Senate body demands restructuring of Women Industry
By Asghar Ali Mubarak

ISLAMABAD—While expressing its concern over the plight of women in the country, Senate Standing Committee on Women Development has recommended complete restructuring and revamping of the Ministry of Women Development to make it more effective with regard to improving the lot of women who form nearly 51 per cent of the population in the country.
The Standing Committee met at the Parliament House on Monday under the Chairpersonship of Senator Tahira Latif, has also called for provision of the necessary financial and human resources to the Ministry to enable it contribute more substantially towards betterment of the female strata in the society especially their social, educational improvement and economic empowerment.
Senators Mrs. Razina Alam Khan, Mrs. Semeen Siddiqui, Mrs. Fauzia Fakhar-uz-Zaman, Mrs. Rukhsana Zuberi, Ms. Rubina Rauf and Nawab Muhammad Ayaz Khan Jogezai besides the Secretary Ministry of Women Development and senior officials of the Ministry attended the meeting. “We cannot afford to keep half of the population away from the mainstream and expect to move ahead on the ladder of development”, it observed.
The Committee resented delays in provision of development funds due to lengthy official procedures and underlined the need for doing away with the time-consuming and archaic rules and procedures.
It also directed the Ministry to expedite the recruitment process to fill the vacant posts in the Ministry with a view to overcoming staff shortage. The meeting further observed that the Government as well as the society must show zero tolerance for violence against women, which remains the bane of society and haunts the womenfolk hindering fuller development of their physical and mental capabilities. It stressed the need for greater skill development for opening more avenues of gainful employment for women, in addition to establishing more centers for distressed women particularly in the rural areas of the country.
Earlier, the meeting was given a presentation on Planning and Monitoring Cell being maintained by the Ministry of Women Development for implementation, monitoring and evaluation of existing Women Development Projects of the Ministry including Tawana Pakistan and Planning & Implementation of new plans and projects on prioritized areas of National Plan of Action and other women development related issues. It was informed that the Ministry was striving for promotion of collaboration with provincial women development departments, private and corporate sector for implementation of programmed of women development.