Demand for Women's Rights Boosts at Karachi Seminar

At a Karachi seminar, the Home-Based Women Workers Federation called for an end to discriminatory laws and gender violence in Pakistan. Activists, including HRCP Chairman Asad Iqbal Butt, urged the establishment of workplace anti-harassment committees and the approval of ILO Convention 190 to improve women's rights.

In a spirited seminar at the Karachi Press Club on Sunday, the Home-Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF) emphatically demanded the revocation of discriminatory laws and an end to violence against women in Pakistan. The event, covered by The Dawn, coincided with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and was aptly titled 'Women's resistance knows no borders'.

Chaired by Asad Iqbal Butt, Chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), the seminar gathered a diverse array of political, social, and rights activists. Attendees pushed for the establishment of anti-harassment committees in workplaces, the expedited return of missing persons, restoration of democratic rights including freedom of expression, and urged Pakistan to ratify ILO Convention 190.

Nasir Mansoor of the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) provided a stark reminder of the challenges women face, despite the 2010 workplace harassment law. He pointed out judicial delays and societal pressures as barriers to justice, highlighting Pakistan's troubling statistic as the sixth most dangerous country for women according to the Global Gender Gap Index 2018. Mansoor revealed distressing statistics about harassment and violence faced by women workers and the broader impact on families affected by enforced disappearances.

(With inputs from agencies.)