Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SDC) has allocated an amount of Rs 107 million for ensuring women's empowerment in rural areas.
"The goal of the programme is to enable women to know their rights, to be able to differentiate between religion, customs, culture, traditions and laws, and then be able to make choices based on this information and resist forces that challenge their rights," said Nicole Ruder, the SDC acting country director.
She was addressing participants of the signing ceremony of an agreement between SDC and Shirkat Gah, NGO working for women rights in Pakistan, here on Friday. The funds have been allocated for the three year's Women's Empowerment and Social Justice Programme commencing from January 1, 2008.
Ruder said that through different activities under the programme, women and men, including members of the civil society and the government, will be better aware of and have access to pertinent information on women's rights.
"Other activities will ensure that the legal and policy framework in Pakistan is improved and that persons at the different tiers of the government understand their role and responsibilities and implement laws and policies in ways that promote women's empowerment," she added.
She further informed that the programme will be implemented in the next three years, in collaboration with a wide range of partners at the national and international levels.
Speaking on the occasion, Meher Marker Noshirwani, Chief Co-ordinator of Shirkat Gah, said that the women empowerment especially in rural areas always remained an ignored area. Therefore, it is a need of the hour to create awareness among them, so that they could fight for their rights for a better life.