Call for economic empowerment of women

Speakers demand implementation of women’s welfare laws and death penalty for acid attackers

ISLAMABAD:

On Friday speakers at a women's convention including parliamentarians and prominent women from all walks of life demanded the economic empowerment of women, specific measures for enhancing their literacy ratio, strict implementation of women's welfare laws and the death penalty for acid attackers.

Rhe convention of women parliamentarians themed "Markaz-e-Yaqeen Shad Bad" was organised by the National Assembly's Women Parliamentary Caucus (WPC) at the National Assembly Hall, in connection with the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the first constituent assembly.

WPC Secretary Shahida Rahmani said that women are playing a significant role in the progress of the country. She thanked the speaker for allowing them to hold the convention in the National Assembly hall. She said Nusrat Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto offered unmatched sacrifices for democracy and bravely fought against dictator General Zia-ul-Haq. Similarly, she said, Kulsoom Nawaz challenged the dictatorship of General Pervez Musharraf.

Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly Member Saadia Danish said several women played a significant role in the Pakistan movement. She lauded the Pakistan Peoples Party leadership for introducing reforms for bringing ease to the lives of womenfolk. She lauded women parliamentarians for playing a proactive role in the law-making process.

Chairperson of the Women Action Forum AJK Shaheen Kausar Dar stressed the need to economically empower women. Senator Rubina Khalid said the Taliban were regrouping in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa again and urged the government to eliminate such menace from the province. She demanded the enhancement of the quota for women in the parliament. She said women should be encouraged to contest direct elections instead of coming into parliament through reserve seats.

Senator Rukhsana Zubairi said it was heartening to note that over 1,000 women from various segments of society were present in Parliament House. She urged the government to impose the death penalty for acid attack perpetrators to control such heinous crimes. She said that in Bangladesh, the menace of acid attacks had completely been eliminated due to the imposition of the penalty on the perpetrators of the attack.

Senator Sana Jamali paid tribute to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. She lamented that there was only a 10% literacy ratio in rural areas of Balochistan, while the overall literacy ratio in the province was only 33%. She stressed devising an effective strategy to enhance the literacy ratio in Balochistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 13^th, 2022.