Govt Has Taken Many Initiatives For Women Empowerment: Official Document

The incumbent government has taken many initiatives to empower women and eliminate different forms of discrimination and violence against them in all its manifestations

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Jun, 2019 ) :The incumbent government has taken many initiatives to empower women and eliminate different forms of discrimination and violence against them in all its manifestations.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) also recognizes the importance of empowering women and stresses for achieving gender equality, empowering all women and girls, according to official document.

It said the government was fully cognizant of its constitutional responsibilities for protecting the rights of the women and had allocated resources in Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for promotion and protection of women through various initiatives.

According to the document, the Federal ombudsperson for protection of women against harassment at Workplace had been established and was functional at federal and provincial level.

Likewise, the Help-Line (1099) for legal advice on human rights violation was operational and had provided legal aid services to more than 5000 beneficiaries of human rights violation cases till the present.

In addition, the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), a continued social protection program of the government was providing social assistance to women.

The Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal had also established women empowerment centers/schools throughout the country including Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas to provide free training to widows, orphans and poor girls in different skills.

Domestic skills are also being imparted in these schools through Individual Financial Assistance (IFA) while the poor, widows, destitute women, orphans and disabled persons were being supported through general assistance, education, medical treatment and rehabilitation.

Meanwhile, the document added, the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) had prepared a comprehensive roadmap defining goals, priorities and strategies for empowerment of women with special focus on issues of home based and informal sector workers and their inclusion in the labour force.

The women entrepreneurship initiatives had been promoted by Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform by ensuring their participation through awareness seminars and workshops, pitch events, seed money grants and networking sessions under the project, it added.