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| Govt urged to address women issues in development agenda
F.P. Report |
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| ISLAMABAD: A discussion forum on Thursday observed that the state policies towards women should address their broader social-economic aspects in larger context.
It also demanded a briefing of parliamentary committee involving concerned government departments should be held so that the government policies could take into account women’s concerns in the development agenda of the country.
Special advisor to the Prime Minister on social sectors, Shahnaz Wazir Ali observed this while giving presidential address in the launch of policy and research findings of a recently conducted research study on “Women’s Land Rights” by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here on Thursday.
Shahnaz Wazir Ali lamented that government policies in the past have been very weak in terms of addressing women’s structural concerns adding that the focus of all policies have been on financial approaches alone while ignoring the broader social aspects.
She appreciated SDPI study and termed some of its findings regarding male’s perception about women, Pardah and fragmented distribution of land as myth breaking. She also recommended land record keeping/documentation system, formation of land courts, national identity cards for women and land redistribution.
Chairperson, SDPI board of governors, H.U Beg while giving his opening remarks urged the strong need for a fair system of land distribution and ownership where women of Pakistan get their due share of land and enjoy an unhindered right of control and management of their land.
Secretary, Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan, Dr Faqir Hussain laid stress on enforcement of inheritance law adding that such an improved mechanism can be useful for the full and effective enforcement of female right to inheritance.
Aqsa Khan of Actionaid Pakistan and executive director of ASR, Nighat Saeed Khan also spoke on the occasion.
Earlier, SDPI visiting research fellow, Dr Saba Gul Khattak gave a brief presentation on the key findings and recommendations of SDPI study adding that we believe that there are windows of opportunity, gaps and spaces that can be utilized effectively by the state, the parliament, the judiciary, and development practitioners to push for women’s rights to land.
The research study has been jointly funded by Actionaid-Pakistan, International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
The study has been jointly conducted and presented by Dr Saba Gul Khattak, Nazish Brohi, Ahmad Salim and Wajiha Anwar. |
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