Harassment-free Work Environment For Women Stressed

Punjab Secretary Labour and Human Resources Dr Farah Masood has emphasised the need for educating girls, setting up training-cum-work centres for women and girls and sorting out their problems regarding their commuting from home to workplace

SIALKOT, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Dec, 2017 ) :Punjab Secretary Labour and Human Resources Dr Farah Masood has emphasised the need for educating girls, setting up training-cum-work centres for women and girls and sorting out their problems regarding their commuting from home to workplace.

She advised the employers to respect rights of women and protect them from every sort of infringement, to pay fair wages to them, to provide them with free of harassment work environment and to instill in them the passion to do something constructive for society.

She was addressing a ceremony, organised by Baidari Sialkot here with the support of UN Women country office Islamabad. Chief executive officers (CEOs) of 16 companies -- 13 from Sialkot, two from Faisalabad and one from Lahore -- signed the statement of support for Women Empowerment Principles, developed by the UN Women and UN Global Compact.

She said that popular attitude aiming at promoting gender inequality and mass mindset to promote male dominance as the major impediments thwarting the process of women empowerment in the country.

Dr Farah emphasised that toils of the working women should not be undermined, instead they must be valued and respected by all in society, state and businesses.

Addressing the ceremony, Ms Sangeeta Thapa, Deputy Country Representative UN Women in Pakistan, said that Pakistan is ranking intolerably high in global gender inequality index and female participation in labour has just touched the figure of 24.6 per cent.

Women workforce from the mainstream economic developing process is causing the seriously slow pace of GDP growth rate in the country, she said. Prof Arshad Mehmood Mirza, Executive Director Baidari, while addressing the ceremony, said that his organisation was making continuous efforts to build knowledge of the home-based /domestic women workers about their basic rights.

Ms Hina Noureen, president Baidari, told the audience that the NGO was supporting the government in a big way by providing healthcare facilities to women, providing them with access to income generation spaces and options, getting the women registered as voters and enabling them to act as members of vigilant citizenry.

Messum Abbass, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Sialkot, Ijaz Khokhar, Ex-Chairman PREGMEA, Hassan Saleem Awan, Zaigham A Mazhar, Director Labour and HR, also spoke on the occasion.