Laws to protect women’s rights never implemented: Mazari

Says she is mocked on social media for not talking about human rights issues

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari on Wednesday said that she is being mocked on social media for not speaking vehemently on women rights issue but it is far greater to work for addressing the problems than just speaking about them.

Mazari was addressing the participants of an event organised by the human rights ministry at the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) in light of the International Women’s Day.

The minister said, “I raised the issue of violation of women rights being committed in India in the United Nations (UN)”. She identified the vital role of women in the modern world, lamented that the laws created decades ago were never executed in true spirit.

The human rights minister said that rural women were totally unaware of their rights.  Both men and women need to go ahead together, Mazari said and hailed Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, for raising the voice of women facing persecution under the Modi regime.

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The minister said that the current year was the year of moving towards the goals of the various movements running across different parts of the world seeking equal rights for women and their empowerment.

Pointing out the resolve of the incumbent government for women's rights, Mazari said that the government was ambitious to end gender-based discrimination, harassment, and violence from the country.

The Human Rights Federal Parliamentary Secretary Rabiya Javeri Agha pointed out the measures taken by the ministry to end gender discrimination and other issues countered by the women in the country. She further highlighted her ministry’s future goals, measures, and path required to be followed in the future for rapid progress.

They are reviewing existing laws and rules relating to women's status and working to strengthen them, Agha emphasised.

“The human rights ministry is working under the action plan for human rights with the help of related provincial and federal departments to scale up the dignity of women,” the secretary said and added that the action plan includes various measures including policy against assault and for home-based workers, a helpline for legal advice, endowment fund for funding the unprivileged people and establishment of women protection centres.

Further, a panel discussion was also conducted in the event on the topic of “Generation Equality” which was chaired by the human rights minister. The panel comprised of the Minister of Climate Change Zartaj Gul, the Sindh Legal Aid Society Executive Director of Haya Zahid, rights activist and singer, Shehzad Roy.

The event also celebrated the success of women trailblazers of Pakistan in different fields. To shed light on the struggle of the pioneers, Pakistan's first legally blind mountaineer Zarina Hassan, Pakistani Cyclist Samar Khan, Fighter Pilot Nadia Gul and others took part in the discussion.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2020.