ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), in collaboration with the European Union-funded Huqooq-e-Pakistan Project (HeP), is in the process of developing its Strategic Plan to establish the direction and structure of the Commission’s future activities, said the NCSW Chairperson Nilofar Bakhtiar on Thursday.
The NCSW Chairperson was speaking at a media consultation held on Thursday. She said that for this purpose, the Commission is holding consultations with stakeholders throughout the Country.
“These consultations are meant to gather a broad range of opinions to devise a pragmatic Strategic Plan for the Commission,” she said adding that the final document of the Strategic Plan would be launched by the end of October.
Presided over by the NCSW Chairperson Nilofar Bakhtiar and led by the senior expert from HeP Dr. Osama Siddique, the consultations engaged participants on their views on the state of women’s rights in Pakistan and their level of awareness of NCSW’s role, past performance and achievements.
The participants also held extensive discussions on NCSW’s functions and mission. Those who spoke on the occasion included Afshan Tehseen, Chairperson NCRC, Shunila Ruth, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony and chief guest of the event Munazza Hassan, General Secretary Women Parliamentary Caucus.
The NCSW Chairperson Nilofar Bakhtiar said that the “Commission is committed to representing the diverse voices of women across every district in Pakistan as we work towards realizing gender equality in the public and private spheres.” She said that opinions and recommendations coming out from these consultations would be taken into account while preparing the NCSW’s Strategic Plan and determining next steps for the Commission.
The Chairperson called for expediting cases against women in courts on priority basis adding that most of the time, women in jails are abandoned by families and have no one to pursue their cases actively.
Nilofar Bakhtiar said that women’s political and economic empowerment and violence against women are basic priority areas for NCSW. She said that the Commission is currently working on developing National Gender Data Portal.
As part of consultations, the Executive Director HeP Seema Jaffer held an interactive session on NCSW’s communications strategy in which participants shared their views on how to improve NCSW’s outreach and visibility.
Seema shared the communications material developed by HeP to raise awareness about women rights and legal protection provided under the constitution.
The details about Human Rights Resource Portal developed under the project was also shared with the participants.
