Law on the anvil to protect women

Govt trying to build consensus on domestic violence, child marriage bills

PESHAWAR:

The provincial government is working to build consensus on domestic violence and child marriage restraint bills.

This was disclosed by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Minister for Law Sultan Khan on Monday as he addressed the virtual launching ceremony for the report “Gap Analysis of Legislation related to Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW)”. The report was prepared and launched by the K-P Women Parliamentary Caucus (KP-WPC) and UN Women Pakistan.

The provincial minister said once these bills are passed by the provincial government, it will offer a great breakthrough in the fight to end violence against women in the province.

The minister also highlighted the government’s success in amending and implementing the K-P Protection of Women against Harassment at Workplace Act 2010, and the appointment of social activist Rukhshanda Naz as the provincial ombudsperson on the matter.

K-P-WPC General Secretary Ayesha Bano said that the commitment of the provincial government to the cause of women’s rights is evident by the initiatives undertaken to implement Pakistan’s international commitments at the provincial level.

Woman accuses jail staff of sexual abuse

The analysis report of laws relating to EVAW will create a better understanding of the legislative framework which will, in turn, support the enactment and implementation of effective and inclusive legislation in the province, she remarked.

K-P Commission on the Status of Women (KPCSW) Chairperson Dr Riffat Sardar the KPCSW was committed to connecting all stakeholders including government, civil society, women parliamentarians, entrepreneurs, civil society and communities in efforts to improve the status of women in the province.

The report had been launched to provide a detailed analysis of the normative, implementation and monitoring gaps in the legislative framework of the province apart from identifying and documenting gaps in the existing provincial legal framework and implementation process.

The gap analysis report had been designed and commissioned by the UN Women Pakistan in partnership with K-P Women Parliamentary Caucus with the financial support from UK Aid.

Majority of child abuse suspects set free due to poor investigations​​​​​​​

The analysis stressed on contextualising EVAW laws within the framework of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the country’s other international commitments.

The document also substantiates and builds on previous bodies of work and adopts a holistic approach in identifying gaps and proposing recommendations for EVAW related legislation in K-P.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2020.