The government must redress the grave injustice by taking the initiative to recognise and declare informal workers as "labourers" for extending the social protection to the invisible workers of Pakistan, and the political representation of the women in the all-tiers of the government must be increased, and legislation against domestic violence, custodian torture and forced conversion should be created to prevent gender based crimes.
This was demanded by the participants of the rally entitled 'Taking Initiatives for Empowerment of Women' to mark 102nd international women's day. The rally from Press Club to Circular Road was staged by the Peace and Human Development (PHD Foundation), and Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM) in collaboration with Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD), Idara Samajhi Behbood (ASB), Care Foundation, Participatory Organisation for Women's Empowerment and Rights (POWER), Insan Welfare Foundation Pakistan (IWFP) and Aitbaar Foundation.
The rally was joined by people from different walks of life including students, lawyers, representatives of trade unions, political parties and civil society organisations. The rally was led by Khalida Mansoor (MNA) and Dr Najma Afzal (Political Worker).
At this juncture, Nazia Sardar (Director-Awam), Suneel Malik (Director-PHD Foundation), Naseem Anthony (Executive Secretary-Awam), Yousuf Adnan (President-Care), Irshad Parkash (President-ASB), Naseem Akhter (Chairperson-Power), Nasreen Bukhari (President-Aitbar Foundation), Farukh Awan (President-IWFP), Mehwish Anam (Convenor-ARADA), Dr Gul Pervaiz Ghouri (President-HEDO), Shafiq Sharif (Co-ordinator-NCJP) and Babar Suroya (President-Pace) were also present to extend their commitment towards women's empowerment and active participation in different spheres of life.