This has been an appreciated move by the Government. Ms Maliha Zia, the second author of the report, said that although a number of pro-women laws were passed from the year 2009 to 2012 including Protection against Harassment at the Workplace Act 2010 and three amendments in Criminal Law during 20 which focus on harassment against women customary practices including deprivation of inheritance, forced marriages, exchange of women in settlement of cases, marriage of women to the Quran and acid crimes. This report mentions the challenges of earthquake, poverty, political instability, issue of IDPs while having impact on the efforts of government to fulfill its obligation of the DEDAW Convention. Ms Riffat But, one of the author, said that 4th report covers the period from 2005-2009, Ministry of Women Development prepared but it was submitted by the M/o HR in 2011. He expressed strong disapproval that the M/o HR even didn’t bother to make its report public, and demanded that the government shall urgently make it public and seek response and opinion from concerned quarters and women’s rights organization. He also criticized the government and the Ministry of Human Rights that didn’t consult the civil society and other concerned quarters while it was preparing the government’s CEDAW report for the UN. An examination of these responses reveals that the major impediments to gender equality and the elimination of discrimination are an ambivalent political will on the part of the State, and resultantly its institutions the absence of a firm commitment to the inherent principles and a reluctance to own the State’s obligations under the CEDAW Convention. The report, technically called ‘NGO Alternative Report on CEDAW’, attempts to examine the response of the Government of Pakistan to concerns expressed in the observations of the CEDAW Committee on the earlier Country Report in 2007.
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Mr Naeem Mirza, Chief Operating Officer of Aurat Foundation, while elaborating the process of producing the NGOs alternative CEDAW report, said that Aurat Foundation has been preparing the shadow report on CEDAW for a couple of years. As a result, there remain numerous issues for women, resulting in de facto and de jure discrimination against them, which are either ignored by the Government, or are not sufficiently dealt with. The agenda for eliminating all forms of discrimination against women failed once again to make its place in the priority list of the Government. The various attempts made by the Government to improve the legal, socio-economic and political status of women are commendable, but they are few in number and have proven not to be very effective. Ms Tahira Abdullah, one of the four contributors, who wrote separate chapters, was the Guest Speaker. Ms Maliha Zia and Ms Riffat Butt, authors of the report presented main findings of the report. Ms Anis Haroon, Member, Board of Governors, Aurat Foundation, presided over the ceremony.
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Ms Lena Lindberg, Country Director, UN Women -Pakistan participated as the Guest of Honour.
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Activity title: Launching NGO Alternative Report on CEDAW – 2012, and National Women’s Assembly.Īurat Foundation organized the launching ceremony of Pakistan NGO Alternative Report on CEDAW – 2012, on Thursday, December 13, 2012, at Islamabad Hotel.