ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Human Rights Shazia Suhail Mir on Thursday called upon the government to speed up the process of appointing acting chairperson of National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW).

She was speaking at a briefing organised by the NCSW for her.

The parliamentary secretary visited various sections of the commission and held an interactive discussion with the staff.

Khawar Mumtaz was elected as NCSW chairperson in Nov 2016 but the Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared her appointment illegal.

Ms Mir suggested extending the activities of the commission to the grassroots level and to ensure visits to central jail, Darul Aman and other women-related facilities.

She stressed on reaching out to rural areas for enhanced political participation of women.

She said despite all efforts, in some areas women were not allowed to vote by the male members of their families.

NCSW Secretary Samina A. Hassan said the commission would soon launch its research report, ‘Status of Rural Women’ which was at present in the printing process.

NCSW was established in July 2000 under national and international commitments.

The commission was established with the specific purpose to examine policies, programmes and other measures taken by the government for women’s development and gender equality.

Reviewing laws, rules and regulations affecting the status of women also falls under the purview of the commission.

It also monitors mechanisms and institutional procedures to redress violations of women rights and individual grievances, encourages and sponsors research to generate information, analysis and studies relating to women and gender issues.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2018