Saba Javed

The ministry of planning and development has launched a campaign against gender-based violence (GBV) in connection with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to help ensure socioeconomic empowerment of women. The ministry in collaboration with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is running a campaign in educational institutes of Rawalpindi and Islamabad in this regard. Moreover, the ministry has also set up a gender unit. The campaign runs until December 10, coinciding with Human Rights Day.

Women’s participation in the development process is weak in Pakistan, and this campaign and the gender unit would help the country in its efforts to ensure women’s socioeconomic wellbeing. Women face discrimination in health, education, political representation and employment, adversely affecting their capacity to grow. Nayaz Ali Khan, an official of the ministry of planning and development, told WealthPK that the campaign aimed at eliminating gender disparity in society. “Women should be treated with respect in the workplace and educational institutions, encouraging them to be more active in national development.”   

He said general lack of work-friendly conditions for women is one of the key reasons for low women labour force participation and employment in the public sector. He said the Planning Commission had designated 2022 as the year of workplace respect for female employees. It is to mention here that Pakistan has one of the lowest rates of female workforce participation in South Asia. Women’s ability to enter and remain in the formal workforce is hampered by low educational levels, mobility issues and gender conventions. As a result, a sizable share of women is employed as home-based workers (HBWs) in the informal economy, according to the World Bank.

There are 3.6 million women out of 4.4 million HBWs in Pakistan, who have no access to markets, training and the majority of government services and workplace facilities. HBWs endure safety risks, lack rights and social safeguards, and have very little consideration in economic and labour regulations. In order to increase female labour force participation in Pakistan, a safety and health initiative is designed to fill legal coverage gaps pertaining to women employees in both the formal and informal sectors.

Addressing the launching ceremony of the campaign, planning and development minister Ahsan Iqbal highlighted the significance of women’s participation in the country’s development, saying that the development process of any country remains slow if women are not given equal opportunities. “Provision of a safe and conducive environment for women entrepreneurs is our national responsibility.

Our religion and constitution also guarantee the protection of women’s rights.” Speaking at the launch of the campaign, Secretary Planning Commission Syed Zafar Ali Shah said that the drive would help create awareness among the masses on how to eliminate the cases of violence against women. “Establishment of the gender unit at the ministry of planning and development shows the government’s resolve to empower women.”

Highlighting women’s contributions can be a strategy to make families and society aware of their critical role in maintaining the care economy and the well-being of women. In this respect, advocacy for formal recognition of women’s unpaid care work is an urgent need, he said. He said the glass ceiling is slowly breaking and women are taking charge of areas that were unthinkable a few years ago. He said it was critical to take steps to prevent gender-based violence, so women and girls were able to live with the freedom and security they deserved.

Nayaz Ali, the official of the ministry of planning and development, said women’s role was extremely important for the country’s economic growth. He said the government was trying to implement policies to ensure women’s increasing role in the national economy.   He said women should have access to resources, as well as the necessary skills, as their economic empowerment lowered economic poverty. He said since women made up 48.5% of the population, their economic contribution could have a significant impact on GDP.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk