LAKKI MARWAT, Aug 6: The divisional president of Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians, Fareeha Marwat, has said that the participation of women in the local body polls will help change the fate of women living in remote areas and redress their problems at the grassroot level.

She was speaking to participants at a one-day seminar organised by the Shaheen Youth Welfare Society in collaboration with the South Asia Partnership Pakistan in the Government High School on Saturday.

The objective of holding the seminar was to ensure active participation of women in the local body polls besides developing the sense of democratic norms as well as strengthening democracy at lower level. A large number of women participated.

Ms Fareeha shed light on the subject and hailed the role of NGOs for launching awareness campaigns in order to persuade women to come forward and take active part in electoral politics.

“The days have gone when women were kept restricted to their homes and even imposition of traditional customs and rites had barred them from either expressing their views freely or raising voice for genuine rights,” she maintained.

She made it clear that the problems being faced by the women could only be put to an end if the women at grassroots level decide to jump into the political arena. She claimed that the PPP-P women’s wing had launched several campaigns for bringing political maturity in women of the southern parts of NWFP, besides enabling them to fight for their usurped rights.

President of Shaheen Youth Welfare Organisation Zafar Iqbal Shaheen, district president of PPP-P women wing Bilqeesam Jana and former councillor Gulab Bibi also spoke on the occasion.

SCOUTS CAMP: A camp for scouts should be set up at Sheikh Badin valley, 60km south of here, for the southern districts of NWFP as presently the scouts from these parts go to Takkya in Abbottabad for scouting activities.

The social circles of Lakki Marwat district made this demand in a press release.

Sheikh Badin is best known as a rugged area with mountains. The area is extremely backward and needs government attention badly to launch development works there.

The Sheikh Badin valley can be developed into a hill resort for tourists and trekkers. Setting up a permanent camp there would facilitate scouting activities in the southern districts of the province, the press release said.

Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani was asked to take personal interest in the matter and direct the quarters concerned to allocate land to the schools and the literacy department, Lakki, for setting up the camp.