KARACHI, Jan 27: The adviser to prime minister for women development and special education, Nilofar Bakhtiar, has stressed the need for setting up women complaint centres in congested areas to provide maximum help to aggrieved women.

The adviser stated this during a visit to Women Complaint Centre at the Civil Lines Police Station here on Tuesday. Sindh Secretary Women Development and Social Welfare, Nisar Ahmed Siddiqi, and DIG Operations, Tariq Jamil, were also present on the occasion.

Mrs Bakhtiar said that the existing women complaint centre should be shifted to any congested area so that more and more women could be given facility of women police help. She suggested that women complaint centres should be shifted to areas of Lyari and Malir.

"Women of this (Saddar Town) area, hardly need any help from women complaint centre, but those living in congested areas of Karachi like Lyari and Malir direly need its help," she said.

She called for more publicity of this complaint centre so that women victims of injustice could know about its utility and have their grievances effectively redressed from here. She said that help of print and electronic media would prove immensely useful. "Women should be told that they can get every kind of legal help and protection from this complaint centre," she maintained.

The DIG Operations informed the advisor that police had greatly helped women in having reconciliation in various cases. He said that the number of women visiting this complaint centre was less, as women at large did not mind in visiting other police stations. He said aggrieved women were also provided help through Madadgar "15".

On a suggestion given by the adviser, he said that a separate women cell could also be set up at Madadgar 15. He said facilities of a lawyer and social worker could also be provided at the women cell of Madadgar 15.

Nilofar Bakhtiar said that a comparison was being carried out between the performance of women complaint cell and women police station to ascertain which was more successful.

She said that any of the two found more successful after a three-month performance study, the government would open it in a larger number throughout the country.

At present, she said, there were 10 women police stations functioning in the country. The earlier plan was to increase their number to 50, she added. However, later on she got the feedback that instead of increasing the number of women police stations, women complaint cells should be established in the existing police stations.

Acting on this suggestion, she pointed, such centres had been established each in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. She said it was a good suggestion that the women complaint centres in Karachi should be set up in each town of Karachi. However, she added, it required heavy cost besides availability of women police officials and cops to run the cell.

She said once it was ascertained whether a women police station was more successful or women complaint cell, a complete PC-I would be prepared to give this concept the shape of a full- fledged project to be executed in all the four provinces.

The advisor said that three women crisis centres were functioning in the country; two in Punjab and one in Islamabad. She added that the government was planning to increase their number to 10 - one in each capital of the four provinces and the rest in the interior of the provinces. In Sindh, she said that a model centre would be opened in Sukkur and another in Karachi.

Mrs Bakhtiar said that shelter homes were also being set up with each crisis centre and this concept had almost been approved and would be included in the coming budget. She said the proposed shelter homes would function round-the-clock along with provision of rehabilitation, legal aid and medical aid to victim women.

She said that women suffering from trafficking would also be kept at these shelter homes. She disclosed that it was part of a major "Family Protection Programme" that was being carried out with the cooperation of a British Agency.

She said that a Women Business Council was also being constituted and its first meeting would be held in March to give women a platform for enhancing their trade and business activities.

The adviser said, "We have written a letter to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) countries for setting up the Saarc Commerce Chamber for Women. I hope to get encouraging response in this regard," she added.

"Hunarmand Auratain (skilled women) is another scheme to attract women's participation in the business sector and loan facility by banks and business related information will be given," she maintained.

On the occasion, SHO Women Complaint Centre, Fatima Perveen, told the adviser the centre had settled 11 cases of family disputes, provided rehabilitation facility to women in four cases and sent three cases to court in which women were tortured by their husbands.

Later, the adviser stayed for sometime with Shaista Almani at the Women Police Station and told her that the whole country was with her. She said that she had especially come to see her as representative of the prime minister.

Mrs Bakhtiar said that she would recommend a job for her, which she could perform while sitting in office. She also assured that she would look for a job for her brother.

The adviser also talked to Shaista's father and assured him that the government was fully behind their family and would extend every possible help to them.

Special Assistant to Sindh Chief Minister, Syeda Sultana Ibrahim; TPO Saddar Town, Dr Sanaullah Abbassi; and a few representatives of NGOs were also present on the occasion. -APP/PPI