ISLAMABAD-Speakers at a gathering on Thursday urged the government to formulate gender responsive policies to meet the challenges posed by climate change.
The speakers addressing the rural women representing over 120 districts of the country present at Lok Virsa to attend three-day Annual Rural Women Conference here urged the government to formulate gender responsive policies so that the issue of climate change could be addressed.
The 15th Annual Rural Women Conference was organised by the Potohar Organization for Development Advocacy (PODA-Pakistan) with a focus on “Rural Women’s Leadership in Disaster Risk Reduction and Good Governance.” It is pertinent to mention here that since 2008, PODA-Pakistan has been playing central role to organise the conference in connection with the International Rural Women Day that is celebrated every year on 15th October following a United Nation’s Resolution (A/62/2007) passed in December 2007. PODA is a social organization working for the social, economic and political rights of rural women since 2004. Starting Thursday, the conference will conclude on Saturday on award ceremony.
During the second half of the day, Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning and Development informed the audience that in the month of November, Pakistan is planning to hold an international donor conference to get resources to expedite the reconstruction work in flood-hit areas of the country as it is beyond the available resources. He also said that Pakistan bore the brunt of careless lifestyle of the Western countries due to which Pakistan has been among the countries who would be impacted severely by climate change.
He also applauded the role of the civil society for playing their role in rehabilitation process. He assured the audience that gender perspective would be included in the rehabilitation plan.
Primary partners of the conference are: European Union Delegation to Pakistan, Election Commission of Pakistan, National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), Lok Virsa, National Endowment for Democracy.
Addressing the rural women representing four provinces and regions of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, Federal Minister for Human Rights Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada said that we belonged to a society where women were respected, however, due to growing intolerance and various other factors, he would be presenting anti-domestic violence bill in the National Assembly.
Reiterating European Union Delegation to Pakistan’s commitment to support women’s rights and empowerment, Sven Ruesch, Director Programmes, European Union Delegation to Pakistan, “85% of all new EU programmes will have a strong focus on contributing to improve gender-equality.” He said, “Overall women’s participation in decision-making process at home and community level is low. If we want this to change, your voices need to be heard loud and clear to claim your rights but also get a fair share of the wealth.” He said that violence against women is high at places where poverty is high.
Welcoming the rural women and lauding the effort of PODA-Pakistan to organise the conference in the times of floods and political turmoil, Mrs. Nilofer Bakhtiar, Chairperson National Commission on the Status of Women highlighted the miseries of the women of flood-hit areas, especially of Sindh where flood waters would take months to recede. She stressed upon the need to empower and support rural women to build their resilience to reverse the impacts of natural calamities in an effective manner.
Dr. Shahida Rehmani, MNA and Secretary Women Parliamentary Caucus (WPC) and Dr. Zarina Salamat, Chairperson, PODA highlighted the need to recognize the role of rural women while acknowledging their diverse and impactful roles and contributions in the society.
Welcoming the participants, Reema Aftab, Director General, Inclusive Registration NADRA said CNIC is primary and basic requirement for women to play their role in the society to access social benefits and their rights.
Various speakers and participants of the conference highlighted the need to take special care of children’s health and educational needs, as these issues tend to be ignored when such emergencies occur in a country.
Rural women leaders representing four provinces and regions of AJK and GB addressed the audience and reiterated their commitment to work for the rights of rural women through the platform provided by PODA-Pakistan. They included Bushra Tabbasum, Director SEEP, Muzzafarabad from Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Ms. Jamaite Baloch, Educationist from Lasbella, Baluchistan, Ms. Shirin Akhtar from Gilgit-Baltistan, Gulshan Bibi, South Waziristan, Kyber Pakhtunkhwa, Veeru Kohlan, Hyderabad, Sindh is working relentlessly to free bonded haris for the last more than two decades, and last but not the least Rani Shamim Akhtar, Nankana Sahib, Punjab who warmed the audience with her songs in Punjabi.