By: Shoaib A Raja
ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain on Saturday said that the government was committed to protecting and safeguarding the rights of women.
Addressing a function in connection with the International Women Day here‚ the president said that a number of initiatives had been taken for social‚ political and economic empowerment of women.
“The Government is determined to mainstream women’s issues in its policies,” he added. He said that Pakistan was earnestly implementing convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.
“We have a caucus of committed women parliamentarians who have been promoting the agenda of women development and empowerment to women’s right,” he maintained.
He said that besides various social safety nets‚ the government was effectively addressing the subject of economic empowerment of women through Prime Minister’s Youth programme‚ with 50 percent quota for women‚ and Benazir Income Support Programme. “The 10 percent quota reserved for women in the federal government employment as well as the provinces is another hallmark of women empowerment initiatives,” he added.
He said that women issues were also being addressed through providing a strong legislative cover and its earnest implementation. “We are taking measures to remove lacunas in the laws and rules safeguarding rights of female heirs,” he added. He stressed the need of focusing on girls’ education to make women strong enough to face the challenges of life with the strength of their minds. “We need to make continuous efforts to equip our women with vocational skills to utilise their potential and to save them from economic exploitation,” he opined.
In his message on the occasion‚ Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif said the government was committed to ensure empowerment of women as their participation in all walks of life was necessary for sustainable development. He said this is our national duty to protect the interests of women and provide them equal opportunities without any discrimination.
Speaking on the occasion‚ Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid said the government was making every possible effort to ensure the rights of women. He said there should be no discriminate on the basis of gender as enshrined in the constitution. He said there was a need of change in our social attitude. He said that fifty percent loans had been specified for women in the PM Youth Business Loans which are demonstrative of efforts for empowerment of women. He said that consistency of democratic system was imperative for solutions of the problems and for development of the country.
