‘System enslaves women’
HYDERABAD, March 8: International Women’s Day was observed across Sindh by different women and social welfare organizations with great enthusiasm on Saturday.
The speakers condemned the excesses being committed against women throughout the country and demanded that special laws should be legislated to protect the inherent rights of more than 50 per cent population of Pakistan.
Parbhat Women Development Society organised a seminar at the press club to mark the day.
Speaking on the occasion, justice (retd) Majida Rizvi said in the present age, great awareness had been created among women about their rights but they will have to launch a consistent struggle to achieve these rights.
She said women were still slaves of the system which they have to change through their struggle.
She pointed out that education was the key for women to break the shackles and called upon women to get their children specially their daughters educated.
Jagirdari (feudal system) was a great hurdle in the liberation of women she said while adding that in India, this system had been abolished and that’s why Indian women were far ahead than Pakistani women in every field of life.
PPP leader and former MPA Ms Humera Alwani in her speech proposed that the International Women’s Day should be named after Shaheed Benazir Bhutto as throughout her life she struggled for the rights of people specially women for democracy.
Veteran leftist leader Jam Saqi said woman possessed more power of resistance and tolerance and she was not inferior to her counterpart.
He said Islam had also given equal rights to women but these rights had been denied by the male dominated society.The others who spoke on the occasion included Mohammad Khan Jamali, Ms Sehar Rizvi, Ms Nasreen Shakeel Pathan, Wahab Pindrani and others.
The gathering adopted several resolutions demanding special legislation against karo-kari and other crimes against women.
It demanded ban on young age marriages, abolition of feudal and jirga system.
It further demanded that the murder case of Benazir Bhutto should be transferred to UN experts for investigation.
Meanwhile the activists of “Organisation for Social Awareness and Development” and “Trust for Peace and Development” held demonstrations outside the press club to mark the day.
A function was also held at the office of ILO which was presided over by the district officer education and literacy, Mohammad Siddique Ghori.
DEMO: The activists of Sindhi Shagird Tehrik staged a protest demonstration outside Hyderabad press club against the proposed establishment of a girls’ medical college on the premises of Hyderabad public school.
Speaking on the occasion, SST leaders Kamran Lakho, Ghulam Mustafa Hingorjo, and others said that the proposal to establish the girls’ medical college on the premises of the historic public school building was a conspiracy to deprive the rural population of their right to education.
They said that Hyderabad already had a medical university therefore medical college should be established in the backward areas of Badin or Thatta.
Source: Dawn
Date:3/9/2008
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