KARACHI – The Sindh Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a private resolution to ascertain the root causes of domestic violence against women. PPP’s Aisha Khoso presented the resolution that demanded constituting a special committee comprising female members of the assembly, eminent female social workers and legal experts for conducting a study to find out the root causes of domestic violence against women. Various MPAs expressed concern over the situation of women in Sindh and emphasised the need for implementing relevant laws to protect women.
Women Development Minister Tauqeer Fatima assured the members that she would suggest names for the proposed committee in the next session of the assembly. The house witnessed an unpleasant situation when a PPP’s Jam Tamachi Unnar joked that a committee should also be constituted to ascertain the causes of violence against men in the urban areas of Sindh. PML-F’s Nusrat Saher Abbasi and Marvi Rashdi walked out of the session in protest, whereas Electric Power Minister Shazia Marri went after them for persuading the female MPAs to come back to the session.
Expressing her anger, Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza told Unnar that she did not expect such attitude of him. She condemned the attitude of the male members in the house on women’s issues, saying that they do not take these matters seriously. Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza said that Unnar had pointed out a problem of men who have more than one wives.
Unnar had previously shocked the assembly members when he had proposed a resolution that demanded declaring 2012 as child-free year. Law Minister Ayaz Soomro had requested him to withdraw the resolution, but he had refused. Unnar, however, had agreed to postpone it for the next private members day for redrafting its contents. He said that his suggestion could be impractical, but it is a fact that rapidly increasing population is a matter of concern in this country. Population planning started in the country since Ayub Khan’s era, but increase in population has quadrupled or quintupled since then, he added. He said that when a useless Valentine’s Day could be celebrated, why a child-free year could not be observed in the interest of the country.
Mirza said that a law similar to one in China could be passed, according to which nobody would be allowed to have more than one child. The house also passed a private resolution, which was moved by PPP’s Anwar Maher, demanding the government to establish an institution like the Institute of Sindhology-Jamshoro in Karachi for promoting the culture of Sindh. Speaking on the resolution, Marri said that this resolution would be a treat to those who consider Karachi separate from Sindh or those who want to restrict the culture of Sindh to just one district. Sindh Katchi Abadis Minister Rafiq Engineer said that a television channel uses ‘Karachi and Sindh’ in its programmes. “Is it an attempt to find a way to separate Karachi from Sindh in the future?” he asked.
