Though a lot of measures are already in place to secure women rights in the country, a concrete strategy is urgently needed to implement the respective laws at ground level. The government had been endeavouring to safeguard women from incidents of acid throwing, harassment, domestic violence and honour killing, said an official of Ministry of Human Rights while talking to APP here on Sunday.
Elaborating on these laws, he said the Women in Distress and Detention Fund Act 2011 had been enacted to provide funds and assistance to the following categories of women including women in detention, disabled women, deserving women suffering from serious ailments or those who were in distress and needed medical aid, burn cases, distressed women and their minor children in need of shelter, women seriously maltreated by their husbands, similar cases of grave distress and legal help to women in detention or distress.
Criminal Law (Second Amendment) Act 2011, commonly known as Acid Control and Acid Crime Act, had been enacted in 2011 to provide protection to women against incidents of defacing through acid throwing, he added.
The official said the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2010 was an amendment in the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 in clause 509.
This amendment added a clear definition of any kind of harassment and articulated that this behaviour, may it have happened at the workplace, markets, streets or home, was a crime and was punishable by law, he added.
The Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010 required that all public and private organisations had to adopt an internal code of conduct and to establish complaint/appeals mechanism aimed at providing a safe working environment which was free of intimidation and abuse for employees, especially women.
Furthermore, the HR ministry official said the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2004 made changes in the existing criminal law to deal effectively with incidents of honour killing (Karo-kari).
Moreover, he said that the Protection of Women (Criminals Laws Amendment) Act 2006 had been enacted to provide relief and protection to women against misuse and abuse of law and to prevent their exploitation.
To address the issue of Domestic Violence in the Federally Administrated Territory, the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill 2012 that was moved by Senator Nilofer Bakhtiar in
February and was supported by the human rights ministry. Similar legislation would also address the issue of domestic violence at Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) level, the HR ministry official stated.
He also informed that a draft of Domestic Violence (Criminal Law Amendment) Bill 2012 had been prepared by the National Commission on the Status of Women, adding that the proposed bill was aimed to amend the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP).
Women peace conference to curb terrorism
The National Women’s Peace Conference will be held on January 10 to highlight the role of women in managing situations of terror and resolving conflict as powerful actors The conference organised by the Paiman Alumni Trust in collaboration with the UN-Women, will help promote women’s rights activists, grass-roots organisations and researchers, in addressing the root causes of violent extremism. Special Assistant to Prime Minister Shahnaz Wazir Ali will be chief guest on the occasion while National Assembly Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi will preside over the conference. The conference aims to advocate the importance of women’s role in creating a culture of social cohesion and peace, said a representative of Paiman Trust. It would also focus on gender inequality, mainstreaming gender in disaster relief policies and programmes to strengthen and expand the process of non-violence, peace, justice and equality. He said this mission will be accomplished through three strategies: shaping the conversation, spotlighting and recognition of women’s role in moderating extremism. The representative said women are affected most in all crises and disasters but have always been ignored in the post crises’ rehabilitation, reintegration, peace building planning, programs and projects. He said preventing conflict, negotiating peace, and governing effectively to reduce extremism and crises, cannot be successful in the long-term without women’s participation. He said when women got involved they played a vital role in averting violence, resolving conflict, and help rebuilding their societies.