LAHORE: A roundtable meeting was convened by Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) and the Ministry of Environment Protection under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Dr Ayesha Ghous Pasha to reaffirm government of Punjab’s long-standing commitment to empowerment of women and children in the province.
The meeting was held at the Civil Secretariat and attended by Dr Brigitta Blaha, Austrian Ambassador to Pakistan, Ms Margaret Adamson, High Commissioner of Australia, Jamshed Kazi, Country Director, UN Women in Pakistan, US Consul General, Ms Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau, and representatives of the British High Commission, Lahore. Ministers for Population Welfare and Finance, members of Provincial Assembly, representatives of provincial departments, and other foreign dignitaries were in attendance. Speaking at the meeting, Ms Fauzia Viqar, Chairperson PCSW, acknowledged that, while the government had taken several initiatives for socio-economic well-being of women, more concrete measures continue to be the need of the hour.
While addressing the meeting, Dr Ayesha Ghous Pasha said that a political commitment for gender equality and a compatible legal framework are the basic conditions for development of a successful gender main streaming. She said that since 2012, government of the Punjab has taken several steps to improve the status of women, educate girls and empower them. These concrete steps include legislations like Punjab protection against harassment of women at the work place, Punjab Land Revenue (Amendment) Act, Punjab Fair Representation of Women Act, Punjab Status of Women Act, Punjab Protection of Women against violence Act, Punjab Women Protection Authority Act. To reduce the incidence of early age or child marriage in Punjab, the Punjab assembly passed the Punjab Marriage restraint (Amendment) Act, she added.
