Silver jubilee: Dastak marks 25th anniversary

Jilani said women had the right to free movement and they could not be deprived of this right at any cost.

LAHORE: Advocate Hina Jilani called on the government on Saturday to ensure that justice was meted out to victims of violence against women instead of handing them out compensation cheques.

She was speaking at a seminar organised by Dastak, a private shelter home and advocacy institution, to mark 25 years since its founding and felicitate Akhtar Malik, the oldest person associated with the organisation. Jilani said shelter homes ought to be established for some men to enable them to live in solitude rather than victims of violence against women. Jilani rapped custodial restraints terming them illegal.

She said women had the right to free movement. Jilani said they could not be deprived of this right at any cost.

She stressed the need to ensure effective implementation of laws instead of the introduction of new legislation. Jilani opined that perpetrators of acid attacks on women should be given lengthy sentences in place of being sent to the gallows.

“Two wrongs do not make a right,” she observed. Jilani said she had founded Dastak after she realised that most women that approached her for legal assistance also needed physical protection.

Beaconhouse National University Dean Salima Hashmi, one of the trustees of Dastak, and Shirkat Gah executive director Farida Shaheed, another trustee, also spoke on the occasion. They congratulated the institution’s team on the occasion of its silver jubilee anniversary.

A panel discussion on the role of shelters and crisis centres to curb the incidence of violence against women was also held on the occasion. Activist Rubina Saigol moderated the discussion. The panellists at the discussion were Jilani, Punjab Commission on Status of Women Chairperson Fauzia Viqar and journalist Sohail Warraich.

Jilani said more women police stations should be established across the nation to facilitate complainants. Viqar spoke regarding a new helpline launched by the Women Development Department. She also shed light on violence against women centres.

The panellists spoke about the need to take practical measures to bring about social change rather than indulging in futile critique of the system.

They also stressed the need to revamp public service delivery centres especially at shelter homes, crisis centres and the police.

A song-and-dance performance was also staged by thespian Huma Safdar and her troupe on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2015.