ISLAMABAD: Amendment in Women in Distress and Detention Fund (WDDF) Act, 1996 passed recently from the National Assembly is a ray of hope for women in need of financial and legal assistance.
The new bill titled, “The Women in Distress and Detention Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2017” was tabled by Federal Minister for Human Rights Mumtaz Ahmed Tarar in the National Assembly to further amend the WDDF Act.
According to the new amendment of section 6, Act XV of 1996- in section 6, in sub section (I), for clauses (i) to (viii), minister-in-charge of the administrative division will be chairperson of the fund, whereas one woman member each of the Senate and the National Assembly to be nominated by the chairman and the speaker respectively; secretary of the administrative division, one woman prominent social worker from each province to be nominated by the provincial governments and an officer in BS-20 or above of the administrative division will be member–cum-secretary.
The objective of the of this fund is to provide financial and legal assistance to the women languishing in jails on account of different allegations and those who face extreme hardships. Minister Mumraz Tarar said that earlier the fund was lingering so long as the board of director was consisted on 19 members but not a single meeting was convened due to non-availability of members at a time.
With the new amendment, the new board has reduced to nine members to easily complete required quorum for its effective functioning, he added. The new amended bill would be tabled in the Senate soon and following the legal procedure of approval from both houses of the parliament followed by the president’s signature, it would facilitate women at grass root level.
The fund which currently contains more than Rs 46 million non-lapsable fund remained inactive for last 21 years due to various legal issues putting on back foot the real purpose of the act.
The fund was expected to ensure legal help to women in detention or distress, women in detention (under trial, convicted or in Darul Aman), for books, payment of stipend, or to women assigned teaching jobs, according to an official of the Ministry of Human Rights.
It was supposed to serve the purpose of providing assistance to women in cases of extreme hardship for purposes of rehabilitation, disabled women, women suffering from serious ailments, medical aid and burn cases etc.
