ISLAMABAD: Events were held at the National Press Club (NPC) and Lok Virsa to mark National Women’s Day on Tuesday.

National Women’s Day is observed on Feb 12 to commemorate state brutality against around a 100 women who, on Feb 12, 1983, were beaten by police while trying to submit an application to the Lahore High Court chief justice against the Zina and Hudood ordinances imposed by Gen Ziaul Haq.

Poet Kishwar Naheed, who was one of a number of women injured during the baton charge that day, was also at the NPC on Tuesday.

Speaking to participants, National Commission on Status of Women Chairperson Khawar Mumtaz said women were united and resisted the martial law of Ziaul Haq.

Participants at the event believed that although some progress has been made as far as women’s legal rights and the overall security situation are concerned, women are alarmed by the serious erosion of democratic rights in the last two years.

Parliament has been weakened, politicians maligned and journalists subjected to threats and violence, while restrictions have been imposed on freedom of speech and the media. Social media has not been spared either, they said.

They demanded that people’s democratic rights be respected, that civilian democracy be allowed to function unhindered and that all state institutions function within the boundaries defined by the Constitution.

The participants also demanded an end to violence and the murder of women on the pretext of ‘honour’, child marriage and child abuse.

The participants also demanded freedom of speech, an end to the persecution and intimidation of the media, enforced disappearances and the oppression of citizens protesting peacefully for their rights.

They rejected the mainstreaming of religious extremists and the appeasement of people or parties that promote anti-women and anti-religious minority policies, undermine the democratic process and human rights, and promote intolerance.

Lok Virsa

An event was organised in this regard by the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage, also known as Lok Virsa, the Ministry of Information, the Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace (FOSPAH) and the Potohar Organisation for Development Advocacy.

Speaking at the event, Federal Ombudsperson Kashmala Tariq emphasised the importance of women in formal and informal sectors, as well as the contribution of women towards Pakistan’s economy.

She said women working in informal sectors, such as agriculture, should also be included within the ambit of the workforce and workplace.

Ms Tariq also explained the guidelines of filing a complaint with the FOSPAH and its advantages as a quick and cost-effective process.

She said the organisation was trying to counter issues of harassment and emphasised the need for training sessions at universities, colleges and schools.

FOSPAH representative Meryem Saddique gave a detailed presentation on the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010 and discussed various aspects of the law.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2019