HYDERABAD: Marches, rallies, seminars and workshops were organised by different governmental and non-governmental organisations across the province on Wednesday to mark the International Women’s Day.

The Institute of Gender Stu­dies of the University of Sindh took out a rally in Jamshoro campus to mark the day. It started from the mausoleum of the university’s founder and first vice chancellor Allama I.I Kazi and was led by VC Prof Dr Fateh Mohammad Burfat and senior leader of Pakistan Peoples Party Moula Bux Chandio.

The VC said in his address to the participants that women needed to be socially and economically empowered. Goals of development could not be achieved without educating women as equal partners, he said.

Mr Chandio said that his party would resist any attempt to isolate and marginalise women. Sindh government was doing its best to assign key positions to women in the government, he said.

Dr Azhar Ali Shah, SU teacher, talked about the state’s failure in ensuring women’s empowerment and said that celebrating the day was a gesture to applaud women’s global struggle for empowerment.

Dr Arfana Mallah, rights activist, said that more and more women were coming forward and proving their mettle in the fields of politics, economics, public administration and other fields, but still their representation was low in public offices and decision-making bodies.

Amar Sindhu, columnist, said that Pakistani society discriminated against women and referred to women’s physical, psychological, sexual and social violence.

Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, organised a programme at the institution to mark the day where speakers urged women to learn entrepreneurship and explore markets in urban centres to get empowered economically.

The programme was followed by a walk jointly organised by the university, Aurat Foundation and USAID.

Dr Qamar Wahid, a noted scholar and educationist, urged girls to become educationists and researchers and act like ‘change-makers’ in society.

Prof Mohammad Ismail Kumbhar cited examples of some elements, who deprived elderly women of their gold earrings in some areas, and said that such incidents did not show true picture of women-friendly history of Sindh.

Aftab Memon, a member of the Sindhi Association of North America, said that women needed to fight for their rights as the government would not give them their rights.

Zulfiqar Halepoto, a writer, said that Sindhi society was backward as compared to ‘civilised’ societies.

The Society for Environmental Action, Reconstruction and Humanitarian Response organised a dialogue on women’s issues at its office. The participants said that women still faced discrimination in rural and urban areas.

The Sindhi Nari Sangat Sindh staged rallies in Hyderabad and Tando Mohammad Khan to mark Women’s Day.

The Awami Workers Party also organised a programme in its office to mark the day. It was attended by housewives, students and women peasants.

The gathering adopted a number of resolutions, calling for an end to forced conversion, kidnapping of girls and justice for the heirs of slain rights activists.

Sindh Aurat Tanzeem held a programme in Awami Jamhoori Party’s office.

LARKANA: Activists of Pirbhat Women Development Society held a march from Qubo Saeed Khan to Shahdadkot town, to mark Women’s Day. The participants, led by Rubina Chandio, covered 25km distance in seven hours to express solidarity with women.

In Shahdadkot, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, chief of Balochistan National Party-Mengal, joined the marchers and saluted the courage of women in fighting for their rights in his brief speech.

He expressed solidarity with the participants and condemned inhuman treatment meted out to women in society. Women’s victimisation could not be tolerated, he said.

Ms Chandio said the march would turn out to be a milestone in women’s struggle. The black custom of branding a couple karo and kari, which had haunted women in tribal areas, must be eliminated and women should be freed from the tribal yoke.

KHAIRPUR: The Institute of Gender Studies of the Shah Abdul Latif University held a seminar on ‘gender gap’ to mark Women’s Day.

Barrister Shahida Jamil, former provincial minister for education and a women’s rights activist, said at the seminar that the 1860 British laws on the protection of women were justified.

She said that discriminatory laws were introduced and implemented against women during dictatorial regimes.

Sadiqa Salahuddin, executive director of the Indus Resource Centre, said that gender gap prevailed in education. During the last couple of years, the Sindh government had taken some positive steps for bridging the gender gap by introducing law against violence against women at the workplace and different other projects initiated to empower women, she said.

Ruqayya Laghari, regional programme manager of SRSO, said that women had played a central role in the war of independence, Hur movement and Hari Tehreek.

Prof Dr Parveen Shah, Vice Chancellor of SALU, said that gender equity was not just about economic empowerment, it was a moral imperative. Fairness and equity included political, social and cultural dimensions, she said.

BADIN: Several organisations held programmes in Badin, Matli, Talhar, Tando Bago and other towns of the district to mark Women’s Day.

The speakers at the events urged the government to make laws, which could guarantee rights of women.

MITHI: Speakers at a workshop organised by the social welfare department to mark Women’s Day urged the government as well as other organisations working for women’s rights to focus on backward areas like Thar.

They said that Thari women were among the worst sufferers of droughts and other calamities. The frequent disasters had caused a steep decline in the literacy rate among women in Thar, which was very alarming, they said.

NAUSHAHRO FEROZE: The Sindh Educational Movement organised a meeting to observe International Women’s Day.

The meeting said that several pro-women laws were passed but none was implemented. ‘Evil eyes’ were still following women in government departments, said the participants of the meeting.

MIRPURKHAS: ARTS Foun­da­tion, an NGO, organised a family fair and ‘Meena Bazaar’ at Satellite Town and the social welfare department held an awareness programme in Mashal School to mark the day.

The speakers said that Islam had given rights to women and did not stop them from reaching assemblies and holding ministries.

Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2017