Karachi: Sindh Commission on Satatus of Women (SCSW)-Women Development Department, Pathfinder International and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) held session as part of series of events being held in Sindh, Pakistan and globally in light of 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women and Girls.

Campaign kicked off on November 25 and would run till December 10. Nuzhat Shirin Chairperson SCSW, Bayramgul Garabayeva Head of Office UNFPA Sindh and Dr. Zaib Dahar senior Technical Advisor Pathfinder International addressed. Minister for Women Development Shehla Raza and Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Coastal Development Muhammad Ismail Rahoo joined event. Shehla Raza highlighted need to build climate resilient infrastructure to protect women from Gender Based Violence (GBV) particularly in times of crisis.

She highlighted legislation done in Sindh and called for change of collective behaviour in society for extending support to victims of abuse and violence. She cited case being fought by Mehdi Kazmi to seek justice for her daughter. Ismail Rahoo emphasised upon economic empowerment of women and protection of their livelihoods to make them less vulnerable to GBV. Veerji Kohli, Special Assistant to CM Anjum Iqbal Jumani, Secretary WDD Imdad Hussain Siddiqui, Director Operations PDMA Dr. Waqar Memon, Director MIS Department of Health Behzad Amin Memon, Director Monitoring and Evaluation, Planning and Development Department Renuka Swami, Programme Analyst UNFPA Shanzae Asif and Programme Manager Legal Aid Society addressed. Panel discussion was followed by an interactive question and answer session, in which members of transgender community raised their concerns over creating more inclusivity in such dialogues. 

Pathfinder International, UNFPA and Women Development Department Sindh lit up Sindh Assembly Building and Teen Talwar Monument with orange colour to bring attention to cause of activism against gender-based violence. With support of Sindh government civil society will continue to raise awareness and sensitivity for this cause of next two weeks as part of global campaign.

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 02 2022

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