ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has emphasised on women empowerment through better health and education, hereditary rights and financial independence.
Addressing a ceremony in connection with the International Women’s Day on Monday, the president said that the present government has passed several laws to empower women.
He said that although laws for women rights existed in the country, however, they were not being implemented. He added that the current government is taking steps to ensure their implementation, including the law of hereditary rights of women.
Underlining the importance of financial independence of women, the president said that the government has started a programme in which banks are offering loans of up to Rs5 million to a woman entrepreneur. Under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s Ehsaas Programme as well, he said, most of the funds are being disbursed among women.
Alvi said that a Telehealth system should be developed under which women can consult doctors and seek basic advice through telephone. He also stressed on reducing the female dropout level in education as well as employment.
The president urged the media not to show women being subjected to violence in dramas. He said that instead of highlighting the negative cultural perceptions about women, the rights given to women in Islam should be projected. He said that religious scholars also have a pivotal role to play in this regard.
Highlighting plight of women in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), Alvi asked the world to take notice of human rights violations in the occupied valley. He said that women in occupied Kashmir are subjected to violence by state but unfortunately, world remains silent on the issue.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari voiced concerns over rising incidents of Islamophobia in the Western world, saying the veil ban in Switzerland is also a violation of human rights.
Minister for Defence Production Zubaida Jalal in remarks said that women empowerment is based on education. She said, “In Covid situation we have started the concept of camel library to provide education to children in far-flung areas of Balochistan.”
Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Dr Fehmida Mirza said that women are proving their abilities in all fields of life at present. She appreciated the women who are shining in athletics and sports.
Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara, in her remarks on the occasion, appreciated the steps taken by Pakistani government for women empowerment. She especially mentioned Ehsaas Programme and improvement in inheritance laws of the country.
Separately, in his message pertaining to Women’s Day, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that during the testing times of the Covid-19 pandemic, women in Pakistan demonstrated remarkable resilience and leadership, effectively contributing to our nation’s response and recovery.
Qureshi said that women stood at the front lines, as healthcare workers, primary caregivers, innovators, human rights defenders and community organisers. Under the guidance of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan’s landmark Ehsaas emergency cash programme to counter the negative socio-economic impacts of the pandemic is being ably led by a woman, he added.
The foreign minister said, “We cannot forget the plight of women in Indian Occupied Kashmir and over the last seven decades, they have endured the worst forms of human rights abuse and oppression at the hands of Indian occupation forces including sexual violence, rape and molestation.”
Kashmir Committee Chairman Shehryar Khan Afridi has said in today’s modern world, suffering of women in occupied Kashmir continues unabated.
In a tweet on Monday, he said that Indian forces are using rape as tool of genocide in Kashmir to break resolve of Kashmiris for freedom from Indian Illegal occupation as women teach their kids to fight oppression.
Separately, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa lauded the contribution of women in different professions, observing they had contributed “immensely” for the “honour of our nation.”
“Women in uniform have proved their mettle by contributing copiously in diverse fields serving the nation & humanity. They deserve our immense respect & gratitude,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) quoted Gen Bajwa as saying.
“Pakistani women contributed immensely 4 glory & honour of our nation. They are also @ forefront against COVID. Women in uniform have proved their mettle by contributing copiously in diverse fields serving the nation & humanity. They deserve our immense respect & gratitude” COAS
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) March 8, 2021
“They are also [at the] forefront against COVID[-19].”
The theme of this year’s Women’s Day is “Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a Covid-19 World,” and various events and marches are planned to raise awareness about gender parity and the significance of the roles played by women in society, Radio Pakistan reported.
The United Nations designated March 8 as International Women’s Day in 1977. It annually calls for greater rights for women and celebrates their achievements.
AURAT MARCH:
Women, men, and transgender persons across Pakistan marched against patriarchy in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Hyderabad, Quetta, and Multan.
Aurat March originated in the port city in 2018 and has since expanded to other cities across the country. People from all walks of life have arrived at different venues to mark the much-awaited event of this year.
In Karachi, the march was held at Frere Hall, while in Lahore, the protesters gathered at the Lahore Press Club and marched towards the front of the PIA building in the city. In the federal capital, the march began at the National Press Club from where the set towards the city’s D Chowk.
Each chapter of the Aurat March has its own manifesto with the Karachi chapter focusing on patriarchal violence; Lahore on addressing healthcare workers and women’s health; and the Islamabad march is dedicated to the crisis of care.
“The Covid-19 pandemic laid bare the stark inequalities in our society,” said the Feminist Manifesto on Health released by Lahore Aurat March. “Globally, we found the heart of society to be diseased. Diseased with injustice and inequality, with patriarchy and violence on gendered bodies, with vast inequalities and capitalism, and with the dehumanisation of races and ethnicities. Our collective body was in pain.”
The Karachi chapter’s demands include an “end to gender-based violence by patriarchal forces as well as state-backed violence targeting activists, religious groups and communities and effective and transparent investigation of gender-based crimes and fair and expeditious trials”.
Other issues raised during the march include criminalisation of virginity tests for rape victims, the establishment of gender-based violence reporting cells in police stations across Sindh and Pakistan, and an end to sexual harassment.
