Representatives of Civil Society Organisation (CSOs) have demanded the political parties to accommodate maximum women on assembly seats and party offices. The demand was made by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Working Group (KP-CSWG) during a meeting here. The working group meeting was represented Blue Veins, Legal Aid & Awareness Services (LAAS), Khwendo Kor, Noor Education Trust, Takra Qabailee Khwendy, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Human Rights Committee of Pakistan (HRCPak), POHA, TNC, Khor, ICDI, PCSN, All Pakistan Minority Council (APMC). Prominent among the participants were Qamar Naseem, Rakhshinda Naaz, Taimoor Kamal, Radish Tony Singh, Shahidullah Jan, etc.
"We as the members of Pakistan's Civil Society urge political parties across the board to respect and ensure minimum human rights standards and recommendations/demands set forth in this charter. We hope these recommendations will inform the future campaign efforts of the political parties and be part of their policy formulation and implementation efforts," a joint statement issued by the working group after a meeting at Peshawar Press Club on Friday.
It was stated that the working group was struggling for democratic development, setting and protecting fundamental human rights and dignity. The working group asked for increase in the representation of women party workers as well as promotes their role in decision making. Women should make up at least 30 percent of all party offices.
The CS WG in its charter of demands and stressed the need for development, implementation of an effective gender policy to counter discrimination, violence against women as well as empower women with financial resources and livelihood programmes.
The political parties were asked to recognize and devise policies to ensure social protection for women workers in the informal sector, with emphasis on women and girls and women engaged as home based workers. Besides, the government and parties were asked to introduce and implement legal requirements for equal wage for men and women. Gender equality should be institutionalised within the party structures, processes and practices.
A gender audit on yearly basis should be implemented for self-assessment of parties. Support and adopt laws with holistic framework of protection and development of children, with clear definitions and punishments for child sexual abuse and exploitation of children.
Support establishment of effective monitoring system for reporting cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation accompanied with detailed investigation and effective prosecution of culprits. Support establishment of provincial child rights commissions with adequate budget and powers to deliver its mandate. The CSOs/NGOs said it suggested should be invited to formulate a new regulatory framework for non-governmental/ social sector, moreover NGOs must be provided an enabling environment to carry out their work.