LAHORE, May 1: Denial of equal wages and rights to working women was decried at a seminar on Globalization and Working Women organized by the Woman Workers Helpline here on the May Day.

Speaking as guest of honour, human rights activist Asma Jehangir said the exploitation of workers was continuing even a century after the killings of Chicago workers struggling for their rights.

She said that there would be an increase in the role of the governments after globalization and restoration of real democracy would be necessary for bringing changes in society.

She said the women continued to be discriminated against in our society on every level. Cases were not assigned to the only woman judge at the Lahore High Court, who happened to be the senior most as well, on the ground that she took the decisions by her heart instead of her mind.

The people of Pakistan, she said, continued to face problems on account of the alliance of the capitalists and feudal lords. She said the return of the armed forces to barracks was necessary because their rule was against the norms of a civilized society.

The army had always ruled the country by force but had not done even one good thing for the country, she said. It had dismembered the country, committed excesses against women in the former East Pakistan and played havoc to the economy.

She said the armed forces had themselves decided to fight battles in Wana and against Sindhis and Balochs and had never got their accounts audited or discussed in parliament.

She said that those who considered themselves infallible on account of the US support should also keep it in mind that it had never treated its minions well after having used them.

Another human rights activist Riasat Ali said the women in Pakistan had nothing to fear from globalization because they were already the victims of the feudal attitude in society. All the governments coming into power since the creation of Pakistan had ignored women without exception.

Citing figures from the recently published report of the National Commission on Status of Women, he said there were only 9,387 women among 185,802 federal government employees most of whom were working in lower grades. Not even one was working as the federal secretary.

Of 1,889 Northern Areas employees, there was only one grade 7 woman. The Azad Kashmir government had only 24 women among 694 employees. The NWFP and Balochistan had only 0.2 percent woman employees.

Pakistan Social Forum Secretary Irfan Mufti said the country was being run in an undemocratic manner since its creation. The rulers had never bothered to talk about the welfare of 75 million farmers and 45 million workers, 80 percent of whom were living below the poverty line.

He said it was a pity that the workers were fighting for their fundamental rights and fair wages even 56 years after the creation of Pakistan.

The percentage of population living below the poverty line had increased from four percent to over 40 percent since independence. He said that workers would suffer the most after globalization because the vested interests kept them divided on different grounds.

Begum Tahira Mazhar Ali Khan said the women were suffering on account of gender discrimination in our society. They were paid lower wages as compared to their male counterparts.

She said the Shahrah-i-Quaid-i-Azam was flooded by red flags on May Days a few years back but was now flooded by the police instead. She also criticized the interventionist role of the US in the world and the excesses being committed by its forces in Iraq.

National Trade Union Federation Chairman Yousaf Baloch said that working women had always been ignored in South Asian societies. They were described as the weapons of devil by some people in our society.

Sister Danny said the women were not only physically abused but even their relationships like mother and sister were abused. She stressed the need for solving the transport problems of women by increasing their seats in buses and wagons.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan representative Mahboob Khan said that Pakistan could not progress without the active participation of women in the development process.

Action Aid Pakistan President Nadeem Fazil said that capitalists wanted to deprive the workers of their rights in the name of globalization. He said the globalization was meant only for the promotion of capitalism and benefit of capitalists.

Women Workers Helpline President Azra Shad and Councillor Ghousia Hashmi regretted that society did not recognise the role of women.

The participants took out a procession from the Dyal Singh Mansion to Faisal Square on the Shahrah-i-Quaid-I-Azam after the seminar.