Women Protection & Rehabilitation Centers are working at the Federal, Provincial & district level: Mushaal Mullick

ISLAMABAD, Nov 24 (SABAH): Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Human Rights and Women Empowerment, Mushaal Hussein Mullik, has said that Women Protection and Rehabilitation Centers are working at the Federal, Provincial and district level, providing early response to the victims of violence by extending medical, legal, psychological support and rehabilitation services.

She was addressing the launch of 16 days Awareness campaign “Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” including a Transit Advertising Campaign organized by Ministry of Human Rights. The advertising campaign will kick start from November 25 in collaboration with Ministry of Railways and with the support of UN Women.

Highlighting the importance of the promotion and protection of women’s rights, The Special Assistant to Prime Minister said that the Ministry of Human Rights was reviewing laws and policies in regard to Women protection. She informed that Zainab Alert Response and Recovery Act, 2020; Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Act 2020; The Anti Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act 2021; and The Protection against Harassment of women at Workplace (Amendment) Act, 2022 were some significant legislations aimed to protect women.

Mushaal Mullick said that the Federal Government had enacted the Legal Aid and Justice Authority Act, 2020 to provide legal, financial and other forms of assistance to vulnerable groups, including women, in criminal cases. Human Rights Relief and Revolving Funds have been established in order to provide financial assistance to the victims of human rights violations, she added.  She told the forum that the Ministry of Human Rights has also initiated a National Policy on Ending Violence against Women.

The Special Assistant to Prime Minister stressed the importance of collection of quantitative and qualitative data on the status of women, building partnerships with key line departments and civil society organizations to facilitate women’s access to legal and justice systems.

Mushaal Mullick said that being a strong advocate of Gender Equality she had initiated a 100 days Action Plan to support human rights and women empowerment in Pakistan. The Special Assistant to Prime Minister further added that she was focused on highlighting human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir and Palestine on national and international forums.

Talking about the Transit Advertising Campaign Mushaal Hussein Mullik said that the Campaign was a powerful tool to disseminate crucial information on themes such as Zainab Alert, the rights of Transgender Persons, Senior Citizens, and Persons with Disabilities. The campaign would greatly help to connect with diverse audiences, spread awareness and catalyze social and behavioral change.