Govt committed to upholding women’s rights: Sherry Rehman

The present government is committed to upholding the constitutional rights for women as envisaged in Article 25 and 34 of the Constitution of Pakistan, and make the utmost of efforts to bring women into mainstream society, said Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sherry Rehman.

Rehman was addressing the International Conference on Women’s Leadership organised on Sunday by the Sindh Women Development Department in collaboration with the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI).

The minister said that protecting the rights of women was also a part of the PPP manifesto, and, in this regard, a five-point programme had been initiated. This programme would be placed before the cabinet for consideration before being sent to the National Assembly for ratification.

Talking about the salient points of this programme, she mentioned that women would be ensured 20 per cent participation in public limited and autonomous bodies. She further said that land allotments in the country would be registered under the name of women in that particular household, thus ensuring an elevated status of the women in the family.

The Minister pointed out that domestic violence was a grave problem faced by women not only in Pakistan and South Asia, but also internationally. In view of this, the PPP had already suggested the domestic violence bill, which would soon be presented before the National Assembly for legislation. Rehman also informed the participants of the conference that separate facilities would be provided for women in jails.
Source: The News
Date:5/26/2008