UNITED NATIONS, March 4. The Pakistani delegation received thunderous applause at the United Nations women's conference when its leader informed the delegates of a bill stipulating that a crime committed in the name of or on the pretext of honour would be considered as a premeditated murder and dealt with accordingly.
Ms Nilofar Bakhtiar, adviser to the prime minister on women development, told thousands of delegates from around the world "We can do it," after outlining the steps taken by Islamabad for advancement and empowerment of women in the past 10 years.
The two-week meeting of the commission on the Status of Women, with at least 100 government delegations as well as 6,000 activists, is analyzing progress and setbacks since the landmark Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.
Ms Bakhtiar listed the measures for economic and social empowerment of women in Pakistan, including projects for poverty alleviation, gender budgeting, establishment of crisis centres, measures to end violence against women, and passage of the honour killing bill.
"Beijing was an inspiration; It was a breaking ground", Ms Bakhtiar said. "Whatever we have been able to achieve in the last ten years, has become a part of our personalities and our souls," she told delegates.
Ms Bakhtiar said that Pakistan had prepared a national plan of action to protect women's rights and to ensure their welfare and progress. Today, women made up 22 per cent of Pakistan's parliament, including two federal ministers, five state ministers and seven provincial ministers.
At the grassroots level, the country had elected 40,000 women councillors, also as mayors and deputy mayors. Some 27,000 of them had been promoted through a woman's political participation project.
The National Commission on the Status of Women was mandated to act as a watchdog, reviewing all discriminatory laws. A major focus was placed on the economic and social empowerment of women. Micro credit programmes were underway to fund income generation for women.
Gender budgeting was a relatively new concept in the world, the Pakistan's chief delegate said. Pakistan had taken a lead in accepting the challenge. A separate chapter had been included in its Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, with $7 million allocated for initial implementation of the project.
On violence against women, her Government had established 10 crisis centres, along with shelters and a help line service. A law on honour killings had been recently passed.
Ms Bakhtiar told her fellow delegates, mostly women in colourful national costumes, "We, the women, should not only be a game of numbers. The role, the influence, the share must be ensured and the process must continue.
My friends, our glory is not in never falling but in rising each time we fall. This time is our time-today is the only thing we can be sure of right here right now-hold the moment in your hands."