President, information minister say government to safeguard women rights
President Mamnoon Hussain Saturday said the government was committed to protecting the rights of women and firmly believed that any kind of discrimination against them was a fundamental violation of human rights.
Speaking during a ceremony at Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) on the occasion of International Women’s Day, the president said the government was determined at implementing its vision of a greater and stronger Pakistan through women empowerment.
The government had taken a number of initiatives for social, political and economic empowerment of women, he said and added that it was determined to mainstream women’s issues in its policies.
He said Pakistan was earnestly implementing Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
“We have a caucus of committed women parliamentarians, who have been promoting the agenda of women development and empowerment to protect their rights,” he said.
The president said the day’s observance was a reaffirmation of the government’s firm commitment towards women’s rights and facilitating them in every possible manner to lead a productive, healthy and prosperous life. He said the day was an occasion for taking stock on the progress made so far and to reflect on the challenges that lie ahead in the pursuit of protecting and safeguarding women’s rights.
The women across the world had indeed made great efforts and sacrifices for attainment of their rights, he said and added that in their long and arduous struggle, they had achieved significant milestones.
Mamnoon said Pakistani women were blessed with enormous capabilities. They had played an important role in the independence struggle. Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah was a role model for the modern day women, he added.
He said many Pakistani women had shown their mettle at national and international levels. He paid tribute to the brave women, who exhibited their extraordinary talent in various fields to create a society that valued respect, tolerance and human dignity.Without their commitment, sacrifices, and struggle, it would not have been possible to protect and promote women rights he said adding that the protection of women’s rights and ensuring their rightful place in the social fabric was a subject of great importance.
“For us, the need to give greater attention towards this subject is even greater as we are follower of a religion that lays great emphasis on the rights of the women,” the president said.
He said women’s rights and responsibilities in various roles were clearly outlined by the religion 1400 years ago. Islam had ensured dignity and respect for women and their rights. Islam strictly condemns discriminatory treatment with women and treats them as equal partners in life, he added.
The president said the Constitution in accordance with the Islamic injunctions guaranteed fundamental rights to both men and women. It provided ample guarantees to the women against all sorts of discrimination, exploitation and marginalization and ensured their equal rights and opportunities to grow and lead a healthy and prosperous life, he added.
He said Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a great proponent of women’s rights. He quoted Jinnah, “I have always maintained that no nation can ever be worthy of its existence that cannot take its women along with the men. No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men. There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a third power stronger than both, that of the women.”
He said there were also dynamic platforms such as the National Commission on the Status of Women and Federal Ombudsperson against Harassment of Women at Workplace that were actively working for women development.
Moreover, he said the government was effectively addressing the subject of economic empowerment of women through Prime Minister’s Youth programme, with 50 percent quota for women, and Benazir Income Support Programme. He said 10 percent quota reserved for women in the federal government employment as well as the provinces was another hallmark of women empowerment initiatives.
Similarly, he said, women issues were being addressed through providing a strong legislative cover and its earnest implementation.
He said, “On the pattern of Punjab Land Revenue (Amendment) Act, 2012, we are taking measures to remove lacunas in the laws and rules safeguarding rights of female heirs.”
The president said the government was encouraging young women to join private and public sector without any fear. Shelter homes, working women hostels, transport facilities to female employees and day care centres were part of the services to resolve various problems of working women, he added.
With all these measures in place, the president reiterated that the protection of women and ensuring their rightful place in social fabric was a challenge that required individual as well as collective efforts.
It needed deliberate and conscious efforts by all segments of society, he added.
Mamnoon said to fully protect women from all kinds of exploitation, discrimination and marginalization, legislative measures alone were not enough.
“We need to make collective efforts for changing mindsets. We need to focus on girls’ education to make our women strong enough to face the challenges of life with the strength of their minds. We need to make continuous efforts to equip our women with vocational skills to utilise their potential and also to save them from economic exploitation,” he added.
The president appreciated all those, who were working for this noble cause. He also conveyed his deep appreciation to international partners and the civil society organizations, which were working for the promotion of gender equality in Pakistan. He reiterated that women were the most effective agents of change and urged the people to work together and make greater efforts for a society based on equality of opportunities, justice, tolerance and prosperity for men and women.
Speaking on the occasion, Federal Minister for Information Broadcasting and National Heritage Pervaiz Rashid said the government was committed to women’s empowerment through protecting their rights for achieving national prosperity. He said the presence of president in this event here was reflecting the government’s seriousness for the rights of women. He said the civil society and the entire community were also unanimous on ensuring due rights to the womenfolk, which played an important part in the country’s socio economic development. He said all efforts to divide the nation on the basis of gender discrimination would not succeed.
“We will have to change our attitude and behaviour if we want to do something regarding gender discrimination in the society,” the minister.
He said the myth that men were more superior than women, would have to be changed as the women of today had proved themselves in various fields and now they {women} were no more behind the men in any walk.
The minister said only democratic forces were guarantor to give people their rights. He urged the women to come forward and play their role in continuation and strengthening of democratic system in the country.
Pervaiz Rashid said the government had decided to give 50 percent loans to women in Prime Minister Business Loan Scheme but just only two percent of them applied in this scheme. He said only enactment of laws could not empower and strengthen the womenfolk, but for it a change would have to be brought in social and educational syllabi. He said gender discrimination and social justice were identity of civilized societies.
Federal Secretary for Law and Justice Zafar Ullah Khan and representatives of UN agencies, National Commission on the Status of Women and Aurat Foundation also spoke on the occasion.
Representatives of non-governmental organizations, women rights activists and members of civil society were also present on the occasion.
