ISLAMABAD, May 3: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Tuesday the government has taken steps to empower women and provide equal opportunities to them in every sector. The prime minister was addressing the inaugural session of the fifth South Asia Regional Ministerial Conference organized by the Ministry of Women Development at the convention centre here.

The participants from Saarc countries are attending the conference which is being held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Beijing Conference.

Rukhsana Aziz, wife of the prime minister, also attended the ceremony.

Mr Aziz said the government was working towards ‘zero tolerance’ for violence against women. He said establishment of a permanent National Commission on the Status of Women was one of the key institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women and to eliminate various forms of gender discrimination.

The prime minister said the enactment of Criminal Law Act, 2004, (honour killing law) was a step forward to ensure the rights and honour of women.

He said the gender reform action plan had been prepared to provide a strategic framework to implant a number of significant reforms in line with the constitutional provision and international commitments.

Mr Aziz urged the participants to focus on concrete action to explore mechanisms for considering the perceptions, interests and need of both women and men.

He said the fourth World Conference on women held in Beijing was historic both in content and commitment and provided goals for gender equality, development and peace and initiated a new era in global efforts to promote the advancement of women.

He said being signatory to the Beijing Declaration, Pakistan was committed to ensure reflection of gender perspective in all policies and programmes.

The prime minister said Pakistan was marching towards a progressive, moderate and enlightened state. Besides empowerment of women, there was need to mobilize all resources at the disposal of the people so that men and women could lead progress in all areas, he added.

Women specific programmes and projects continue to play an important role in promoting gender equality, he said, adding that they were critical for reducing existing disparities, serving as catalyst to achieve the end and creating an empowering environment for women.

The prime minister said women representation in the political decision making institutions at all levels in Pakistan was unprecedented and 33 per cent in all local councils, 20 per cent in all national provincial legislatures, federal and provincial ministers, parliamentary secretaries, and chairpersons of standing committees of the Senate and the National Assembly.

Mr Aziz said Pakistan has moved swiftly and has embarked upon a major initiative of technical and vocational training for men and women.

He said keeping in view the poverty issue in the country, the government took steps to facilitate income generation of the rural women through micro finance and support services as well as to provide job opportunities including self-employment.

He said the government has operationalized a national fund for advancement of rural women. Khushali Bank, First Women Bank and other financial institutions were playing a lead role, he added.

The premier said culture, religion and traditions do not impede the efforts to do something for women.

Referring to the cooperation in the region and role of Saarc, he said relations between the members states were getting better.

Mr Aziz said Pakistan and India had started the process of dialogue and they were on the path to understand each other.

He emphasised the need to find equitable solution of Jammu and Kashmir problem according to the aspirations of Kashmiris and hoped that the present dialogue process between the two countries would find an amicable solution.

The adviser to the prime minister on women development, Nilofar Bakhtiar, Saarc secretary-general Lyonopo Chenkyab and UNIFEM executive director Dr Noeleen Heyzer also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the importance of women rights.

Students presented skits representing the culture and tradition of Saarc countries.—APP