ILO's Gender Equality Project Supports 11000 Disadvantaged Persons

ISLAMABAD, Nov 1 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 01st Nov, 2016 ) : Amid thundering applause from the audience, top fashion models of the country walked the ramp wearing impressive and skillfully designed attires here on Monday.

What was on the show was not the work of any established professional designer; instead it was the craft of the hardworking ladies who a couple of years ago had no know-how of the trained. But today they are skilled and trained enough to make a decent level and make an impression in the field of fashion designing.

These women had been trained under the International Labour Organisation's (ILO's) national project "Promoting Gender Equality for Decent Employment (GE4DE)" that started with the support of Canadian government six years ago in 2016.

The said event was organized to showcase the achievements of the project and mark its closing. The emotionally charged crowd was also treated to the enchanting voice of renowned singer Sara Raza Khan who sung a song especially composed and written for GE4DE.

The lyrics hinted at how lives of project beneficiaries had changed and how they had transformed into an asset from a liability. The event was an opportunity to disseminate the project results; good practices; approaches; and the lessons learnt, to a wider group of stakeholders and solicit their valuable inputs for future course of action.

The speakers and discussants weighed whether, after the completion of the project, Pakistani women had greater access to equal employment opportunities and decent working conditions in selected economic sectors.

They also explored how it had helped in increasing the understanding of stakeholders on working women's issues and developing their favourable attitudes towards these. The proceedings of the event had started with the screening of GE4DE documentary and welcome address by ILO Country Director Ingrid Christensen.

Talking to the audience, she said ILO promotes ending all types of discriminations and in particular Gender Equality in the world of work. She said ILO recognizes that this objective cannot be possible without joint efforts.

"We need support from international and national stakeholders as well as our development partners, UN agencies and other supporters. This was followed by statements from the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (MOPHRD), Employer Federation of Pakistan (EFP) and Pakistan Workers' Federation (PWF).

All three were the project partners who had worked hand in hand with ILO over these six challenging years and struggled together to meet project objectives. The MOPHRD statement highlighted the importance and impact of GE4DE project and acknowledged that the project supported over 11,000 women and men from disadvantaged backgrounds secure decent work.

Atia Raffat, Joint Secretary of the ministry said she had noticed that project assisted its constituents to establish and strengthen national mechanisms by mainstreaming gender in their systems policies, plans and programmes.

Gender units in all provincial departments of labour have now emerged as gender champions, enabling the provincial governments to draft new policies for the workers in the informal economies, she added.

Qazi Tanveer from PWF said he was very satisfied and happy to report that the federation under the cooperation of the ILO/GE4DE Project has been able to not only strengthen the women participation in the trade unions but have got them elected in the leadership roles also.

Daniel Joly, Head of Aid, High Commission of Canada in Pakistan appreciated the achievements of the project. He said it cannot be denied that increasing women's participation is a matter of democracy and social justice.

"But in addition, it is equally important to consider that "Equality is not a threat. It is an opportunity", as Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has rightfully affirmed." He said Canada has been working for development, hand in hand with Pakistan, since 1950s and will continue to do so.

Hordes of people could be seen at the kiosks set up to display garments/outfits, makeup products, edibles etc prepared by the GE4DE beneficiaries. Launch of ptv talk show "Zamana Mera Hay" and publication GE4DE success stories: A journey of thousands miles begins with a single step was another important feature of the event.

Renowned tv artist, celebrity and women rights' activist Sania Saeed was the host of the event. A large number of participants from different segments of society including representatives of provincial departments of labour; workers' and employers' organizations; parliamentarians; technical and vocational training providers; civil society organizations; law enforcing agencies; academia; media and research organizations attended the closing event.