Day: March 10, 2011

Karachi: There is a need to develop flexible working hours for women due to constant increase in the number of women joining the country’s work force, said Working Women Welfare Trust (WWT)president Rehana Afroze on Wednesday.

She said that flexible working hours and time schedule must be made a mandatory provision and accepted as a legal right of working women.

“All jobs that are result-oriented and tasked based can be adjusted under flexi time schedule,” she added.

This, she said was being adopted in the professions of medicine, information technology, engineering, education, media, marketing etc across the world.

Afroze, citing the proposal to be pragmatic in particular context of Pakistan, said that more job opportunities would be created for the women.

Difficulties faced by women due to chaotic traffic and shortage of transport facilities during rush hours will be efficiently addressed, she stated.

The WWT preident said that women required maintaining the delicate balance between their domestic and professional responsibilities must be extended the right to have their choice of working hours.

“It is in view of this essential requirement of working women that we plan to observe 2011 as the year of struggle for flexi time,” she said, adding that this will be a source of encouragement for girls and women joining the work force and contributing to the national economy.

“Moreover, highly qualified and skilled women reluctant to work due to their domestic responsibilities will be provided an opportunity to play their role in national development,” she elaborated.

She demanded that Pakistani women resorting to Flexi Time Approach must be extended status equivalent to regular and permanent workers.

Source: The News

Date:3/10/2011

By Nabeel Anwar Dhakku

CHAKWAL: A married woman went through a double agony — she had her locks clipped and then was paraded in her village.

Sadia Parveen, a resident of Kharli village of Kalar Kahar tehsil, was married to Hafiz Javed Iqbal, who used to stay in Rawalpindi most of the time to make a living. He visited his house only once or twice a year.

A few months ago Sadia’s grandfather Haji Basheer undertook repairs of his house. Two labourers hailing from Multan, Hafeez and Nadeem, were among the labourers employed by Haji Basheer.

Sadia fell in love with Nadeem.

A month ago she eloped with Nadeem with the assistance of Hafeez.

Sadia tied the knot with Nadeem in Multan.

Haji Basheer and his sons decided to teach Sadia Parveen a lesson.

They broke into Nadeem’s house in Multan in the last week of February, abducting Fauzia, the wife of Hafeez, and her brother along with Sadia, and brought them to their own village, the SHO of Kallar Kahar police station said.

They reached their home on March 6 and locked all of them in a room. The next day Haji Basheer and his sons forced Sadia to accompany them to a village square and invited the villagers to “come and watch a spectacle”. They then clipped the locks of Sadia and spattered black ink on her face. As if this humiliation were not enough, they paraded Sadia in the village.

Their anger did not end here. They plotted to kill Sadia on March 8, but some villagers alerted police to the danger.

A police party raided the village to rescue Sadia. When Haji Basheer and his sons learnt about the arrival of police, they ran away.

But when Sadia was produced before the District and Sessions Judge on Wednesday, she denied the torture, saying that she herself had clipped her hair.

“We tried our best to bring the culprits to book, but the victim herself has preferred to keep mum,” SHO Ghulam Abbas lamented.

Source: Dawn

Date:3/10/2011

LAHORE: The government should evolve an effective strategy to ensure provision of rights to home-based women workers by making certain to bring them under the umbrella of relevant laws.

This was the consensus among speakers at a seminar on ‘effects of Industrial Relations Act 2010 on non-formal sector’ arranged here on Wednesday by Women Workers Union at the Dorab Patel Hall of the HRCP in connection with the International Women Day.

The speakers included former MNA Mehnaz Rafi, MPA Amna Buter, Dr Fauzia Saeed, Women Workers Union president Fauzia Saleem, general secretary Shaheena Kausar, Muttahida Labour Federation chairman M Yaqoob and secretary-general Haneef Ramay, Altaf Baloch and Abdullah Malik.

They said that a large number of women had been contributing to the national economy by working in formal and non-formal sectors.

However, owing to discrimination, their economic conditions had not improved considerably and most of them were switching over to the non-formal sector by becoming home-based workers.

Quoting estimates, they said some 70 per cent of the national economy was dependent on the non-formal sector. Women home-based workers have no social or legal protection and are getting Rs500 to Rs2,000 a month as they are not covered by labour laws.

The government has failed to implement its own laws pertaining to minimum wages of Rs7,000 a month in the formal sector where workers still have no job security as they are being hired on a daily-wage or contract basis.

They demanded that the government should immediately approve and enforce the national policy on home-based workers, rectify Convention 177 of the International Labour Organisation; registration process should immediately be started; labour inspection system be revived and provision of social security and pension for all women workers be ensured; home-based workers should be given the right to set up associations and Section 509 of Protection against Sexual Harassment at Workplace 2010 Act should be enforced in letter and spirit.

Source: Dawn

Date:3/10/2011

Islamabad, The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has regretted that female journalists in Pakistan still lack basic facilities and opportunity to serve in the media houses in a conducive environment, discrimination in getting assignments are rampant.

According to the issued press release, on the eve of the International Women day, the PFUJ said the media owners of Pakistan claim themselves to be champions of rule of law, equity, fairplay, humanity, and that they are highlighting the injustice in society but fact remains that media houses have turned into chambers of lawlessness and worst places for female journalists. Women journalists face discrimination in getting assignments, because of being considered less competent and often drop out from the profession for lack of proper media policy. The PFUJ demanded of the federal as well as all the provincial governments to ensure conducive working environment in media houses, formulation of the gender policy with clear cut provisions of wash rooms, maternity leave, and participation of women in administrative posts, decision making and equal opportunity on promotion, wages, as well as assignments.

Source: One Pakistan

Date:3/10/2011

HYDERABAD: The father of three children was accused of raping 10-year-old girl F on Sunday within the limits of the Phuleli police station.

He was charged for the crime after the medical examination came through. According to F’s father, she had gone out to buy some candy and had been missing for two hours. He added that they found her crying near their house and she had told them about the incident. Her father and neighbours barged into a house in Teen Number Talab area and had asked what happened.

They grabbed the only man they found there and beat him till the police got there. According to SHO Nisar Brihmani an FIR had been registered and the suspect was in police custody.

Source: The Express Tribune

Date:10/3/2011