International Women Day

March 11, 2020 CONFERENCES, INTERNATIONAL

Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) celebrates Post Legislative Scrutiny Seminar on Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Work Place Act, 2010 to commemorate International Women’s Day-2020 in collaboration with Women Parliamentary Caucus (WPC), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Tuesday, March 10, 2020: Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS), Women Parliamentary Caucus at the National Assembly, UNDP and UNFPA jointly organized a seminar to celebrate International Women’s Day 2020, with parliamentarians, provincial commission on the Status of Women, Social Welfare and Labour Departments of the four provinces, civil society, lawyers, nurses, academia and people belonging to various walks of life at PIPS, Islamabad. In this backdrop, the theme of event was focused on Marking Ten Years of Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Work Place Act, 2010.

The one day seminar stood as post-legislative scrutiny of the Act which thoroughly discussed the progress, gaps and barriers to effective implementation. The event was attended by a jam packed auditorium comprising more than 150 participants including 25 MPs from National and Provincial Assemblies, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), lawyers, university teachers and 40 members delegation from Govt College for women university, Faisalabad, students and faculty from Quaid e Azam University and Federal Urdu University, media men, relevant provincial departments such as ombudspersons, labor departments and social work departments.

In inaugural session, Executive Director PIPS Mr. Mohammad Anwar welcomed the participants of seminar and underscored the importance of holding such events leading to an intellectual discourse for resolving legislative issues. Resident Representative of UNDP Deputy Representative Ms. Aliona Niculita said at the occasion that, “Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2010 is an important legislation for safety and protection of women at workplaces. Ms. Lina Mousa, Representative emphasized that “Gender Based Violence is a grave human rights violation that undermines the health, dignity, security and autonomy of its victims”.

Session Two: MNA Shahida Rehmani presented the Salient Features of the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Work Place Act, 2010. She said that the bill has provided mandatory protection to women who are a part of labour force. Ms Maliha Hussain, representative of Mehergarh, presented a review of ten years performance of the Act and underlined its various features. Ms Farida Shaheed, Member National Commission on the Status of Women said that the parliamentarians deserve appreciation on this landmark legislation.

Session Three: The session was followed by a thorough Panel Discussion among Conveners of Women Parliamentary Caucuses at National and Provincial Assemblies to discuss the situation in different provinces regarding protection of women rights and the role of provincial WPCs. They highlighted that the provinces have made tremendous progress in spreading awareness about women rights and protection against harassment.

Chief Guest of the event, MNA and Secretary Women Parliamentary Caucus of National Parliament, Ms. Munaza Hassan stressed on the inclusivity of the legislative process. She highlighted that we need to accept the flaws of our society and try to deal with the issues of sexual harassment with effective implementation of relevant laws.

The participants also partaken in the event through their questions to the panelists in Q&A session that was thoroughly answered by the worthy panelists and experts. In the end, Senior Director General (Research and Legislation), Mr. Muhammad Rashid Mafzool Zaka thanked partners WPC, UNDP and UNFPA for their active role. He also recognized panelists, subject experts, MPs and participants for their insightful contributions during the event; He thanks Mr Karim Gabol and Ms Rafat Yasmin from UNDP, Ms. Dilshad Pari and Ms. Rizwana Sagher from UNFPA. He highly appreciated the Seminar Organizing Team comprising of PIPS Young Eagles, Areeb Sherazi, Adila Shehzadi, Laraib Kiyani, Azeema Ilyas, Wajid Aslam and Asim Khan who worked tirelessly under the dynamic supervision of Mr. Muhammad Rizwan Manzoor and Mr. Abul Nabi Solangi.

On the direction of the Chairman Senate/President PIPS Board of Governors, the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS), has implemented a comprehensive set of measures aimed at ensuring fiscal discipline, operational efficiency, and responsible utilization of public resources, on the same lines as notified and adopted by the Senate and National Assembly Secretariats.

Under the new measures, the Institute has adopted a four-day working week (Monday to Thursday), while introducing a hybrid working model whereby 50% of staff will perform duties from the office and 50% will work remotely on a rotational basis. Employees working from home will remain fully accessible through digital communication platforms and may be required to report to the office on short notice, ensuring uninterrupted institutional functioning.

Significant steps have also been taken to promote energy conservation. These include a target of achieving up to 70% reduction in energy consumption through minimizing unnecessary use of electricity and ensuring that official meetings, trainings, and events are scheduled during daylight hours. Foreign tours are banned and international meetings are being held virtually.

In the transport section, PIPS has introduced strict measures to curtail expenditure and 70% official vehicles have been grounded as part of this initiative.

As part of broader austerity efforts, 20% reduction has been imposed on the non-ERE budget for the fourth quarter of the current financial year. The officers drawing a monthly salary of PKR 300,000 or more, shall surrendered two days salary or 5% to 30% salary on gross as per Federal Government decision.

The Institute has also discontinued all non-essential procurements with immediate effect. Official functions such as dinners and receptions will not be hosted, except in the case of visiting foreign delegations, and even then, strictly in accordance with austerity protocols.

These measures have been implemented with immediate effect and will remain in force until further orders.

Under the guidance of President PIPS Board of Governors, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, PIPS remains fully committed to maintaining its core functions of parliamentary support, capacity building, and research while contributing proactively to national austerity and sustainability goals.

International Women Day

@ Your Service