This report expands into seven parts. First part focuses on the profiles of the present members of the Commission. Second part highlights the activities under the UNDP funded project ‘Institutional Strengthening of NCSW’. Third part of the report is about the full Commission’s meetings held in 2006, discussions held and the decisions made. Minutes of Commission’s Executive Committee are put together in the fourth part of the report. Chairperson of the Commission kept a busy schedule throughout the year in various activities to further the cause of the women of Pakistan and the mandate of the Commission. Fifth portion of the report provides a glimpse of important engagements of the Chairperson.
Year 2007 saw the worst violence against women generally, and specially against the women leaders of repute. Instances of rape and killings rose to an alarming level. A provincial minister from Punjab, Ms. Zille Huma was the victim of insane target killing, and a federal minister Nilofer Bakhtiar was dropped from the cabinet as ordained by a certain section of the society. The Jamia Hafsa issue and the incidents that followed harassed and victimized the women in Pakistan. By the end of the year these disturbing circumstances culminated in the broad day light murder of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, the twice elected former Prime Minister of Pakistan, as she was leaving after addressing an election campaign meeting in Rawalpindi. Such was the climate of insecurity and fear that NCSW could not materialize its plans and programmes.
National Commission on the Status of Women 2010-2012 ANNUAL REPORT
Women's representation in national and provincial assemblies through reserved seats has demonstrated the efficacy of numbers in taking women's agenda forward. While the quota for women is 17%, 16 women got directly elected on general seats to the NA in the 2008 elections and only 6 were returned in 2013.The latter figure deflects from the fact of women's unprecedented participation in the electoral contest – 147 women contested general seats in 105 national constituencies and 301 in 203 provincial constituencies. Equally significant was that nationally 87 women stood as independent candidates and in provinces 190 were independents. While more tickets were given by political parties to women, these constituted only 3% of the total. Women's voter turnout was also higher than ever before however in pockets across the country women were restrained from voting and political parties were reluctant to give them party tickets.
Our work is challenging at any given time especially to institutionalize, track progress, monitor and implement pro women laws and policies to ensure the protection and promotion of women's rights. But 2014 was important for us from a key perspective there was encouraging movement in women-friendly legislation across the country. In Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan, women's rights gained a stronger foothold with the legislation on early marriages and domestic violence. Similarly the anti-rape bill tabled in the Senate was a milestone towards ensuring that women do not face additional hardship in the processes of law. The Vision 2025, was launched the same year and indicates the government's commitment towards women's empowerment and development.
National Commission on the Status of Women 2015-2016 ANNUAL REPORT
This study reviews the National Climate Change Policy (NCCP) from a gender lens, framing it within the context of women's work and lives in Pakistan, and national and international policy instruments the Government of Pakistan is a party to, particularly the Paris Agreement and the subsequent Gender Action Plan. It attempts to shed light on the differentiated impacts of climate change on women keeping in view their status and role in Natural Resource Management (NRM) and particularly the ways in which the NCCP and its Implementation Framework can cater more substantively to women's vulnerability induced by climate change, and generate gender responsive policy and implementation approaches.
2017 was a busy year for NCSW. The Commission resumed its functions after a gap of almost one year a sits activities had come to a halt due to the delay in the appointment of NCSW Chairperson and members. Activities had to be picked up from where they had stopped; alliances had to be revived with women's caucuses in Assemblies, civil society organisations and academia, lawyers, provincial commissions on the status of women, line ministries and donors.
National Commission on the Status of Women Annual Report 2018-2019