Women’s International Day, 2010

AGENDA: Commemoration of Women’s International Day, 8^th March 2010.

VENUE: The Office of the Deputy District Officer Social Welfare, Women Development & Bait-ul-Maal, Community Development Project (CDP) Tehsil Lalian, District Chiniot.

TIMING: 10:00 to 1:00 PM (8^th of March 2010)

PARTICIPANTS:

Miss. Farrukh Rizwan, The District Officer Social Welfare, Women Development & Bait-ul-Maal District Chiniot, Muzammal Yar Dahr, Deputy District Officer, Social Welfare, Women Development & Bait-ul-Maal Tehsil Lalian, Saeed Mashaal Bhatti, Deputy District Officer, Social Welfare, Women Development & Bait-ul-Maal, Tehsil Bhowana, Malik Muzafar Abbas, Deputy District Officer, Social Welfare, Women Development & Bait-ul-Maal, Tehsil Chiniot, Naseem Akhtar, Assistant Education Officer, Tehsil Lalian, Shazia Athar Gynecologist, District Head Quarter Hospital Chiniot and Shagufta Ijaz, Ex Lady Councilor Lalian

Today most of civil society organizations and women development departments or provincial and federal governments hold seminars, walks, etc., inviting the world’s attention towards miseries of women. Women are subjected to most extreme forms of violence and exclusion. Incidents of honor killing, rape, fire and acid burning, domestic violence, dowry-abuse, trafficking, under-age marriage and trade of young girls among tribes for dispute settlement are gruesome and frequent. Women’s Access to education, employment, health, property and justice had been severely restricted for years. With the rise in extremism, women’s right to mobility has reduced sharply in many parts of the country.

International Women’s day is always a day for stocktaking, especially in countries where women’s identities are in a constant state of stressful negotiation with society.

International women’s day (8^th March) is commemorated as a vehicle of women’s right. It is celebrated to create awareness and conscious regarding the rights of women, in order to encourage them in every facet of life, for gender mainstreaming. It is commemorated to abolish the exploitative structure of humanity which renders different fetters like domestic violence, female harassment in work place and minimum functional literacy rates of 50% of population. In October 2009, three bills regarding the rights of women were adopted by the National Assembly. It proved like a sigh of relief for beleaguered half of the population. But all the expectations were demolished as the bills were not adopted by the senate with in given mandatory time period of three months and ultimately lapsed. These were the Domestic Violence Prevention and Protection Act, 2009 and Prevention of Harassment at Work Place Act, 2009.

Seminar was presided by Miss. Farrukh Rizwan, The District Officer Social Welfare, Women Development & Bait-ul-Maal, District Chiniot. And other participants were Muzammal Yar Dahr, Deputy District Officer, Social Welfare, Women Development & Bait-ul-Maal Tehsil Lalian, Saeed Mashaal Bhatti, Deputy District Officer, Social Welfare, Women Development & Bait-ul-Maal, Tehsil Bhowana, Malik Muzafar Abbas, Deputy District Officer, Social Welfare, Women Development & Bait-ul-Maal, Tehsil Chiniot, Naseem Akhtar, Assistant Education Officer, Tehsil Lalian, Shazia Athar, Gynecologist, District Head Quarter, Hospital Chiniot and Shagufta Ijaz, Ex Lady Councilor, Lalian. Women from different walks of life gathered at a function organized here on Monday to observe the International Women’s day appeared to be of the concerted view that Pakistan cannot progress in real terms if half of its population is not allowed to join in the process of progress and development.

The aim of the seminar was to express support and unity with the women for the suffering they endured at the hands of extremists and to applaud their courage in the face of pressure and fear.

Seminar was started with the recitation of Surah Nisa which elaborates the rights of women, role and status of women as sisters, wives & mothers and also the role of male & female in a society in the shape of couple.

In his address Muzammal Yar, Deputy District Officer, Social Welfare, Women Development & Bait-ul-Maal, Tehsil Lalian, welcomed all the participants on the behalf of Social Welfare, Women Development & Bait-ul-Maal department District Chiniot. He was optimistic while talking about rights or women, he described that number of women entering education institutions and subsequently financial and economic institutions was constantly on the increase.

At the seminar arranged in connection with the International Women’s day, two women from nearby village narrated their ordeal and the situation on the ground there.

In her address Lady Councilor, Kaneez Fatima pointed out that women of today has amply proved that she is fully capable of meeting the challenge like a man if a level-playing field is made available to her.

Situation of Women was dramatized by student of industrial home of public welfare organization (PWO). Participants of drama symbolically characterized domestic violence and other prevalent issued regarding Women.

In his address Saeed Ahmad, Deputy District Officer, Social Welfare, Women Development & Bait-ul-Maal, Tehsil Bhowana, focused on the economic aspect. He said that economic empowerment is linked with their say in political and social spheres of life. Women should not only be treated ‘equal’ on the basis of headcount but also should be respected on the basis of equity. He further delineated that it is time the media and civil society should put in serious efforts to educate people about their individual responsibility to enforce human rights and respect the rights of their women.

In his address Malik Muzafar Abbas portrayed the real picture of the society and explained that it is a pity that Pakistan is lagging behind in reaching the Millennium development Goals that are to a great extent directed at closing the existing gender gap in society. He further pressed upon that NGOs are working in different areas include poverty alleviation, promotion of human rights, including those of women and children, health, education economic welfare, to name a few. Most of the local NGO’s have a limited role with a limited purpose in a limited and specified area.

In her concluding address Miss Farrukh Rizwan, District Officer, Social Welfare, Women Development & Bait-ul-Maal, introduced the working of different District, Divisional & Provincial Institutions like Dar-ul-Falah, Kashana, Industrial Home (Sanat Zaar), Shelter Home (Daar-ul-Amaan), run by Social Welfare, Women Development & Bait-ul-Maal Department. She described details of these institutions working for Women, explained their performance and service delivery. She further talked about the role of literate women in creating awareness among down trodden segment of society especially in rural vicinity. She asked that educated women should serve as a linkage between the effectees and the resources in order to make the delivery mechanism more efficient and feasible.