‘Nation responsible for protecting women’s rights’

President Alvi says all necessary laws to safeguard women exist

ISLAMABAD: Protecting the rights of women and curbing gender-based violence is the responsibility of not just women, but the entire nation has to play its due role.

This was stated by President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday as he addressed an event in Islamabad, jointly organised by the Federal Law Ministry and the European Union Delegation in Pakistan, to mark International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women and to launch the annual 16 days of activism’ campaign.

The president stressed the need to create awareness amongst the masses to put an end to harassment and violence against women.

“There is sufficient legislation regarding women’s rights, which need to be implemented in letter and spirit,” said Dr Alvi, who has issued a slew of ordinances this year with the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) shying away from parliament to further legislative process.

He further said that ethos of laws regarding women’s rights in Pakistan come from Islam, which granted property and other basic rights to women.

Dr Alvi further pointed towards the importance of empowering women as a remedy against gender-based violence and other women-related issues.  “We should discourage the tendency of forcing women to gift their inherited property to their male relatives.”

In this regard, the president exhorted Ulemas, especially the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), to play a bigger role in protecting women's rights.

“The focus of Friday sermons in mosques should be on women rights,” he suggested.

He called for effective use of various media tools to create awareness and to protect women's rights and stressed the need to create an enabling environment, where women can feel safe and protected to work freely.

Federal Law Minister Farogh Nasim said that women's rights in the country are safeguarded through several laws and statutes. He further said that the government has introduced a law to protect women's property rights as a financially independent woman plays a vital role in creating a vibrant society.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said there is no justification of violence against women and that the ruling party strongly believes in protecting women's rights. In this regard, he said that 55 action plans have been executed by the government to deal with violence against women.

European Union (EU) Ambassador to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara said that violence against women not only affects an individual but also hurts the very fabric of the society.  She said creating awareness against gender-based violence, promotion of girls' education and gender parity are key priority areas of the EU.

Two short films of renowned film director Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, based on violence against women, were also shown on the occasion.

16 days of activism

In a separate ceremony, the ‘16 days of activism’ was launched in the federal capital on Monday.

International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) Country Director Jehanzeb Anwar said that the event marks the beginning of their 16-day campaign which will take place not only in Islamabad but in districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) as well. The ICMC, he said, plans to conduct joint sessions to raise awareness with the support of refugees, as well as conducting activities to raise awareness by distributing materials with relevant information.  

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26^th, 2019.