03/19/2012, 00.00
PAKISTAN
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Rights and empowerment of women, for the development of Pakistani society

by Shafique Khokhar
Christians and Muslims, united, demand more attention for women in the fight against extremism and discrimination. In Sindh commissions created charged with evaluating the application of the law against violence. Muslim lawyer: remove discrimination. Christian Activist: attention to rural areas.

Faisalabad (AsiaNews) - Provincial Minister for Women's Development, Tauqeer Fatima Bhutto has succeeded in establishing committees for the verification of the "effective implementation" of the law against violence against women in the workplace. Thanks to her, in Sindh, there are committees in each of the 25 departments and eight districts that divide the province. However, in spite of increased attention to legislation, there are still many cases of violence and discrimination against the women, especially among the poorest in urban areas and countryside.

In Pakistan the effects are still being felt of celebrations for International Women's Day - celebrated on 8 March - with the renewed commitment of Christians, associations and human rights activists who promote their full and real "equal rights".

In recent days in Faisalabad a seminar was held entitled "Empowering women - for a stronger society," with the aim to mobilize the women of Pakistan, for a better understanding of the rights and remedies. The Christian and Muslim promoters say increasing their power and presence in the social, political, legal and economic sphere will contribute to the development of the nation. The seminar launch was marked with a documentary, in which a young woman named Mukhtaran Mai spoke of her experience of being raped and her efforts to overcome the trauma: a moment of "inspiration" for women in the audience.

Afterwards, a professional theater company staged a show drawing from concrete examples and facts of everyday life, where violations and abuse occur against mothers, sisters, daughters in the name of the sexist and patriarchal society of Pakistan. Because theater too, the actors say, can be a means to achieve an "end of discrimination against women".

The Christian activist Mary Roze denounces "discriminatory practices" which have been occurring "for years in rural areas", including honor killings (Karo-Kari in the local language), forced marriages and the exchange of women to settle economic issues of land. The Muslim lawyer Sindhu Uzma emphasizes the "positive contributions" provided by women in various aspects and sectors of life and hopes in the cancellation of "all discriminatory laws." Rai Naveed Bhatti, High Court lawyer, spoke of the issue of women's rights in the legislative and institutional framework of Pakistan. Finally, gynecologist Dr. Rubina, a Muslim, said that "the discovery of their abilities," allows women to "revolutionize society" and the time has come to fight against "all stereotypes, to bring real progress and prosperity. "

 

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