Shelter home for affected women on the cards

Centre will provide accommodation to 50 women along with their kids


APP November 22, 2017
PHOTO: FILE

MULTAN: The administration of Violence against Women Centre (VWC) is introducing are shelter home for affected women of South Punjab.

This was said by Social Welfare District Officer Muhammad Ahmed Chishti. He said that few months back, Punjab government introduced VAWC at Mattital area, a suburban area of Multan, with an aim to curb crimes against women.

He added, “The VWC is providing facilities of registration of first information report (FIR), provision of psychological, legal, forensic investigation, medico-legal examination and rehabilitation under one roof.”

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The construction of shelter home would be an addition to the centre and it would offer accommodation to 50 women along with their minor kids, he added. About VAWC performance during its first six months, the district officer maintained that VAWC received nearly 1,100 complaints, including 752 of domestic violence, 68 complaints of harassment, 51 divorces, 36 rapes and 19 complaints of life threats.

Ahmed Chishti said the department successfully resolved 900 complaints and ensured punishment to culprits. He suggested that there was need to create more awareness among women about the purpose of VAWC.

The official pointed out that the women would be given accommodation as per their choice. “Sometimes, women feel insecure and they are reluctant to live with their families, so such women would be given residential facility in the shelter home,” he said.

“The shelter home would also impart vocational training to the women with a vision to empower them economically. Similarly, religious education would also be given at the centre,” he elaborated.

The aggrieved women would also find recreation facilities, including TV room and toy rooms for their kids in the centre, he said.

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Earlier in 2016, more than 75 cases of torture against women were reported at the Benazir Bhutto Women Crisis Centre, Multan.

Punjab Gender Parity Report 2016 stated that incidents of torture on women have increased by 20% while 173 women were killed for honour in 2015. In 2013, more than 5,800 cases of violence against women were reported in Punjab. Those cases represented 74% of the national total that year.

Since 2010, a number of pro-women laws have been introduced, including the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act of 2016.

Special Monitoring Unit of Punjab statistics reveal that on average each day, ‘six women are killed, eight women are raped, 11 are assaulted, and 32 abducted for various reasons.’ Moreover, Pakistan ranks as the third-most dangerous country for women to live in.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22nd, 2017.

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