Rights of women, girls top priority of government: Pervaiz Rashid

Islamabad
Promoting and preserving rights of girls and women are the government's top most priority and "we shall strongly endeavour for their empowerment and development," said Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage, Law, Justice and Human Rights Senator Pervez Rashid while launching Plan International's 'State of the Girls Report -- The Unfinished Business of Girls' Rights' on the occasion of International Day of the Girl Child, says a press release.
Eulogising the government efforts, the minister said, "The government through 25-A is ensuring access to primary education for every girl to promote education, especially in the poorer and under-developed districts and it is its top most priority under Education Sector Reform Programme (ESRP), Chief Minister's Reforms Roadmap, Pakistan Education Fund (PEF), Pakistan Educational Endowment Fund (PEEF), National Plan of Action for Education for All (EFA), and initiating new schooling projects like Daanish Schools and home schools facilitated by NCHD are some of the eminent measures that it purports to serve the cause. However, we still have a long way to go in implementing 25A in letter and spirit." Though all the provincial governments has promulgated free and compulsory acts in compliance with the constitutional requirements but we need to ensure all school going children especially the girls to schools.
The minister further added "Under the Constitution of Pakistan (1973), the government is responsible for protecting the rights of women and children. We are committed to fulfil the rights of children and to create an enabling environment where girls and boys have equal opportunities to achieve their full potential. We acknowledge that Pakistan faces a number of challenges, and we have to work together to ensure the fulfilment of the rights of a child, with special focus on girls' rights through adequate resource distribution and awareness raising."
The minister later launched Plan's annual report 'Because I am a Girl' saying BIAAG is a good effort by Plan, both the campaign and the annual report provide concrete steps to put girls first.
Earlier, Rashid Javed, country director of Plan International in Pakistan, called upon the federal and provincial governments to invest more in girls' education, effective legislation to ban child marriages and to eradicate all sorts of discrimination and harmful practices against girls.
He called for the governments -- federal and provincial -- to increase investment in girls' education. "Though the federal and provincial governments are allocating more funds but still there is a dire need for further funding on girls education," the country director emphasised. "I appeal for the promulgation of Child Marriage Restraint Acts throughout the country to increase minimum age of marriage for girls to 18 years and ensure an adequate and reliable complaint mechanism is in place to ensure the laws are adhered to. The Sindh province has done it, others need to follow suit," he said.
Farzana Yaqub, AJK minister for social welfare and women's development, informed that her government is taking girls' rights seriously and launching many programmes to ensure girls' rights, including the enactment of child marriage act.