QUETTA: A former judge of the Balochistan High Court, retired Justice Kailash Nath Kohli, has stressed ensuring equal rights for women in accordance with the Constitution.

He was speaking at a national advisory forum meeting organised by the Aurat Foundation under the Gender Equality Programme (GEP) in collaboration with the USAID on Tuesday.

The aim of the meeting was to incorporate suggestions of the forum and civil society members for formulating a women development agenda in Balochistan.

Justice Kohli said: “The government should provide equal rights and justice to women by ensuring equal opportunities to them.”

Resident Director of Aurat Foundation Haroon Dawood said each sub-grant under the programme was linked to bringing about changes in the behaviour of the society.

Ms Saima Javaid said 34 grants had been awarded to government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and it was the mandate of the GEP to promote gender equity under different themes promoting women’s rights.

She said various initiatives had been taken to support home-based women workers by way of skill enhancement and advocacy on their labour rights.

She said the GEP had introduced a seamless delivery service mechanism to mitigate gender-based violence, while a grant to support the survivors was also being implemented.

Ms Simi Kamal spoke on the importance of combating gender-based violence and for women’s economic empowerment.

Former minister Ghazala Gola and another speaker Dr Quratulain Bakhtiari supported suggestions for legislation regarding home-based workers and implementation of the anti-harassment law in all organisations, including the provincial assembly.

Senior Joint Secretary for Law, Justice and Human Rights Haider Ali Shikoh also pledged support in this regard.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2015

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