AsiaNet-Pakistan Premier Editorial Content and Press Release Distribution Service
Karachi, February 12, 2020 (PPI-OT):Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah said that the society which did not ensure and protect the rights of women would never progress. He was the chief guest of an event organized by the Sindh Commission on the Status of Women (SCSW) with support from UN Women Pakistan to celebrate National Women Day here on Wednesday. The Chief Minister said, “Sindh government has institutionalized gender equality in the province. Highest number of pro-women laws including Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act, Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act 2013, and many others have been passed in the province.”
Besides Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah, Minister for Women Development Department (WDD) Sindh Syeda Shehla Raza, Chairperson Sindh Commission on the Status of Sindh (SCSW) Nuzhat Shirin, Deputy High Commissioner Australian High Commission in Pakistan Brek Batley, and Deputy Country Representative UN Women Pakistan Aisha Mukhtar addressed the event. Syed Murad Ali Shah also distributed “Mohtarma Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Life Achievement Award” to women working on women rights and gender equality in Sindh. This award is an initiative of SCSW.
Chairperson SCSW Nuzhat Shirin welcomed the participants and thanked donors for their support in strengthening Commission to achieve its goal. She said that Sindh was the only province to have passed most pro-women laws and set an example for other provinces. “But, there’s still a long way to go as we set to develop sustainable systems that will empower women economically, socially, culturally and politically.” Education remains a high priority area for all our work in Sindh, she concluded. Provincial Minister WDD Syeda Shehla Raza said, “WDD has worked to end violence against women and girls by preventing and promoting women’s rights in Sindh through legislation. We are now sensitizing women on the law of harassment at workplace and ending child marriage so that women and girls of Sindh reach their full potential.”
She also highlighted the need of facilitating women at work by establishing daycare centres, lactating rooms for breast feeding mothers and separate washrooms for women at workplace. Sindh government is committed to safeguard the rights of women and will continue to advance gender equality in the province, the Minister remarked. Deputy Country Representative UN Women Pakistan Aisha Mukhtar said, “UN Women believes in an equal inclusion of women in all spheres of life with focus on five priority areas that are increased women’s participation and leadership, ending violence against women and girls, women participation in peace processes and security efforts, women economic empowerment and governance and national planning.”
“UN Women Pakistan has been supportive of SCSW since its establishment. We have provided strategic assistance in developing Commission’s three-year strategic plan and are continuously working with the Commission and WDD Sindh in order to end violence against women and advance gender equality and women’s social and economic empowerment in the province.”
Australian Deputy High Commissioner to Pakistan Brek Batley said, “Australia has employed a holistic approach to reducing violence against women through institutional strengthening, policy advocacy and service delivery. Sindh Commission on the Status of Women, established through Australia’s AUD 11 million support, has not only advanced gender equality in the province but also created an enabling environment for pro-women laws, including the Sindh Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, the Domestic Violence Bill, Child Marriage Restraint Act, Sindh Dowry Act and Sindh Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Act.”
For more information, contact:
Sindh Information and Archives Department
Directorate of Press Information
Government of Sindh
95-Sindh Secretariat 4-B, Karachi, Pakistan
Tel: +92-21-99204423, +92-21-99204401
Email: pressinformationzubair@gmail.com
Website: http://sindhinformation.gos.pk