KARACHI: New think tank of women planned: Tiwana tells legislators
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, May 10: A representative meeting of the Sindh Assembly’s women members, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and councillors on Saturday stressed the need for ensuring enforcement of laws already on statutory books to eliminate discrimination against women.
The meeting was summoned and presided over by the Deputy Speaker of Sindh Assembly, Raheela Tiwana, at the committee room No. 1 of the assembly building. Besides the Begum Munawwar Hasan (MNA) of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, the meeting was attended by 15 women MPAs representing the PPP, MQM, PML-Q, MMA and PML-F.
The meeting formulated strategy to prepare a bill with consensus relating to ensuring protection to women against all kinds of violence.
The speakers at the meeting pointed out that as women form 52 per cent of the population, amendment to the related law be made to increase their representation from 33 per cent to at least 50 per cent in all decision-making forums.
In her opening remarks, Ms Tiwana pointed out that for the first time ever, 33 per cent women had been elected from grassroots level to the first ever graduate assembly. This, she noted, was a revolutionary change which impressed upon the legislators to rise above and over the ideological, political and religious affiliations and strive to get due status for Pakistani women.
She said that a document, containing excerpts from the menifestos of different political parties, would be prepared to highlight women’s rights. This document, she added, would be circulated among the concerned quarters for creating awareness about elimination of black laws against women. The move would also help create an atmosphere conducive to implement decisions on ensuring equal status for women in the society in all respects.
Ms Tiwana also said that a ‘think tank’, consisting women representatives from every political party, would also be set up to find ways and means to resolve women’s problems and form committees at national, provincial, district, town and council levels. These committees, she added, would monitor enforcement of laws; work for creating awareness among women about their rights by organizing seminars, conferences, functions; and strive for empowering women to implement development schemes pertaining to welfare of women.
She also circulated the resolution adopted by a similar meeting which almost had covered all issues confronting women and raised by speakers at the current meeting.
Aziz Fatimah, Bilqees Mukhtar, Rehana Nasreen and Shumaila Nazar of MQM described dowry as ‘mother of all evils’ and said that despite anti-dowry bill having been adopted in 1967, the menace had remained prevalent.
Demanding enforcement of laws in its true letter and spirit, they opined that if violators of this law were convicted in a few cases without considering their social status, it would have taught a lesson to the others.
They said that the Muttahida opposed gender-based discrimination and demanded equal opportunities to women in all sorts of services, including the armed forces and the ISI.
Shama Mithani, Maria Mazhar, Fareeha Razzaq Haroon and Shazia Maree of PPP demanded a quota of 33 per cent for women in all decision-making bodies. They maintained that all evils could be eliminated through education.
They pointed out that contrary to the urban centres, where women appeared quite aware of their rights due to their access to educational institutions, the women in rural areas were oppressed and victim of all sorts of discrimination, abuses and exploitations due to their lack of education.
They stressed the need for improving educational system in Sindh, particularly in rural areas, organizing seminars in the interior areas and urged the electronic media, especially television, to produce programmes so as to create awareness in women about their rights.
The PPP MPAs invited women belonging to all other parties to a seminar being organized by the PPP on the issue. They also called for legislation against sexual harassment to encourage parents on their female children’s joining different professions.
They stressed the need for the establishment of crisis centres and the revival of those already set up by the successive governments to provide any aggrieved woman a shelter on nominal charges.
Ms Farhat Jabeen said that children, particularly female ones, should be imparted proper education.
Begum Munawwar Hasan and Kulsoom Nizamani said that if the rights, guaranteed to women by Islam, were ensured, most of the problems being faced by women today would be resolved.
They emphasized the need for reforms in system.
Others who spoke at the meeting were Mangla Sharma from Shikarpur, Naila Inam of PML-F, Ms Afshan of National Alliance and Fareeda Baloch of PML-Q.
