ISLAMABAD, Dec 7: Speakers here on Sunday said women in Pakistani society were being considered as second class citizens and subjected widely to all kinds of violence and treated discriminately in every sector.

They were speaking at a function organised by an alliance of NGOs - End Violence Against Women (EVAW). They said the women were facing immense challenges as on one hand they were the center of attention and on the other they were treated as second class citizens.

The alliance that works for the rights of women has depicted a grim picture of Pakistan regarding violence against women.

The EVAW in collaboration with the Ministry of Women Development has launched a 16-day campaign to celebrate the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) that would conclude on Monday. The speakers said the women were being denied even the basic human rights, like right to education, choice to marriage, right to property ownership and many more.

Human rights activist Asiya Parveen on the occasion said the women who have been made victims to violence or exploitation were subjected to mockery, criticism and most of the time were held responsible for what had happened to them and usually declared ‘outcast’ by their own families. She said women receive some sympathies and pity but that usually comes from different non-governmental organisations (NGOs) whose objective, she added, is not to provide any relief or solace to these victims and lessen their deprivations but to further their own objectives.

“In these efforts, the worst aspect remains that the victim’s miseries multiply manifold while the NGOs aggressively pursue their own objectives, mainly media projection, which eventually leads them to have an advantageous position before their donor agencies,” Ms Parveen added.

“The shameful traditions that we have heard so frequently like ‘Wani’ ‘Karo Kari,’ ‘Watta Satta,’ and marriage of girls with Qura’an have all been used to suppress women folk only as well as to pay for the sins committed by their menfolk.