To acknowledge women's contribution in country's development, Ministry of Women Development, Social Welfare and Special Education on Saturday gave Fatima Jinnah Awards to 18 women for their contribution in their respective fields.
The Awards were conferred upon by the president of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf in a ceremony held here in connection with International Women's Day celebrations.
Begum Sehba Musharraf and Nilofar Bakhtiar, advisor to prime minister on women development were also present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Nilofar said government was striving hard for the social and economic empowerment of women in the country.
Nilofar said government's programme 'Women's Political Participation Project' (WP3) was meant for the political empowerment of women. Under this project, about 40,000 women councilors got an opportunity to play their role at union and tehsil levels.
She said under the projects 'Jafakash Aurat' and 'Hunermand Aurat', government had set up centers in all provinces to encourage women entrepreneurs.
She said ministry was working on increasing the number of crisis centers in all the provinces to provide legal assistance to the women in distress.
Also, separate women reporting centers have been set up at some police stations as pilot project, she added.
Nilofar said under the directives of president Pervez Musharraf, special committee had been set up for the welfare of the women in jails.
Soon, the Gender Reform Action Programme (GRAP) will be submitted to the cabinet which would open new gateways of opportunities for women in all the fields of life, she said.
She said distribution of Fatima Jinnah Awards is a step towards acknowledging women's services at national level as well as a tribute to Ms Jinnah for her tremendous contributions for Pakistan Movement.
A book titled 'Memories of Fatima Jinnah' written by Begum Surayya Khurshid was also launched on the occasion.
Later, Fatima Jinnah Awards in form of gold medals and certificates were given to the women for their services in different fields.
The list of Award winners includes Ayesha Begum for literacy promotion, Dr Tehsin Ghaus for higher education and research, Ayesha Kolachi for promotion of agricultural activities, Bibi Aman for agricultural promotion, Bas Khatam Jana for traditional trade, Sultana Bahadur as hardworking woman, Aamna Khan for drama production, Narjis Zaidi for journalism, Marjorie Hussain for fine arts, Farhat Rehman for voluntarily services, Dr Shaheen N. Khan for science, Farkhunda Iqbal for Women in Uniform (Police), Major Nusrat Bibi for Women in Uniform (Armed Forces), Imtiaz T. Kamal for medical services, Dr Farzana Suleman Puna Wala as courageous special woman, Saeeda Qazi Esa for Pakistan Movement, Perveen Sheikh as best woman councillor and Dr Mina Kumari as best student (dental colleges).