Domestic violence, gender discrimination alarming issues

MULTAN: Domestic violence and gender discrimination are alarming issues not only in the country but across the world, said Provincial Minister for Women Development Ashifa Riaz Fatayana.

Addressing a ceremony held at Mattitul campus of Women University in connection with Dukhtaraan-i-Pakistan vision 2020-21 here on Monday, Ms Asifa said these problems led to violate their rights besides restricting women role.

She said women access to justice would play a key role to prosperous Pakistan adding that constitution of the country guaranteed them equal rights with men.

"Laws for women rights are very much there in the country. What we need is to sensitize them of these laws and ensue implementation," the minister noted.

Articles 8, 24,25, 27 34 are part of the Constitution of Pakistan which are directly related to women's rights, she said and added that Punjab government was taking practical steps to include women in national development progress.

Pakistan has made headways in improving laws of women rights including laws against forced marriages, honour killing, acid throwing, harassment against women at workplaces, etc. Ms Fatayana explained. She said Islam gives rights to women 1,400 years back.

Women will have to take active part to make Clean and Green Punjab campaign a success. In her address, Women University VC, Dr Uzma Quraishi spoke about different projects being executed in women university.

She said women development department and the varsity was signing an MoU under which students would be imparted different training. Dean of Social Sciences Dr Asmat Naz, Chairman Positive Pakistan, Abid Iqbal, president Umair Raza and a large of students and faculty members attended the ceremony.

Cotton crop: Prime Minister Imran Khan has taken significant decisions on rehabilitation of cotton crop 2020 in an effort to promote and boost the crop and bring increase in per acre yield. Talking to journalists here, Punjab Agriculture Secretary Wasif Khurshid said that a meeting was held in chair with Prime Minister Imran Khan, which had devised a strategy for a bright future of cotton crop. He said that the meeting had decided reorganisation of the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee to improve the standards of research and bringing reforms in the seed sector. The meeting had finalised a strategy, giving PCCC complete autonomy to run affairs with effective representation of the private sector in the PCCC, he said, adding that the government had decided to create an endowment fund for PCCC, making it more independent in financial matters and effective.

Wasif Khurshid said that all these measures would help increase per acre yield. He said that the government had constituted a special committee to establish an attractive indicative price of cotton. The price committee would submit its recommendations before the commencement of cotton season 2020, he added.

The provincial agriculture secretary said that increase in production and prosperity of growers was a priority of the government. He said that decrease in cost of production, particularly cotton crop, is the base of Punjab government policy. The Punjab government was providing resources despite financial constraints, he added.

He said that the Punjab government was compensating financial losses of farmers under Beema Takaful scheme while Kabirwala and Rajanpur farmers had been compensated last month.