PESHAWAR, May 25: Participants of a workshop here on Wednesday criticized the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) as it had been working without its members for about two years. The NCSW could not present its recommendations to the National Assembly for discussion and legislation as a new chairperson and members had not been appointed. The last meeting of the commission was held in August 2003.

Viqarunnisa Hashmi, the head of the research unit of the NCSW, had recently completed work on the ‘Qisas and Diyat Law reference: honour killings in Pakistan’ and shared her research findings at the workshop.

The commission also sought recommendations on existing laws regarding honour killings. Participants from civil society groups, NGOs, women right activists and media persons said that an official bill had already been passed by the National Assembly. The findings of the research of the NCSW on honour killings were late, they observed.

The NCSW was only a recommendatory body and it was itself, at present, without its members and chairperson. The tenure of the chairperson, Justice Majida Rizvi, ended on March 6, 2005.

The commission which was established under an ordinance issued in 2000 by President Pervez Musharraf was unable to perform its functions as a watch body on all government departments, review the existing policies and laws, the participants said, and urged the government to give powers to the NCSW.

The NCSW had so far recommended the repeal of Hudood Ordinances which had been brushed aside for political reasons, the participants said.

Ms Hashmi said cases of honour killings were on the rise. Though the Women Development Department had presented an official bill which was passed by parliament but still a few amendments needed to be made and new clauses inserted, she said.

Activist Rakhshanda Naz gave a presentation on comparative study of various clauses of the official bill on honour killing and private member’s bill presented by PPP’s MNA Sheri Rehman.

Afrasiab Khattak, former HRCP chairperson, talking about the role of media and civil society groups in addressing the problem of honour killings and other women-related crimes, said that civil society groups were not much developed and media was not free enough to report and monitor such cases.