KARACHI, Aug 23: Sindh Women Development Minister Dr Saeeda Malik has underscored the need for more effective and foolproof legislation to counter instances of exploitation of women, under varied pretexts.

Chairing a meeting at her office on Wednesday, she said that an efficient strategy was required to ensure provision of due rights to women at all levels besides their appropriate representation in all spheres of life.

She said that women development department was accelerating its efforts to get approved the Working Women Hostel Project and initiate work on it as early as possible.

She mentioned that the department had emerged to be first to run day-care centres for kids of working mothers at public sector level in any of the four provinces. A team of doctor and well-qualified and trained caretakers was available at the facility to look after children while their mothers were in a position to perform their professional responsibilities with maximum concentration and ease, she added.

Dr Saeeda Malik said that her department had planned to establish such baby care centres in all towns of Karachi and in other cities of the province. She urged the officials associated with the department to see that women artisans of Sindh were provided maximum opportunities to market their products and get a respectable return. She asked them to visit interior parts of the province and have direct access to women preparing handicrafts so that a linkage between them and markets could be developed with no involvement of middle men often exploiting the naive workers.

She expressed her satisfaction that legal and social units functioning at the department were providing guidance to women exposed to violence or excesses.

Women Development Secretary Abdul Subhan Memon and other officials of the department attended the meeting.—APP