KARACHI, May 1: The provincial Minister for Women Development, Dr Saeeda Malik, said here on Thursday that her department had planned setting up of three multipurpose complexes in Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur for working women.

Speaking as chief guest at a seminar on Women and Labour Day, organized by her department at a local hotel, she said that the complexes would also serve as day-care centres.

The minister indicated that there were 11 hostels for working women in the province but all of them were occupied either by some government institution/non-government organisations (NGOs) or individuals. She said that the provincial government had been asked to get all these hostels vacated so that they could be used for women’s welfare.

She said the government had also asked the private sector establishments to provide appropriate facilities to their women employees especially those breast-feeding or having children. Progress in this regard would be made soon, she added.

Ms Malik revealed that assistance of World Health Organization (WHO) in this regard had been sought during her meeting with its regional chief. She hoped that the WHO might provide assistance in solving the problem of malnutrition in children also.

She said the government had placed increasing literacy on top of its priorities. She observed that more than 66 per cent of the country’s workforce in agriculture sector appeared to be women, but due to the lack of education and awareness, they were facing many health problems mainly created by the effects of pesticides and fertilizers.

The minister pointed out that her department, in collaboration with Agriculture Department, had formulated a policy under which a women trainers force would be created to provide agriculture education and training to women workers. The force, she added, would be imparted a nine-month training in the relevant field before being entrusted the task.

Participants of the seminar stressed the need for providing the women workers facilities equal to their male counterparts. They observed that discrimination against women prevailed in every field and this must be discouraged.

Prominent among others who spoke on the occasion were Member of National Commission on Women, Mumtaz Rashidi, Provincial Coordinator of ILO, Mushtaq Ahmed, Director General of National Institution of Labour Administration Training (NILAT) Hakim Ali Shah Bokhari, Sadiqa Salahuddin, Perveen Shaikh and Mushtaq Memon.—PPI