Parliamentarians from all four provinces joined hands to launch a campaign for the promotion and protection of civil and political rights of women and minorities.
The announcement of the campaign was made at a multi-party summit organised by Democracy Reporting International (DRI) in collaboration with the Punjab Youth Parliamentary Caucus here on Thursday.
The multi-party summits, which will be held in all four provinces, are part of DRI’s initiative to facilitate inter-provincial and multi-party dialogue on civil and political rights of women and minorities.
Members of Provincial Assemblies (MPAs) from PPP, PML-N, PML-Q, PTI, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), National Party (NP) and Pakhtunkhwa Mili Awami Party (PkMAP) from the four provinces attended the summit.
The MPAs from leading political parties formulated draft campaigns for increasing the representation of women and minorities on decision-making positions in core committees of political parties, government institutions and in elected bodies. Furthermore, MPAs developed draft advocacy plans for reviewing the system for reserved seats in local governments so that seat holders have direct links with and are accountable to constituents.
All participating MPAs agreed that it was imperative that political parties work together beyond party lines for civil and political rights of women and minorities. PML-N MPA from KP Assembly Amna Sardar said that all parties agreed on key issues related to rights of women and minorities, so nothing should prevent them from jointly working on these issues. National Party’s MPA from Balochistan Dr Shama Ishaq said that there is need to improve political participation of women and minorities in all elected houses, such as local governments, provincial assemblies and federal Parliament. Therefore, political parties and elected members need to work together to build consensus for reforms on these issues, she stressed.
PTI MPA from Punjab Assembly Dr Nosheen Hamid added that the multi-party forums initiated by DRI will help develop such consensus among political parties on the key reforms to improve political participation of women and minorities in all provinces.
Speaking on the occasion, DRI Team Leader Hassan Nasir said that the summit aimed to develop the capacity of parliamentarians and members of political parties to effectively advance and advocate for reforms to enhance the political participation of women and minorities in parliament and within their political parties.
MPAs who participated in the forum included Dr Nausheen Hamid (PTI), Raheela Anwar (PTI), Lalchand Ukrani (PPP), Naila Muneer (MQM), Sardar Sooran Singh (PTI, Special Assistant to Chief Minister KP on Minorities Affairs), Dina Naz (PTI, Parliamentary Secretary on Women Empowerment and Social Welfare), Amna Sardar (PML-N), Dr Shama Ishaq (NP), William Jan Barkat (PkMAP) and Mary Gill (PML-N).
