Day: July 29, 2011

ISLAMABAD: Investment in gender equality, women’s empowerment and decent behaviour with the female folk at workplace could contribute in improving economic, social and political conditions of the society.

A survey carried out by Employers Federation of Pakistan in collaboration with International Labour Organisation (ILO) indicates that the main objectives of the survey were to identify and select best practices of gender equality in terms of policies, programmes, behaviours and attitudes in government, textile, hospitality and media sectors. It should be within the given socio-economic, political and cultural parameters that are behind the development of best practices and their consequent impact on women’s practical and strategic needs.

Survey finds out that the gender equality does not imply that women and men are the same, but that they should be accorded equal treatment as human beings. Equal pay for equal work is one of the areas where gender equality is rarely seen; all too often women are paid less than men for doing the same work. This is one of the reasons that the majority of the world’s poor are women: around 70 percent of the people who live in extreme poverty, on less than one dollar a day income are girls and women.

Self-decision regarding education, participation, mobility, economic independence, public speaking, awareness and exercise of rights and many more factors ensure women empowerment. It is noteworthy that two third of people in the world who cannot read are females while in only 16 countries in the world, women’s representation in national parliament is above 25 percent.

Nearly, an estimated one-quarter to one half of all women have suffered physical abuse. Women have unequal access to economic resources, such as capital, credit, labour and land, and limited opportunities for employment and career advancement, which restricts their ability to improve their economic conditions.

According to Frida Khan, National Project Co-ordinator ILO, increase in women’s participation in labour force has not resulted in substantially narrowing gender gaps in the world of work, it is a positive sign that many employers are employing strategies to promote women in management, covering areas such as training, networking, monitoring, review of recruitment and promotion systems, family-friendly policies, awareness about sexual harassment and other positive actions like provision of maternity leave and work-life balance to make workplaces conducive for working women in the country.

Source: Business Recorder

Date:7/29/2011

SUKKUR: The Shikarpur police busted a gang of women traffickers and recovered three women on Thursday.

Giving details, the SSP Shikarpur, Junaid Sheikh, revealed that the Shikarpur Police, after receiving a tip-off, conducted a raid on Yaru Jatoi’s house in Bhittai Abad and recovered a woman Nasrin and two girls Nazia and Sajida and also arrested women traffickers Yaru and Ashraf. The SSP said all the recovered women belonged to Sahiwal. They revealed during investigation that they were abducted by a gang of women traffickers, who sold them out for Rs270,000 after which they were forced for prostitution.

The SSP said the recovered women had been shifted to the Woman Complaint Cell, while their relatives had been informed. He said the arrested criminals were being interrogated. The arrested trafficker Ashraf is the recovered woman Nasrin’s husband. Nasrin had disclosed that she had three children, who were missing.

Source: The News

Date:7/29/2011

PESHAWAR: The violence against women has increased by 12 percent during the past six months in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to a report compiled by Aurat Foundation.

“About 342 cases of violence against women had taken place from January to June in 2010 while this year 389 cases have been reported during the same period,” said Sherin Javed, the regional coordinator of Aurat Foundation, while presenting the biannual report here on Thursday.

She said that out of the reported cases 179 were of murder, 28 of abduction, 81 of domestic violence, 41 of suicide, 14 of honour killing, three of rape and 43 cases were of miscellaneous nature.

Ms Javed said that out of all those cases of violence against women about 259 were registered at different police stations while 82 remained unregistered and 49 unconfirmed.

She said that about 149 cases were reported in Peshawar, 50 in Mardan, 43 in Nowshera, 20 in Charsadda, 16 in Swat, 14 in Swabi, 12 each in Manshera, D.I. Khan, and Kohat, nine in Malakand, eight in Haripur, six each in Buner and Bannu and seven cases were reported in Dir Upper.

She said that more than 246 cases were reported in rural areas and about 140 were reported in urban localities.

Ms Javed said that family disputes, property feuds, petty issues, suspicion of illicit relations, refusal to marriage proposal, choice marriage, forced marriage and old enmities were main reasons of growing cases of violence against women in the province.

The weapons used in those cases were mostly pistols, axes, sharp knives, poisonous medicines, kerosene oil and sticks. The data, she said, was collected through different sources including print media and women crisis centres.

“We also collect data through our own sources about violence-hit women in different districts of the province,” she added.

Ms Javed said that information were gathered from Khyber, Mohmand and Kurram agencies while the rest of the regions of Fata were inaccessible for journalists.

The number of cases might be higher but police avoided registering them, she said. She added that most of the cases did not seem to have been registered on the basis of facts but influenced by vested interests.

Dr Salahuddin also spoke on the occasion and answered questions of the journalists.

Source: Dawn

Date:7/29/2011