This report is based on the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), Punjab conducted in 2017-18 by Bureau of Statistics, Planning and Development Board, Government of the Punjab. The survey provides statistically sound and internationally comparable data essential for developing evidence-based policies and programmes, and for monitoring progress toward national goals and global commitments.
The objective of the Pakistan Demographic & Health Survey (PDHS) 2017-18 was to collect high-quality data on fertility levels and preferences, contraceptive use, maternal and child health, infant mortality levels, immunisation, nutritional status of mothers and children, disability, migration, women’s empowerment, domestic violence, awareness and behaviour regarding HIV/AIDS, and other health-related issues. The PDHS 2017-18 also provides updates on data already collected through censuses and other sources.
The aim of the survey is to collect a set of comprehensive statistics on the various dimensions of country’s civilian labour force as a means to pave the way for skill development, planning, employment generation, assessing the role and importance of the informal sector and, sizing up the volume, characteristics and contours of employment.
Gender perspective is vital to formulating and enforcing a comprehensive and non discriminatory regime of policies. As an indispensable introduction to this end, the “Compendium on Gender Statistics - 2019” presents sex disaggregated data on population, education, health, family planning, employment, time use pattern and, public representation.
Introduction. The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) is a federal statutory body set up in 2000. It is the outcome of Pakistan's Constitutional commitments as well as its international treaty commitments to empower women and safeguard their rights. In this regard, it has been granted a wide mandate which encompasses multiple ways and means to pursue its stipulated goals. Very concisely, it is envisioned lo be an objective observer and documenter of the status of women in the country, and an advocate, a facilitator, a watch dog, and a promoter of their rights. To date six Commissions have completed their terms and after an interregnum of almost two years the current Commission very recently started functioning under its newly appointed Chairperson. Given this disruption as well as constantly escalating challenges for women in a dynamic, evolving and often turbulent milieu, NCSW recognizes the need to reassess its optimal role in empowering women and protecting their rights. Therefore, it set out to reexamine its mandate, take stock of its past performance, reassess current challenges as well as expectations from stakeholders and public at large, particularly women from all quarters of society, take cognizance of its capacity and highlight the constraints, and determine as well as realign, as required, its priorities with a strategy to effectively meet clearly laid down goals. This Strategic Plan has been developed by NCSW with the active support of the Senior Strategic Process Expert of the Huqooq-e-Pakistan Promotion of Human Rights in Pakistan Project (the 'Consultant'). It is envisioned to be an evolving document, intended to respond to changing circumstances whilst adhering to the core assumptions, assessments, and prescriptions that it puts forward.
As the Government of Pakistan has put together important economic and social measures to counteract the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and is preparing its post-pandemic re-launch, COVID-19 represents an opportunity for Pakistan to address gender equality issues facing women and girls. A key barrier to addressing gender equality in the context of the pandemic, Gender Based Violence (GBV), already a phenomenon of concern, has been exacerbated by the crisis. This study, commissioned by NCSW and supported by UNFPA, provides an analysis of the intersection between the pandemic and gender-based violence and, an overview of the policy and service responses to address GBV in the context of the crisis. It was developed using a participatory approach based on current literature review and extensive consultations with key stakeholders from the Islamabad Capital Territory and the four provinces of Pakistan. The exercise examined and reviewed the impact of COVID-19 on gender equality, specifically on gender based violence, keeping in view rural-urban situations, government and civil society responses to GBV, gaps in services and examples of successful practices and innovative interventions devised by both Government departments and CSOs. At the time of the completion of this report, in Pakistan and globally, a third wave of the contagion continues to disrupt and claim human lives as well as challenge economies and social interactions.