30 more women rehabilitation centres to be set up

ISLAMABAD: The Women Development Ministry has approved establishment of 30 ‘Women Centres’ in country to provide rehabilitation and shelter facilities to destitute women. Sources told Business Recorder here on Wednesday that keeping in view the dire need of women shelter homes.

The ministry has finalised to build more centres all over the country so that victimised women may get some relief during crisis situations. They said that women centres would be established in Attock, Chakwal, Gujarat, Jhang, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalnagar and Layyah in Punjab. In Sindh the finalised cities for the establishment of the centres are Larkana, Mirpurkhas, Sukkur, Shahdad Kot, Dadu, Sanghar and Badin, they said.

They said that DI Khan, Mardan, Chitral, Batkhela, Bannu, Haripur and Charsada are violence-hit areas so it was decided to establish women centres in these areas on priority basis.

Balochistan is also a violence-hit and poverty-stricken province where the Ministry has decided to establish crisis management centres, the areas are: Zhob, Turbat, Gwadar, Panjgur, Chaman, Dalbandin and Lasbela, they said. They said that each women centre will be established in Rawlakot in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit in Northern Areas.

The ministry has already approved setting up of 25 women centres in the country. After establishment of the proposed centres, the total strength of women centres will become 55, they said. The sources said that the ministry is committed to establish women centres in each district of the country to increase the number of these centers to 111 in the next years.

Social counselling facilities are also provided to victimised women in the centres for their rehabilitation so that the disputes may be resolved through negotiations before moving the courts to avoid any unnecessary litigation, they said. They said that minor children of the victimised women are also provided shelter, food and basic necessities of life so that they may not suffer disastrous conditions.

Source: Business Recorder

Date:3/29/2007