Women to get representation in employment commission
ISLAMABAD: PPP MNA Farzana Raja has said women will get significant representation in the upcoming job openings to be filled through the National Employment Commission (NEC).
She said this while addressing a seminar on “Role of Parliament in Elimination of Discriminatory Laws Against Women”, organised by the Women in Media Association, here at the South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) on Monday night.
Farzana said the PPP government would ensure proper representation of women at all forums, including the legislative institution, as it was committed to carry forward the vision of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto to empower women and protect their rights.
She said their party had also ensured the election of active political women workers from grassroots to the reserved National Assembly seats as they could understand the problems of their folk more comprehensively.
“Our leader Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was in favour of repealing the discriminatory Hudood Ordinance during her both tenures as prime minister but, unfortunately, our party lacked the required majority or support in the upper house (Senate),” the MNA recalled.
She said Benazir Bhutto was pretty sensitive about the women issues and that was why she, despite political opposition to the dictator, General Pervez Musharraf, had directed the PPP legislators to support the Women Protection Bill tabled by the PML-Q government in parliament. Speaking on the occasion, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi ensured his and party colleagues’ unconditional support to any bill to be tabled before the National Assembly for legislation for protection, development and empowerment of women-folk in the country.
Former women affairs minister Nilofer Bakhtiar, in her address, confessed that the Women Protection Bill, legislated by the previous government, had serious flaws, which were not determined or amended despite the demand of socio-political stakeholders.
“Actually, the bill, unfortunately prepared at my ministry, was based on the Women Commission’s report and I myself had raised objections to it but those were not quashed,” she said. “And when it was tabled, I had already left the ministry due to certain reasons,” she added. Nilofer proposed amendments in the Political Parties Act to bind political parties to nominate the working-class women on the reserved seats.
Source: The News
Date:9/24/2008
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