Pakistan Gender News Voice of Gender News From Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Muhammadmian Soomro on Friday reiterated the commitment of the government to the cause of women development and empowerment.
In his message on the occasion of the International WomenÃs Day, Soomro said all women and men were equally entitled to share the worldly opportunities throughout their lives, but unfortunately, women had been left behind than their male counterparts.
He said: “As a signatory to various UN conventions, especially the CEDAW and the CRC, our commitment to remove and prevent all discriminatory practices from our social fabric have been further strengthened.”
He expressed the hope that the newly-elected parliamentarians in general and women legislators in particular would raise their voices for the cause of women and girls.
“This would help pave the way for gender balanced national development and prosperity with mutual partnership of the government and the civil society,” Soomro said.
He said progress and prosperity of any country was directly linked to the active participation of all the citizens in the national affairs and added that no country could make progress if half of its population, comprising women, was unable to participate in all walks of life.
Thus, he said, women’s emancipation was crucial for sustainable development of Pakistan.
“By mobilising the collective power of women for the welfare of the society, we can make our world more tolerant, harmonious and secure. Let us work for it together,” he added.
He said this year’s theme “Investing in Women and Girls” was thus relevant and timely for societies in the developing countries like Pakistan.
Keeping this year’s theme in focus, special and extra-institutionalised efforts, both in monetary and non-monetary terms, would have to be made at the national level to narrow down the gender disparity in social, legal, economic and political fields, he said.
Soomro said these efforts and the affirmative actions would reflect the level of commitment, especially the political will, for a short- and long-term improvement in the lives of women and girls who were half of the population of the country.
Source: The News
Date:3/8/2008
