Advisor to Prime Minister on Social Sector, Shahnaz Wazir Ali said on Thursday that government is committed to providing women their due status and rights, besides efforts are being made for their socio-economic empowerment.
She was addressing the participants of the launching of report on "Women land rights" here. Chairman Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), H U Beg also spoke on the occasion. Begum Shahnaz Wazir Ali appreciated the efforts of SDPI for touching a very important issue of Woman's land rights. She further said that government has already started Benazir Income Support Programme to empower the women in the country.
Speaking on the occasion, H U Beg said customary laws still deprived women of their religious and fundamental rights of ownership and transfer of land in the country. He said that women were not enrolled on revenue record as tenants and therefore could not inherit land. As far as the question of women's land rights are concerned that needs to be seen in the broader context of systemic and institutional biases against womenfolk, he added.
Dr Saba Gul Khattak a researcher of the report said on the occasion, unfortunately women have been deprived of their fundamental and religious right of land-ownership due to discriminatory social system in the country.
She said according to SDPI research report 89 percent men all over the country said women should have the right of inherence, as it is a fundamental as well as religious right. She said most of the women know that they have the right of land inheritance and they preferred to marry within their tribes as they felt sense of security to marry within their tribes, she added.