ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: President Dr. Arif Alvi has said that Pakistan has made significant progress to empower women financially by providing them business loans on easy terms and conditions and making legislation to ensure their right to inheritance as well as protect them against harassment.
In his message on International Women’s Day being, the president said that empowerment of women has been the centre piece of all policies, plans and programmes of the present government.
The president said that we highlight our initiatives and achievements in relation to gender equality and equity at all International forums including UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Beijing platform for Action, Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
President Arif Alvi said that as a member state of the United Nations, Pakistan fully endorses the Charter of the United Nations which strives to promote and encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms without any discrimination of gender.
Dr. Arif Alvi said that the words of the Father of our Nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, are the guiding principle that “No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men”.
The president said that the Constitution of Pakistan also ensures fundamental rights and ample guarantees to women against all forms of discrimination, exploitation, marginalization, in addition to the right to equality, to grow and lead a healthy and prosperous life.
The president called upon the civil society organizations, NGOs, philanthropists, UN agencies, international partners, government and private departments and particularly the women themselves to come forward and play their crucial role to support government’s efforts to address gender disparities in Pakistan.
