WAQAR LILLAH

ISLAMABAD: The civil society of Pakistan should remain vigilant to ensure that women rights are not compromised during the ongoing talks with militant groups, participants of a roundtable conference on “Women’s Empowerment – Myths and Realities” said on Thursday.

The conference suggested that the government should give tax exemption especially to disabled women and take solid measures to bring women into the mainstream at all levels. It further recommended that DNA test in rape cases should be made compulsory and it should be considered as primary evidence. The conference also recommended that scope of harassment definition in the ‘Protection against harassment of women at work place Act 2010’ should be enhanced.

The conference was organised by the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights at the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services, Islamabad to mark International Women’s Day.

The Chairman Senate Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari, during inaugural address, said that despite social, cultural and structural constraints the women of Pakistan have made important and inspiring contributions to the development of the country. He highlighted the contributions of Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, mother of the nation, Begum Rana Liaquat Ali Khan, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Malala Yusufzai for promotion of women rights in Pakistan.

The Chairman further said that sheer presence of women in the governance structure cannot ensure empowerment. “To help empower women, a number of instruments are required: legal reforms, political commitments, and realigning of public spending towards gender development”, he said.

Taking part in the discussion, Chairman of the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights, Senator Afrasiab Khattak said that prevailing social structures are core reason behind the women disempowerment. He said that militancy and radicalization in different parts of the country have increased the vulnerability of women and children.

He urged the people of Pakistan to reject and stand up against the “forces of darkness” which were trying to impose their views on the country. He also said that the recommendations made by the conference can be turned into legislations by the parliamentary committees.

He criticised the Jirga and Panchayat system saying that they are exclusively run by men and often women are on the receiving end. He said that the civil society of Pakistan should be vigilant to ensure that women rights are not compromised during the current talks with the extremist militant groups.

During the conference, MNA Shaista Pervaiz Malik, said that Pakistan has progressed significantly on the path towards gender equality. She said that the current ranking of Pakistan on the Gender Index is better than many strong economies. She also suggested that legal and social reforms are needed to ensure optimum representation of women in the national life.

The participants were welcomed by Niamh O’Connor, Team Leader of the Improving Parliamentary Performance in Pakistan (IP3), a European Union funded project.

She said that women empowerment is a shared objective for which all segments of the society need to work together. She hoped that this roundtable event would clearly define the areas that should be addressed and each of the represented elements of society would identify the areas that they could take up these issues.

Speakers also recommended that there is a need to make the labour laws compliant to international treaties and steps need to be taken to ensure that the PSDP budget is gender inclusive and caters specifically to the needs of the women. The speakers also recommended making education for women and girls mandatory across the country.

The conference was attended by Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, Senator Nasreen Jalil, ex-MNA Yasmeen Rehman, other Senators, members of the National Assembly, representatives of the intelligentsia and civil society organizations, diplomatic missions and various government departments.