Punjab Commission on Status of Women (PCSW), a statutory body established in 2014, has been rendered ineffective in the absence of its chairperson and members.
The provincial government removed Fauzia Viqar as chairperson of the commission in May 2019. Since then, it has yet to choose a ‘suitable’ person for the post. According to sources, the core functions of the commission have come to a halt.
It has not even contributed a fraction of its statutory role of examining the government policies to promote gender equality, revise the provincial laws, rules and regulations affecting the status and rights of women, generate research, information, analysis and studies on the issue, develop interaction with non-governmental organisations and experts, and mobilise grants from provincial, national and international agencies.
The commission produced at least 18 publications during 2014 to 2019, including four Gender Parity Reports.
It had trained 25,000 Nikah khawans across the province and introduced laws for ending discrimination against women. It had also publised many policy reviews and recommendations after studying international statutes.
However, not even a single booklet has since then been on the credit of the commission.
At least eight meetings of the commission should have been held during the period as per the law, but none has been held since May 2019, the sources said.
Article 10(i) of PSCW Act 2014 reads, “The commission shall hold at least four meetings in a year, not less than one in every quarter.”
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The commission is supposed to have at least nine members appointed by the government but their appointment is still awaited.
It should also form an executive committee, “responsible to oversee the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the commission". The committee comprising of the chairperson and three members is also non-existent, the sources added.
The chairperson is also the principal accounting officer of the commission whose sources of finance are based on international organisations along with government agenices.
The international funding for the commission has reportedly stopped. The signatures of the chairperson are needed for any memorandum of understanding in this regard, the sources added.
They said the international organisations issued funds for projects and their initiation was not possible in the absence of a chairperson.
“The international funding contributed the larger shares of the commissions’ projects in the past," an official revealed.
She said the government departments usually did not invest in data collection and the authorities did not have faith in the data of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).She said the PCSW had done a commendable job in data collection regarding gender issues in Punjab but the work had now stopped.
A gender rights activist who had coordinated with the PCSW said the deteriorating condition of the commission showed that women's empowerment was not a priority of the government.
Regional Coordinator of Aurat Foundation Mumtaz Mughal commented that the government departments established for gender rights should remain consistently functional to fulfil their roles and functions.
“They should not be politicised, but unfortunately such entities are neglected sometimes because the governments are not sensitised.”
When contacted, the founding chairperson of PCSW, Fauzia Viqar, said strong and dedicated institutions were important for women's empowerment. The leadership was equally important, she added.
“In the absence of leadership, institutions do not work,”she said.
She stressed the need of engaging a technically sound and committed leadership in such institutions to address the woes of the women of the province.
The Chairperson of the Punjab Assembly's Standing Committee on Gender Mainstreaming, Uzma Kardar, expressed hope that a proposed amendment to change the pay scale of chairperson would be passed in coming months. She said the amendment had reached her committee through the cabinet.
Efforts were made to contact Punjab Minister for Development Ashifa Riaz but she remained unavailable for comment.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 9th, 2021.
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