While addressing a seminar "Justice to Women in Pakistan" held here on Sunday at Aiwan-e-Iqbal he said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf became the only political party of the country to unveil its vision and action plan on empowering and providing justice to women. Imran Khan distributed special humanitarian awards to renowned women for their commendable efforts to improve the status of women in Pakistan.
Former Justice Nasira Javed Iqbal, Prof Saad Basher Malik, Seemi Raheel and a young girl from D G Khan, Rumaisa highlighted the major issues of discrimination and injustices that women of Pakistan face in education, health, legal and mental areas causing immense financial, emotional and psychological stress to women.
Former Justice Nasira Javed Iqbal highlighted the legal position of women in various sectors of life including the political and legal arena where the absence of proper legislation and its strict implementation has caused grave injustices to women. Dr Saad Bashir Malik further discussed the psychological traumas that women have to go through as a result of being singled out right from the time of their birth as being children of a lesser god and treated as a burden throughout their life.
Social worker and women's rights activist, Seemi Raheel spoke on the exploitation of women in the media and how all advertisements, dramas and news items constantly reinforce the image that women are only restricted to the role of looking good and having secondary value. Rumaisa, a student from D G Khan highlighted her plight of being a young girl trying to fulfil her dream of becoming a scientist in a remote village where schools are without teachers and classrooms are treated as stables for horses and cattle.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan in his address assured that when elected to power, PTI would take numerous steps towards the betterment of working women. Special loans for women entrepreneurs would be ensured. Transport facilities for women would be improved and day care centres will be established to make the lives of working women easier. Literacy in women would be prioritised and the budget would be increased five-fold from the current meagre levels of less than 2 percent. Literacy levels in Balochistan and NWFP will be addressed where the current literacy rate is 8 percent.
He said, "PTI would be the first political party to train women on psychological, legal and political issues and their handling". He further added that career counselling would be provided for female students in colleges and universities along with a 5 percent quota in jobs, which would be allocated to disabled women. Khan further pointed out that the unenviable status of women in the country is not just about eradicating the most conspicuous forms of injustice against women but one that is essentially linked to the economic and political character of the envisioned national future. He said that the relevant legislation by parliament hardly meets the enormity of the issue. Imran Khan said that the incidence of heinous crimes and injustices against women can only be controlled effectively in a polity where the state and society join hands to ensure that women enjoy equal citizenship without any discrimination which will be foremost on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's agenda once in power by the Grace of Allah.