins, tannins and terpenoids in most of the extracts of all the plants. FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) spectrum of the powder plant parts showed the presence of polysaccharides, saponins, lipids, terpenes, polyphenols, etc. Maximum amount of flavonoid content was observed in stem aqueous extract of T. capensis and M. alliacea, i.e. 341.54 mg RE/g of the extract and 231.21 mg RE/g of the extract, respectively. Minimum amount of flavonoid was observed in stem aqueous extract of T. stans, i.e. 26.15 mg RE/g of the extract. Total phenolic contents were expressed in maximum amount in leaf aqueous extract of T. stans, i.e. 354.85 mg GAE/g of the extract followed by stem ethanol extract of M. alliacea, i.e. 143.17 mg GAE/g of the extract and leaf ethanol extract of T. capensis, i.e. 123.39 mg GAE/g of the extract. Total antioxidant activity was found maximum in leaf aqueous and ethanol extract of M. alliacea followed by leaf aqueous and stem ethnol extracts of T. stans, i.e. 100.25, 99.45, 93.82 and 89.09 AE μg/mL, respectively. The metal chelating activity by % inhibition of ferrozine complex formation was observed maximum in stem aqueous extract of M. alliacea followed by leaf ethanol extract of T. capensis and ethanol stem extract of T. stans, i.e. 94.31%, 93.82% and 92.75%. The % inhibition of lipid peroxidation was best observed in stem aqueous and ethanol extract of T. capensis followed by stem aqueous extract of M. alliacea, i.e. 97.39%, 94.50% and 93.92%, respectively. The DPPH radical scavenging potential was found maximum in leaf aqueous extract of M. alliacea with IC50 22.66μg/mL followed by ethanol extract of the stem, i.e. 25.46μg/mL. For T. capensis good IC50 was showed by leaf ethanol extract followed by stem ethanol extract, i.e. 25.03μg/mL and 27.17μg/mL, respectively. Leaf and stem ethanol extract of T. stans exhibited good IC50 among other extracts of this plant, i.e. 30.11μg/mL and 29.74μg/mL, respectively. Best antibacterial activity as zone of inhibition was showed by n-hexane stem extract of M. alliacea against Escherichia coli, i.e. 42.20mm with 1.25mg/mL MIC. The stem extract of T. cpaensis was found more active against Bacillus subtilis as stem ethanol and n-hexane extracts exhibited 37.60mm and 36.80mm zone of inhibition with 2.5mg/mL MIC. Stem chloroform and n-hexane extracts of T. stans exhibited zone of inhibition 26.13mm and 25.30mm with 2.5mg/mL MIC against P. aeruginosa and E. coli, respectively, while leaf n-hexane extract showed zone of inhibition 26.80mm and 25.37mm with 2.5mg/mL MIC against E. coli and P. aeruginosa, respectively. PCR of the virus confirmed the FMDV type O as its genome was consisted of 1301bp. The cytotoxic and antiviral effect was checked on BHK-21 cells in the form of cell survival percentage (CSP). The stem and leaf n-hexane extracts of M. alliacea were found antiviral at the concentration range of 15.62-125μg/mL and 15.62-250μg/mL with CSP more than 50%. Similarly the range of 31.25-125μg/mL was antiviral for chloroform stem and leaf extracts. The ethanol and water extracts of stem and leaf were found active against virus at 15.62-125μg/mL. The n-hexane and chloroform extracts of T.capensis and T. stans were not antiviral, while the ethanol extracts of these plants were found active at 31.25-125μg/mL. The aqueous extracts of T. capensis and T. stans were antiviral at 31.25-62.5μg/mL and 31.25-125μg/mL, respectively. The cell survival percentage at all these extracts was more than 50%. Overall results showed that M. alliacea had good antioxidant, antibacterial and antiviral agents as compared to T. capensis and T. stans, respectively.