KARACHI: A large number of home-based female workers from different parts of the metropolis on Thursday joined hands to register their presence in a walk organised to mark the culmination of the global campaign “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence 2018”.
The walk organised by HomeNet Pakistan was attended by women and workers associated with formal sectors, mainly industrial units and factories.
Carrying placards and banners, the women attempted to draw the attention of the authorities towards difficult situations they are faced with in adding to their family income and contributing to the national economy.
Later while addressing the participants of the walk, leaders of the workers’ community said that injustice committed against the working class under false pretexts led to financial instability and also had a direct impact on the victims emotional, physical and social wellbeing.
It was mentioned that discrimination against women workers and deep-rooted bias against them was the major cause of violence in society at all levels.
Speakers including home-based worker Sadaf Parveen, Naheed Syed from HomeNet, Habibullah Junaidi and Karamat Ali from the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), Nargis Rehman from Women Forum of Pakistan (WFP), Madia Shaikhani from Shirkatgah, Nida Tanveer from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Shahida Sajid from Aurat Foundation, Aqeela Naz and Bindiya Rana from the Society for Protection of Transgender Workers (SPTW) demanded that cases of violence at the workplace, as well as domestic violence, must be contained through the implementation of the laws aimed to address the menace.
Equal pay for all workers, coupled with adequate and easily accessible healthcare facilities, social security and insurance cover for all categories of workers was also demanded on the occasion.
The speakers particularly drew attention towards the growing gender gap at work and attributed the situation to the growing shift in the workers’ paradigm from formal to informal sectors, therefore, denying them legal protection and social benefits.
It was urged that the women and workers’ friendly laws introduced in the country must be translated into the actual application.
