LAHORE, Dec 8: Acknowledging the importance of the women’s role in the development of a country, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said here on Friday that his government was taking a number of measures to get the women their due rights and enable them to use their capabilities for the uplift of this country of some 150 million.

Inaugurating a two-day international women’s conference “The other self: conflict, confusion or compromise” organized by National Commission on the Status of Women, he said: “No society has ever developed or indeed can ever develop without women being fully part of the process. It is, therefore, imperative that women stand shoulder to shoulder with men in pursuit of our development objectives”.

Governor Khalid Maqbool, Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi, Federal Minister Nilofer Bakhtiar were also present.

President Pervez Musharraf will be the chief guest at the concluding session on Saturday.

More than a dozen delegates from South Asia, Europe and Middle East are also attending the conference.

The prime minister said: “Gender discrimination is rooted in deeply-entrenched systems of patriarchy which limit and confine women to subordinate roles. Invisibility of women in the economy, biased legal system which victimise rather than protect women, prevalence of callous and inhuman customs, acute gender imbalance in access to basic facilities of education and health and lack of representation in governance structures - all these are the causes as well as the consequences of gender discrimination and exclusion”.

Mr Aziz said his government, from day one, had demonstrated a firm and unflinching commitment to addressing gender issues and safeguarding the rights of women. “We inherited a system where our human development indicators lagged far behind our economic progress, which reflected prolonged neglect of social sectors. And our gender indicators were worse still, which reflected severe inequalities persisting between men and women”.

The prime minister said his government would never do anything, pass any law or resort to any measure which was contrary to the tenets of Islam, nor would the government ever allow anyone to do so. “We are proud inheritors of a great faith and deeply cherish its human values and principles”.

Mr Aziz enumerated various steps taken by the government to give the women their rights, and said the recent Women Protection Act was another milestone which would go a long way to restoring the dignity of women and protecting their legitimate rights.

Appreciating the role of the opposition parties in the adoption of the law, he said it was gratifying that parliamentarians had risen above the political divide and supported a just cause.

“Let me say that this law is the first step of a long journey. This is the beginning of the process. We are determined to stamp out all vestiges of discrimination and exploitation against women. In order to eliminate cruel customs and inhuman practices, which clearly are contrary to Islamic teachings, six new legislations are under process, which will deal with forced marriage, inheritance, vanni, marriage with the Quran (God forbid), vatta satta and divorce. These laws will free women from the clutches of sinister customs and give them full legal backing to safeguard their rights, dignity and self-respect.”

The prime minister said extremism and adherence to irrational traditions retarded the process of social reform and development. “Our objective is development with dignity. We want growth with equity. Our model of development is inclusive of all, not exclusive for a few. Progress is meaningful only when it benefits all - rich and poor, man and woman, young and old. All rungs of the social ladder, all regions of the country, all men and women, regardless of colour, caste, creed or sex, must participate in and benefit from the national development effort. This is our vision for Pakistan and indeed for the entire humanity and we will leave no stone unturned to translate it into reality”.

Dr Masooma Hasan, a former secretary of the cabinet division, talked of the women’s rights movements in the West, saying much of the progress made today by women’s movements had been made slowly and incrementally. This, however, she said, was an irreversible trend which despite resistance and opposition would continue to move ahead.

At the global level, she said, the strides made by the United Nations in articulating women’s agenda pressuring governments to take these up, was under threat from the growing militarisation, armed conflicts which tended to destabilise the societies.

Dr Arfa Sayeda Zehra, chairperson of the National Commission on the Status of Women, presented the address of welcome.