SIALKOT: Punjab Labour and Human Resources Secretary, Dr Farah Masood has emphasised the need for educating girls, setting up training-cum-work centres for females and sorting out their problems regarding their commute from home to the workplace and vice versa.
She advised the employers to respect women rights, provide protection from infringement, pay equal wages, provide a harassment-free work environment and to instil the passion to do something constructive for society in them.
She said this while addressing a ceremony organised by Baidari Sialkot here with the support of UN Women country office, Islamabad. Chief executive officers (CEOs) of 16 companies — 13 from Sialkot, 2 from Faisalabad and 1 from Lahore signed the statement of support for Women Empowerment Principles developed by the UN Women and UN Global Compact.
She said that a popular attitude aiming at promoting gender inequality, as well as, a mass mindset to promote male dominance were the major impediments thwarting the process of women empowerment in the country.
Addressing the ceremony Pakistan UN Women Deputy Country Representative, Ms Sangeeta Thapa said that Pakistan is ranking intolerably high in the global gender inequality index and female participation in labour has just touched the figure of 24.6 per cent.
“Women workforce from the mainstream economic developing process is causing the seriously slow pace of GDP growth rate in the country”, she said.
Baidari Executive Director, Professor Arshad Mehmood Mirza while addressing the ceremony said that his organisation was making continuous efforts awareness of home-based/domestic women workers regarding their basic rights.
Baidari President Ms Hina Noureen told the audience that the NGO was supporting the government in a big way by providing healthcare facilities to women in addition to access to income generation spaces and options and getting women registered as voters thus enabling them to act as members of the vigilant citizenry.
Messum Abbass, Sialkot Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Ijaz Khokhar, PREGMEA Ex-Chairman, Hassan Saleem Awan, Zaigham A Mazhar and others also spoke on the occasion.