WPB to promote true perception of Islam, Pakistan: Sumaira
By Bushra Rafique

ISLAMABAD—Minister for Women Development and Youth Affairs Sumaira Malik Monday said the passage of women’s rights protection bill, would help rectify the distorted perception about Islam and Pakistan in the West.
She was addressing a seminar held in connection with international day on elimination of violence against women by Oxfam here.
She said the WPB, as part of the government’s efforts for emancipation of women, would help restore the true prestige of womenfolk as per Islamic injunctions, saying the move would promote correct image of the country among the comity of nations.
She said the elements who were opposing and terming the bill “repugnant to Islamic values”, were misleading the people and would reap the results when their households would be giving votes against them.
She said that women were playing important role in every walk of life for national prosperity and the trend was to be boosted by providing them dignity, honour and social security which had been ensured in the wake of WPB.
She called upon the non-governmental organizations besides civil society to come forward and join hands with the government for women uplift to achieve prosperity and development of the country. “We had been tolerating injustice in the wake of flawed provisions of Hadood laws for the last 27 years, but now these had been rectified in the shape of women’s rights protection bill.”
Ms Malik said President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz were quite sincere to empower womenfolk for the national development, and the enhancement of women representation at national and local level spoke high volumes in this regard.
Barristor Muhammad Ali Saif, advisor to Minister Sumaira Malik, said the government was committed to providing security, honor and dignity to womenfolk to bring them into mainstream of development.