Domestic violence against women: KP CM terms passage of bill ‘landmark legislation’

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mehmood Khan Sunday termed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Domestic Violence against Women (Prevention and Protection) Bill recently passed by the provincial assembly as a landmark legislation and important achievement of the incumbent provincial government to prevent domestic violence against women.

In a statement issued here, he said the legislation would prove to be a very effective tool to prevent domestic violence against women.

The chief minister said that protecting the rights of vulnerable segments of society and their empowerment was one of the focused areas of his government and added that the present provincial government, as per the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, was taking result oriented steps in this regard.

Mahmood Khan remarked that besides effective legislation, his government was taking all other required steps to provide all kinds of protection to the vulnerable segments of society including women and children.

He termed the aforesaid bill as a comprehensive piece of legislation to prevent domestic violence against women and said that as per the law, violence against women can be punished with imprisonment for a minimum of one year and a maximum of five years, while economic, psychological and sexual pressure will also be defined violence against women.

The Chief Minister said that under the law committees will be formed at district level headed by the concerned deputy commissioner which will provide medical aid, shelter, support and legal assistance to the affected woman while the committee will give awareness to women at local level about their rights under the law besides keeping record of complaints, petitions and court orders etc.

He said that as provided in the law, helpline would also be set up to prevent incidents of domestic violence on which such incidents could be reported whereas shelters homes would also be set up in the province to provide protection the victims of domestic violence.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021