Strategic Plan National Commission on the Status of Women 2022-25 & European Union Huqooq e Pakistan

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.