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Sitara given National Award for Human Rights

PESHAWAR –  Awami National Party (ANP) Senator Sitara Ayaz received National Award for Human Rights on Saturday from the President.

Ayaz hails from village Jhanda, District Swabi.

She was among the founders of Women Action Forum in Peshawar back in 1992 when it was a taboo to talk about women’s rights in a Pakhtun society.

The senator is also one of the founder members of Human Rights Committee’s Peshawar chapter.

She has served as All Pakistan Women’s Association (APWA) Peshawar Director for three years.

During her tenure, several welfare projects were running under APWA for the social and financial well-being of women.  She managed the projects very smoothly, contributing a lot to the uplift of Pakhtun women.

She is the first active politician from District Swabi who made history for being first women minister in the history of politics of the province.

During her tenure as a minister, she had the credit to pass a bill against an old custom, Ghag. She passed the bill and established provincial commission on status of women and children.

She was the first one to present women harassment act in the provincial assembly and played an active role in implementation of this act in the province.

She established a model women shelter home for homeless women in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

She also worked for introducing transport system exclusively for women.

In spite of the fact that she belongs to a conservative society, she managed to stand on every forum for the rights of women and children. She faced several hurdles and were politically and personally victimised, but she did not give up her mission.

During senate election 2015, when her party was almost pushed to a corner, she was elected as a senator.

Presently, Ayaz is a member of the Senate Committee on Human Rights.

As an active human rights activist, she has always emphasised to uplift women but within limits that the religion has set for a woman and that is the reason she is not only appreciated by the broad-minded people of society but the religious people also have an optimist thinking for her.

Her services are recognised by the federal government and she has again become the first woman from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to receive a national human rights award.

The Nation