Minister asks women to dial Helpline 1094 anytime to register their complaints

KARACHI – Sindh Minister for Women Development Syeda Shehla Raza said here on Thursday that the helpline 1094 was functional round the clock to receive complaints from women. Addressing a function, organized by the Department of Women Development in collaboration with Pathfinder for the promotion of “Gender-Based Violence Helpline 1094”, she urged the media to create awareness in people about the issues women are facing these days.

She further said that the Sindh government had enacted several laws to ensure protection of women’s rights, adding these laws had also been appreciated globally.

Syeda Shehla Raza said that under the Constitution, there should be 10 percent representation of women in the police department, but unfortunately a very few women were in the Force these days. “In this regard, women need to be encouraged,” she stressed. The provincial minister further said that her ministry was in touch with various mobile services to provide more information to the people about 1094 through SMS. Shehla said that since there was still room for further improvement in the legal aid system, eminent lawyers had been hired by the Women Complaint Centers for the purpose.

She said that women were playing a key role in the development of Pakistan. “The role of women in judiciary, lawmaking and administration is commendable,” she said, and added, “Women in Pakistan have all the opportunities to excel in different spheres of life.”

She further said that the Sindh government had launched several programmes under the Women Development Department to encourage skilled women, which, she said, was making it easier for them to access the markets.

“In addition, the department is working day and night to provide legal assistance to women suffering from domestic violence, workplace harassment and other issues,” Shehla said, and added, “In addition, Women Development Department is also taking steps to make women economically empowered through provision of jobs.”

Responding to questions from media persons, the provincial minister said that it had been observed in cases of forced marriages that most of the affected women gave statements in court in the favor of their husbands.

Responding to a question on child marriages, she said that in such cases, the victim was kept in Darul Aman till she became an adult with the permission of the court.

The Sindh minister said that women’s rights were very clearly laid down in the holy Quran and Hadith. “Women are treated with respect in an Islamic society as relationships of mother, sister and wife are considered sacred here,” she elaborated.

Leader of Opposition in Sindh Assembly Firdous Shamim Naqvi, MPA Miss Magla Sharma, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Sindh on Human Rights Veer G. Kohli, Secretary Women Development Department Alia Shahid, Country Director Pathfinder Dr Tabanda Soroush, Chairperson Sindh Commission on the Status of Women Nuzhat Shirin and others also addressed the event.

Newspaper: The Nation