It is hoped that the government will continue to facilitate women
BUREWALA: The 2017 theme for International Women’s Day this year was “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030”, a theme that makes a case for greater inclusion of the womenfolk in a diverse range of careers. The world is fast moving towards the idea of gender equality in many spheres. Since women comprise about half of Pakistan’s overall population, the Punjab government is committed to empowering women and considers their participation crucial to socio-economic growth of the province.
The significant presence of women in top positions provides enough evidence that the government embarked upon a dedicated and focused journey towards women empowerment. The legal initiatives taken by the government to empower women include inheritance and property rights to women, Punjab Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act of 2012, Punjab Commission on the Status of Women Act of 2014, Punjab Fair Representation of Women Act of 2014 and the establishment of Violence Against Women Centres.
Besides, the government has also taken steps to enable women to work and pursue careers including the establishment of day care centres and hostels, an increase in the employment quota from five per cent to 15 per cent, the regularisation of 49,000 lady health workers, Rs12.70 billion interest-free loans to over 600,000 women, skill-related training to 106,000 women and above all, 119, 313 scholarships under the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund to female students. It is hoped that the government will continue to facilitate women and take all necessary steps to safeguard their rights.
Ahsan Javed
Published in The Express Tribune, March 10th, 2017.
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