‘Women in parliament greatest achievement of 20th century’

Senator Nuzhat Sadiq expresses view while addressing Asian Parliamentary Assembly

A virtual workshop of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA), Standing Committee on Social and Cultural Affairs hosted by the APA Group of the Islamic Republic of Iran was held in Tehran, on Wednesday.

During the virtual session, several draft resolutions were considered on various important issues of the Asian Region. Senator Nuzhat Sadiq and Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman represented Pakistan at the meeting.

Senator Nuzhat Sadiq, while addressing the assembly on the situation of women parliamentarians in the region, stated that in the 20th century one of the greatest achievements of democracy was the inclusion of women in parliament. It is a social economic and political good in itself, she added.

Senator Nuzhat, while speaking on the role of women in the crucial times of the pandemic, said that women were on the front line during the fight against Covid-19 as health care workers and community responders.

She maintained that this strong leadership depicted by women in decision-making co-relates to handling the pandemic efficiently and transparently in a gender-sensitive manner.

The senator said that Pakistan has been one of the very few developing nations to have taken on a strong and effective stand against the deadly virus. She added that despite a weak healthcare system, Pakistan minimised the potential destruction of Covid-19.

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She further said that to meet the crisis and enhance the role of women, Pakistan has introduced several interventions such as interest-free loans, unconditional cash transfer, stipend for education and banking on equality to improve gender governance through financial empowerment of women and expansion of social protection net.

Furthermore, Senator Rahman, while sharing his views on the draft resolution on Protecting and Responding Cultural Diversity in Asia, said that Pakistan fully supports the resolution on cultural diversity and requires parliaments to play a leading role by establishing its true value.

He maintained that Pakistan approved its 'National Cultural Policy 2018' with the vision to promote national identity and harmonise the society by integrating people from all parts of the country.

"Pakistan has formulated National Tourism Strategy (2020- 2030), which envisages making Pakistan a preferred destination for tourism, he added.

Rehman further stated that the government is working to facilitate tourists by easing visa policy, developing national standards and ICT services.

He gave an example of the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor by Pakistan for Sikh Devotees from India to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. He maintained that such efforts will lead to an increase in tourist arrival.

The senator said that despite Covid-19 challenges, we are helping the cultural sector by providing guidelines from time to time and would like member countries to collaborate and support the world’s transition to the new condition.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 15^th, 2021.