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. "