National Assembly Speaker, Dr Fehmida Mirza said on Friday that in order to consolidate women’s position the government was reaffirming their international commitments and alliances and will hold the 7th meeting of Women Speakers of Parliaments Around the World in November this year. Dr. Mirza said this while speaking at the launching ceremony of the “Progress of the World’s Women” report. The event was organized by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.
UN special envoy for assistance to Pakistan, Mr. Rauf Eugin Soyasal, UN Women Country Program Director, Alice Shackelford, National Commission on the Status of Women Chairperson, Anis Haroon, Islamabad Police Assistant Inspector General, Ehsan, foreign diplomats, and members of international NGOs were in attendance at the ceremony.
Addressing the participants, Dr. Mirza said that the passage of the 18th amendment has provided an exceptional opportunity for provincial legislations to expand their scope and make a decisive move to address the core issues of social justice at the grass root level, “This also holds true for important legislations like domestic violence bill, which is now more under the preview of the provinces,” she added. She said that it was for the first time in the country’s history that the federal and provincial legislation have seen so many women legislators; both on the reserved as well as on general seats.
Dr. Mirza also said that in the last three years of its 5 years tenure, the National Assembly has passed 77 Bills which included over a dozen related to the protection and rights women and children.
“The inclusion of article 25(A) in the constitution under the 18th amendment is therefore a milestone towards this change as education is the key to such social transformation. I would nevertheless also call for comprehensive review of our existing curriculum, which reinforces stereotypical gender images,” added Dr. Mirza.
While appreciating the efforts of the UN regarding the rights of women Dr. Mirza said, “This credit goes to various UN agencies, conferences and conventions which have remained instrumental in persistently pushing governments to acknowledge and include women as equal partners in progress by redefining state policies and re-fixing national priorities.” She further added, “The Progress of the World’s Women report, launched today, shows that the constitutions of 139 countries of the world grant equal status to their women in all realms of life. 125 countries have outlawed domestic violence and in at least 52 countries, marital rape is a criminal offence.”
The report showed that in 1911, women were allowed to vote in just two countries around the world, a century later, this right is virtually universal. The report also stated that women had continuously expanded their political spheres so that currently 28 countries had reached or exceeded the 30 percent critical mass mark for women in parliament, and 19 women were currently serving as elected Heads of States. To date, 186 UN Member States worldwide had ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which was introduced in 1981. However, according to the report, women continue to be deprived of economic resources and access to public services. Some 600 million women- more than half the world’s working women- were in vulnerable employments which were often outside the purview of labour legislation.
Islamabad Police (AIG) Mr. Ehsan said on the occasion that political interference should work to end the violence inflicted on women in domestic settings. He said that Pakistani police was not sensitized enough to deal with domestic issues which are considered to be the main hurdle in women’s progress. He added that in many foreign countries, special training sessions have been organized to train security personnel’s to deal with the domestic issues. The AIG made it clear that the police was part of a justice system and was not a justice provider by itself. Ehsan ended by saying that women were an important part of the society and that their progress was obligatory for the success of the country.
Many women who had made their way forward despite facing terrible cruelties of part of the society also participated in the ceremony. One such victim, now serving in a private organization, was an acid victim. She said that the crime had been committed against her by her teacher who had wanted to marry her against her wishes.
Representatives of several other organizations working for women progress underscored the need for solid measures to be taken by the government. The representatives said that domestic violence and the non-implementation of numerous bills on women rights are some main hurdles in women progress, and that these hurdles must be removed to ensure a stable and just society.
