International Day for elimination of Violence against Women observed

Like other parts of the world, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women was observed here on Friday with a renewed pledge to keep working for the empowerment of women, as it would not only eliminate negative tendencies against women but also give them their due status.
To mark the day, different civil society organisations and departments held seminars, conferences, walks, rallies and functions to highlight the plight of those women who are victims of violence. Speakers in these functions said that introduction of political, legislative and economic reforms are a key to creating conditions essential for empowerment and emancipation of womenfolk.
According to representatives of different NGOs, the growing incidents of violence against women are a blemish on the face of society, as they seriously hamper the efforts for empowerment women and gender equality in Pakistan. They said serious, urgent and concrete efforts are needed at every level to end the abuse of girls and women. Women not only in Pakistan but around the world are subject to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence, and the scale and true nature of the issue is often hidden, they added.
One Million Signature Campaign has been launched to celebrate White Ribbon Day, internationally marked for the eradication of violence against women to express solidarity with the women who are victims of violence in any form and to show men's pledge to end violence against women.
Talking to reporters, Country Director of White Ribbon Campaign Pakistan Omer Aftab said that to stop violence against women, it is not sufficient to create awareness about women rights among women but it is necessary that men join with women to encourage norms of consent, respect and gender equality to challenge the unfair power relations, which leads to violence, and promote gender roles based on non-violence and gender justice.
Omer further announced the launch of nation-wide journalists' engagement programme on gender sensitisation and violence against women and establishing White Ribbon Media Alumni. White Ribbon Campaign Pakistan - WRCP is a project of Women's Empowerment Group and Vision 2015, working with men and boys to eradicate women's human rights violations.
Talking to different delegations of women workers, the provincial Minister for Labour Ehsaan-ud-Din Qureshi said that provincial government is working for women empowerment and to protect their rights. He said that labour officers have been directed to ensure the implementation of labour laws especially for the protection of female worker's rights and no one should be influenced by anybody in this regard.
He directed for ensuring the timely payment of minimum wages ie Rs 7000/- per month by the employers, provision of safe atmosphere at working places of women, elimination of gender discrimination for the provision of facilities and working rights, maternity leave, pension & old age benefits, social security rights and provision of educational as well as marriage grant.
Ehsaan-ud-Din Qureshi issued instructions to the departmental officers to adopt measures to prevent and combat child labour as well as to protect bonded female labour and to protect their family rights. He said that Punjab government is implementing various projects for providing modern education to labourer's children and residential facilities to them.
In order to establish peaceful society and economic prosperity, it is necessary to eliminate the child labour and provide modern education to the children of all segments of society so that the young generation should become the useful citizens of the society, he added.