Islamabad(Urdu Times) : National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) with support of its partner UNFPA, hosted an event ‘Strengthening Provincial Commissions on the Status of Women and Building Synergies’ on July 12th 2023.

National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) with support of its partner UNFPA, hosted an event ‘Strengthening Provincial Commissions on the Status of Women and Building Synergies’ on July 12th 2023.

Provincial Commissions on the Status of Women (PCSWs) from every Province including Gilgit Baltistan & Azad Jammu & Kashmir participated. The major objective of the event was to share the experience and expertise of NCSW with the provinces for building synergies for effective coordination and further uptake in the provincial context as well as to promote collective advocacy on major areas including countering Gender Based Violence and Child Marriage, Political Party Manifestos, allocation of reserved seats for differently abled Women in the Boards of the National and Provincial Commissions on the Status of Women, Launching of Scooty Project and Day Care Centers at Public Universities and Public Hospitals, celebration of National and International Women Day with a collective vision and goals.

The National Media Fellowship program, Media Monitoring System and preparation of National Reports for CSW were special focus of discussion followed by group discussions with representatives of each Provincial Commission. The lessons learned by NCSW and challenges faced were shared for building way forward through collaboration.

NCSW’s legislative initiatives; standard operating procedures for complaints redressal, mapping of laws, monitoring mechanism for enforcement of pro women legislation and the Child Marriage Bill were discussed in detail.

The event was attended by Nilofar Bakhtiar, Chairperson NCSW; Khwaja Imran Raza, Secretary NCSW; Fauzia Shaheen, Chairperson Balchistan Commission on the Status of Women(online); Nuzhat Shirin, Chairperson Sindh Commission on the Status of Women; Rehana Khan, Chairperson State Commission on the Status of Women; Nabila Javed, Secretary Punjab Commission on the Status of Women; Amina Durrani, Program Director Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Commission on the Status of Women; Fida Hussain, Secretary Women Development Department Gilgit Baltistan.

Chairperson NCSW, Nilofar Bakhtiar, in her keynote speech spoke on the activities completed so far, including several provincial visits and coordination on projects & reports, and the future road map for building synergies with the Commissions. “It is my desire to see all the Provincial Commissions on the Status of Women flourish in Pakistan. This is only possible if we strengthen them through support, co-ordination and capacity building. Thank you to everyone who came to this very pertinent meeting!”

The event was concluded with the closing remarks by the Secretary NCSW Mr. Khwaja Imran Raza and a vote of thanks by the Chairperson NCSW, Nilofar Bakhtiar.