‘More centres to check violence against women to be set up in Punjab’

LAHORE: Minister for Social Welfare Syed Yawar Abbas Bukhari said that gender specialists would be appointed in Punjab on the lines of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. After Violence Against Women Centre (VAWC) Multan, more such centres will be set up in Lahore and Rawalpindi; he said this while addressing a ministerial level workshop here on Monday.

The workshop was organised to learn from each other’s experiences to prevent violence against women. Women MPAs and other prominent guests were also present in the workshop. Minister for Social Welfare Syed Yawar Abbas Bukhari represented the Punjab government while Minister for Labour & Culture Shaukat Yousafzai and Deputy Speaker Mahmood Jan represented Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government at the first-ever Learning Exchange Workshop of its kind held with the collaboration of the United Nations and Shirkat Gah.

Bukhari said that 6927 cases have been reported in the VAWC in Multan since 2017 where steps have been taken to provide all facilities to women under one roof. He said that for the first time in Punjab, shelter homes will be set up for the transgender community to make them useful members of society. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Deputy Speaker Mahmood Jan in his address said that the provincial assembly enacted record legislation on women.

It is heartening that Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are ready to increase cooperation on this front. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Labour and Culture Shaukat Yousafzai underlined the need to ensure that women get their legal rights and inheritance. “The desired goals can be achieved by implementing the laws,” observed KP minister. There should be more such workshops in Multan, Faisalabad and Peshawar, said Yousafzai.