KARACHI, April 28: The Sindh government has constituted various committees on women's rights and their welfare, including the much sought-after body to check violence against women.
The committees set up included a women and health committee, women's socio-economic empowerment committee, violence against women committee, women prisoners and jail committee and Zakat and Baitulmal committee for helping the women.
The violence against women committee would create an awareness among masses regarding violence against women at work-places and at home, etc. It would also provide legal assistance to abused women and monitor the working of crisis centres by means of cases registered and legal assistance provided.
The women prisoners and jails committee, which will be headed by the minister for women development as its chief patron or chairperson, will have representatives of APWA, LHRLA, IGP Jail, IG Prison, an MPA, three councillors and two members of the civil society and government officials as members.
The committee would ensure linkages between the home department, jail administration and human rights agencies working in the field. It would provide legal aid and protection to the prisoners, especially innocents, and also monitor the condition of jails, especially in terms of diet, doctors, health facilities provided to them during imprisonment.
It would help improve existing facilities mainly providing to them, educational/skill training activities and make suggestions for their improvement, and provide shelter to the women who are released from jail and have no place to live in.
The women's socio-economic empowerment committee would make linkages between government departments, micro-entrepreneurs, First Women Bank and financial institution in arranging micro-credit for women.
It would also help improve existing facilities and ensure proper distribution of available financial facilities to needy and deserving women, progress reports and finding of the women desiring to start their own businesses to be shared every month and discuss in monthly meetings, and create an awareness about various facilities available in respect of women's empowerment and suggest ways and means how women can start new businesses or improve their existing businesses.
The women and health committee would establish and develop an effective liaison and coordination between the health department, NGOs and other agencies working in this field.
It would also enhance provision of basic health facilities to women and children in urban and rural areas of Sindh according to there needs. Moreover, it would ensure out-reach of all such facilities to each and every community in Sindh, particularly disadvantaged/ neglected communities deprived of even basic health facilities.
It would also monitor the quality of existing health facilities and suggest ways and means for a coordination by the health department for an improvement and to find ways and means for further provision of medical facilities and progress reports and findings of community to be shared every month and discuss in monthly meetings.
The committee will be headed by Minister for Women Development Sindh as chief patron/chairperson and secretary women development will member/secretary, while secretary of health, director, women development, an MPA, three councillors (to be nominated by the minister), two representative of NGOs and two members of civil society will work as member. -APP