'Efforts on to curb domestic violence against women'

The government is making all out efforts to curb domestic violence against women, a top official said here on Wednesday. Ministry of Women Development Secretary Sohail Safdar told a seminar the problem was broad-based and required complete co-operation from all stakeholders.
He said the absence of authentic data on violence-related cases involving women and gender-based crimes made it difficult to evolve more effective strategy.
However, the interior division and home departments in all provinces have been asked to update data and provide a fuller picture.
Referring to neighbouring India, he said the Lower House of the parliament had approved a law banishing domestic violence last month and it was now under discussion in the Upper House.
He said in Pakistan the Federal Cabinet last week approved rupees 480-million grant for programmes to tackle the problem of domestic violence, which was first time in the history of the country that a government has taken the matter seriously.
Sohail Safdar said the Ministry of Women Development has already set up 10 shelter homes while 10 more would be set up in the current year. The centres were providing consolation and legal aid to distressed women.
An amount of rupees 100 million is being spent on legal aid to the victimised women. Pakistan, for the first time, plans to arrange a regional conference on violence against women, which shows the government is seriously committed eliminating domestic violence.
The official said in June 2004 the European Union under its Micro Projects Programme entered into a grant contract with Family Planning Association of Pakistan (FPAP) for implementation of the project entitled "Institutional Strengthening to Combat Domestic Violence against Women focussed on actions such as attacking women with acid or harming them through so-called stove bursts.
The total cost of the project was 48,154 euros, including 43,154 euros in EU grant and 5,000 euros provided by FPAP.
The 14-month programme comprising seminars, publication of pamphlets and training workshops was implemented in the districts of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
Urban Village Watch Islamabad Chairperson Sadia Bukhari said violence against women in any form undermined national development.
About the general data on violence against women collected in Asia, she said in India 52 per cent of young girls faced sexual harassment. In Nepal five to seven thousand women became victims of trafficking every year.
In Bangladesh 62 per cent women are subjected to domestic violence, while in Pakistan 1,800 cases of stove blasts have been reported so far.
European Commission representative in Pakistan Carolene Cartuss said the EU would continue to extend every kind of support to the government of Pakistan. She was of the view that violence against women mainly emanated from illiteracy and cultural environment in the court try.
However, the present government has made significant progress in combating the problem by taking up the issues like revision of Hudood laws and steps to curb honour killing.
Chaudhry Hassan Nawaz Director General Federal Judicial Academy Islamabad, Taimur Ali Khan Superintendent of Polices and Saeed Ahmed Qureshi former Deputy Chairman Planning Commission of Pakistan also spoke on the causes of domestic violence. They emphasised the problem required collective efforts by all the stakeholders.