PESHAWAR - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Minister for Information and Culture, Mian Iftikhar Hussain has said that the ANP-led provincial government does not believe in gender discrimination rather it is of the view that men and women are two indispensable parts of the society.
He said if there was injustice with any gender, they would back the affected one.
He added that socially, economically and politically empowerment of women was a must for development of Pakistan.
This he said while addressing different functions held in connection with the International Women’s Day at the University of Peshawar and Archives Hall, Peshawar, on Thursday.
The functions were also addressed by VC UoP Prof Dr Qibla Ayaz, Chairperson Provincial Commission on the Status of Women Zubaida Khatoon, Chairperson Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Fitrat Ilyas Bilour and President PUTA Jamil Ahmad. They spoke on women rights and their problems in detail. The minister said that the society consists of men and women, therefore men and women are interlinked and they could not live without each other.
He further said that therefore they should jointly work for such a system that could be beneficial for both the genders in equal terms.
He continued that women of today are lucky enough as they have the opportunity to raise voice for their rights.
This credit goes to the women who fought for their rights some 110 years back at New York.
Mian Iftikhar maintained that they were the stanch supporter of women empowerment and reject violence against women. He called upon the women to come forward to get rid of the man dependence.
He declared that gender discrimination has no link with our religion or our cultural heritage.
He said that man and woman were not different from each other rather they were equal citizens of the society therefore, there should be equal opportunities of progress for both the genders in the society.
The minister said that being mother, sister, daughter and wife, the woman had a dominant role in the society therefore; they should stand up against the terrorism and extremism effectively and play their key role in this regard.
He added that for establishment of a balanced society they should have to remove the differences between male and female and should bring positive change in their behaviors.