Staff Reporter
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday said that empowerment of women socially and economically was the dream of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and her same guidelines are being followed by the Sindh government for the development of women. He said this while speaking at a program organized to mark National Women Day by the Sindh Commission on Status of Women (SCSW), at a local hotel. Sindh Minister for Women Development Syeda Shahla Raza, Sindh Commission for Women chairperson Nuzhat Shirin, Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Shalwani were also present on the occasion. The chief minister congratulated the winners of the Life Achievement Award on the occasion. Syed Murad Ali Shah said that women are an important part of our society and the Sindh governmenthas taken significant steps for empowerment of women. Besides enacting laws, effective policies have also been prepared to protect the rights of working women include the home based womenworkers, he said. The chief minister said that empowerment of women is imperative for development and prosperity of the nation and the country. Earlier, prominent women include Mehnaz Bibi, Kosar Israan, Sheela, Mariyum Majeedi and Shahida were awarded life time achievement awards on their valuable services in their respective fields. It is pertinent to mention here that the draft of the Sindh Women Agricultural Workers Bill 2019, which aims at empowering the women of the rural swathes of the province and improving their social security, was approved in Septemberlast year by the Sindh cabinet. If the act was to go through, Sindh would set an important precedent in South Asia in terms of women’s labor rights and gender equality. Being subject to bonded labor, forced marriage and forced conversions, women and girls in Sindh are particularly vulnerable to human rights violations, which are widespread in the region due to Pakistan’s repressive policy towards ethnic and religious minorities.
