ISLAMABAD, Dec 22: Addressing a working women's gathering here on Wednesday, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani announced the appointment of Musarrat Hilali from the backward Malakand region as the first Ombudswoman to provide a legal forum to women to lodge complaints about sexual harassment.

The appointment has been made under the law against harassment of women at workplace adopted by parliament in February this year.

The gathering was organised at the Prime Minister's Secretariat by the Alliance Against Sexual Harassment (Aasha), a coalition of civil society organisations working for protection and promotion of women's rights.

Mr Gilani said that Dec 22 would now be observed all over the country as the National Day of Working Women and Feb 12 as National Women's Day.

He said the government would seriously implement the law against harassment of women and would moni-tor the status of implemen- tation.

He said that 38 out of the 44 ministries had already implemented the law and others would follow suit.

He said protection of women's rights was part of PPP's manifesto and the government had taken a number of practical steps in this direction and had retained the reserved seats for women in assemblies in the 18th amendment.

He described the election of the first Muslim woman speaker and the first ever appointment of a woman as a member of the Planning Commission as a manifes- tation of the government's commitment to empower women.

He said that nine universities and degree-awarding institutions were now being headed by women.

He said the situation had started to change after the adoption of the law and working women could now use their capabilities in a secured environment.

Addressing the gathering, NA Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza expressed the hope that the bill against domestic violence would be passed with consensus.

She said all political forces had been given representation in the parliamentary caucus for women.

She said that taking all lawmakers along required some time, but the democratic approach of taking decisions with consensus helped to address issues in a better way.

Federal Minister for Women Development Dr Firdaus Ashiq Awan said that a women's task force would soon be set up to establish a direct contact with rural women as part of a comprehensive plan for economic development and progress of women and to benefit from skills and capability of 52 per cent un-utilised workforce.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister Shahnaz Wazir Ali and founding member of 'Aasha' Dr Fauzia Saeed termed the passage of the law against harassment of women at workplace a landmark development.

The prime minister also gave away awards to representatives of institutions which have taken steps to implement the law.

Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Nargis Sethi received the award for the Prime Minister's Secretariat which was among the offices which implemented the law soon after its passage.