‘Women’s work should be acknowledged at all levels’

LAHORE: Average women spend around 12 to 15 hours daily on agricultural activities. Half of them are engaged in farm and family labour and 75 percent of these women do not receive payments for their work, the wage discrepancies between women and men agriculture workers are based on pre assumed gender role, said Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, former president of Mangolia in the launching of participatory policy assessment on the Economic and social rights of agrarian women in Punjab Province, held by Aurat Foundation Tuesday here at local hotel.

The event was presided over by the Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, former president of Mangolia. In his keynote address, he expressed concern over the situation which these women are facing despite working hard and are not being paid according to their labour rights. This is discriminatory, he said. He appreciated the efforts of the Aurat Foundation for compiling the research and highlighting the plight of agrarian women. He suggested women work should be acknowledged at domestic, society and state level.

Naeem Ahmed Mirza, Executive Director Aurat Foundation, said the condition of agrarian women is alarming. If women are given the equal participation in entire sector there will be an economic revolution.

Aurat Foundation’s Resident Director Mumtaz Mughal gave the facts and figures about the socio-economics condition of these women. According to the facts and figures, 59 percent women cannot spend their earnings according to their will; 65% work in fields and also in their homes, 64.71% women have no access to their family inheritance documents, so they cannot have access to the micro-credit schemes and modern technology services; 77% have no information about the institutions working for small loans; 92% have no access to health facilities; 68% have to work during their pregnancy and they have no proper nutrition, so they fall sick; 41% face harassment while they travel to their workplace, 87% do not know about the legislation of the institutions working for their protection and 21% face violence. They do not know that in this case to whom they should report because 90 percent women are illiterate and 60% don’t have information about their right to unionise.

rape victim: Provincial Minister for Human Rights and Minority Affairs Aijaz Alam Augustine met the parents of a mentally-challenged teenage girl of the Sikh community in Nankana Sahib.

The girl was allegedly raped by two men in an ambulance in Nankana Sahib on Sunday. The minister assured the parents of the girl that justice would be ensure to them at any cost. In this regard, the minister also chaired a meeting at Nankana Sahib DC’s office.

Minority MPA Mahinder Singh and DPO Ismail Kharak were also present. The DPO briefed the minister that the FIR had been registered and the accused arrested. Meanwhile, the minister also planted a sampling in the Gordwara there under the Clean and Green Punjab programme.