Commission on Status of Women applauded

KARACHI:Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Shallwani said Wednesday that the city administration would provide all possible support to the Commission on Status of Women to achieve its objectives for social, economic, political and legal rights of women.

He appreciated the idea of establishing the Commission and said that it would help the commission to achieve the goals of the government initiative to provide women equal opportunities in society.

He said this while talking to a four-member delegation of the commission headed by chairperson Ms. Nuzhat Shirin who called on him. Coordinator of the Commission Sumbul Syed and member Nadim Shaikh were also accompanied the delegation

The meeting discussed various programmes to be organized by the commission with the cooperation and coordination of the city administration in the city

The Commissioner Karachi greatly appreciated this initiative and assured the Chairperson of his office’s full support. He also appreciated the idea of organizing programme being organized by the Commission for the celebration of Women Day to be held on February 12 in the city.

Shirin gave an overview of the work that the SCSW accomplished in its first year and shared the Commission’s newsletter with the commissioner Karachi.

She told the meeting that SCSW was going to hold a large-scale celebration of Sindh Commission on the Status of Women at Arts Council Karachi on 12th February 2019. This year, under the theme “Women’s Resistance Against Discrimination”, the event will not only be a remembrance of the historical women’s movement but will also open discussion on how far Sindh has come in achieving gender equality, the current struggles and challenges to equality, and how we can solve them.

The event will also feature women from different professional backgrounds and provide a platform for women to interact and learn from one another. An award ceremony for achievements across fields, including education, health, law, science and technology, banking, politics, women’s rights activism, performing arts and literature will be planned to celebrate accomplishments of senior women professionals and mid-career level professionals. It will also be an economic opportunity for small scale businesswomen to showcase their products and services, an opportunity for women’s rights organizations to showcase their work, and women artists to have a platform for performances. For this the Commission is arranging for stalls and an open mic set up.

Shirin also shared the research and SOPs developed on safe houses by the Commission, as per the orders of the High Court. She urged Commissioner Karachi to establish a model safe house for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in Karachi based on the SOPs developed by the SCSW. The SCSW will support the Commissioner’s office fully in this endeavor.

Sindh Commission’s delegation also emphasized on the need to improve women’s mobility in the city. To this end, Shirin suggested the running of dedicated buses on specific routes during work hours to improve the access of women to business centers of the city and the factories.