KARACHI: The Arts Council of Pakistan will be hosting the First Women Conference, a two-day event to be held from March 6 to 7. A press conference in this regard was held at the venue on Wednesday.

Speaking on the occasion, Ahmed Shah, president of the Arts Council, Karachi, said that when planning the conference they had in mind all women and not just well-known women. “And it was by reaching a consensus with them, including health workers, students, home-based workers, fisherfolk women, working women, and homemakers, too, that we came to the conclusion of holding this conference,” he said.

“In today’s world,” he said, “it is not possible for one man to make enough money to be able to run an entire household. So girls from even middle-class homes are stepping out to help supplement the family income. You see them working at supermarkets, in malls, etc. So things are changing quite rapidly for the over 100 million women of our country,” he said.

He also said that they would be having two keynote speakers — retired Justice Nasira Iqbal and human rights advocate I.A. Rehman. There will also be plenty of sessions over the two days on relevant topics such as women’s health, education, economic empowerment, the role of the media, harassment, women in parliament along with music, dance recitals and dramas.

‘Things are changing quite rapidly for the over 100 million women of our country’

Women’s rights activist Anis Haroon said she was glad that the conference was taking place. “It doesn’t talk to a particular woman. It is about all women. Our menfolk need to learn to respect women. In fact, she herself needs to respect herself and in turn improve her circumstances with the circumstances of all women here. The woman of Pakistan deserves to lead her live freely and on her own terms,” she said.

Playwright Haseena Moin said she had been making speeches on women’s rights for over 20 years now, but they seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. “Now people celebrate Women’s Day for weeks or even a month but it doesn’t seem to have any positive effect. If one needs to understand the rights of women, he or she should read Surah-i-Nisa. It’s also all there in our country’s Constitution, and still the woman here is sidelined and stays subdued and fearful. But she should hold her head high and be proud of who she is. Once she is able to do that, she is able to change a lot for herself in society,” she said.

Educationist Sadiqa Salahuddin highlighted the need for women to be educated. “It is not as if there are no schools for females to go to. There are. But from what I have seen, especially in the rural areas, there may be several girls enrolled at a school but girls’ attendance there will be extremely low. We need to look closely at the issues that hinder women’s education,” she said.

Sindh’s Minister for Women Development Shehla Raza said that it was sad that even today there are so many pro-women laws in this country that have not been implemented. “I am associated with a party that has been responsible for coming up with so many pro-women laws. But nothing happened after those laws were passed. Perhaps after the conclusion of the First Women Conference we will have heard some solid solutions on how to implement the pro-women laws,” she said.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2020