Women’s day: Govt to announce empowerment package today

LAHORE:

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif will likely announce a Women Empowerment Package at a seminar on International Women’s Day on Thursday.

The package will include a proposal to amend the law of inheritance to ensure women were given their share in property in accordance with Islamic law. The tehsildars will be made responsible for overseeing transfer of women’s share in family property in their name.

Other proposals will include relaxation of age requirements for women in government jobs and establishment of day care centres at offices with five or more women employees, directions for all departments to provide hostel facilities to women working away from homes and to ensure separate waiting rooms and toilets for women in public places. The government plans to set up cells in all tehsils to take action against domestic violence complaints and to provide facilities to home-based women workers that were already available to factory labour.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2012.