ISLAMABAD  -  The Women’s Parliamentary Caucus of the 16th National Assembly of Pakistan, under the leadership of its Secretary MNA Dr. Shahida Rehmani, hosted Pakistan’s first two-day Int’l Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Workshop.

The workshop titled “Advancing Gender Equality in Legislation: A Workshop on Gender-sensitive Legislative Drafting” aimed at capacity building of the parliamentarians for ensuring gender-sensitive legislation and to enhance the implementation, monitoring and evaluation frameworks at every tier of the government. 

This international workshop of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) is a global acknowledgment and recognition of Pakistan’s firm commitment towards promoting gender equality and is indeed a landmark effort to reshape legislative frameworks to promote gender-equality and gender-inclusiveness. Welcome remarks were delivered by Mr. Muhammad Rashid Mafzool Zaka, Executive Director (PIPS) and Secretary WPC/ MNA Dr. Shahida Rehmani extended a warm welcome to the honourable delegates from Maldives and Sri Lanka, participants from the federal and provincial parliaments of Pakistan and the Chief Guest Ms. Zainab Gimba, Chairperson of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians. Dr. Shahida Rehmani, along with the NA Secretariat, extended a warm welcome to the Chairperson Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Ms. Zainab Gimba on her arrival. The chief guest of the two-day workshop, Ms. Zainab Gimba felicitated Secretary WPC/ MNA Dr. Shahida Rehmani on hosting this ground-breaking international workshop of CWP in Pakistan for the first time in history.  Session-1, titled “International Standards and Legal Frameworks on Pro-Women Legislators” of the workshop titled “Advancing Gender Equality in Legislation: A Workshop on Gender-Sensitive Legislative Drafting” was moderated by Mr. Muhammad Rashid Mafzool Zaka, Executive Director PIPS.

 The distinguished panel comprised Ms. Mehnaz Akber Aziz (Expert on Rule of Law and Women Political Inclusion), Ms. Kashmala Tariq (Former Federal Ombudsmen for Protection Against Harassment at Workplace Commonwealth) and Ms. Nida Ali (Executive Director AGHS). The session aimed to apprise the participants on the international conventions and agreements on women’s rights. The session featured open discussion and Q/A Session. The session witnessed participation from delegation from Maldives and Sri Lanka, federal and provincial parliamentarians of Pakistan and from the members of the civil society.

 Session 2, titled “Best Practices from the Region” was moderated by Mrs. Samer Awais (DG Parliamentary Development Programme and Coordination PIPS). The panel comprised MNA Dr. Nafisa Shah, MP Ms. Asma Rasheed (People’s Majlis of the Maldives) and MP Ms. Chamindranee Kiriella (Sri Lanka). The session included presentation from all the participant countries, including Maldives and Sri Lanka, to give the participants of the workshop an overview of the overall legislative landscape on supporting gender inclusion in which the most relevant gender-inclusive legislation implementation frameworks were discussed. 

 Session 3, titled “Problem Identification and Gap Analysis in Advancing Gender Equality in Legislation” was moderated by Additional Secretary Senate, Ms. Rabeea Anwar. The distinguished panel comprised MP Ms. Lakmali Kanchana Hemachandra (Parliament of Sri Lanka), MP Ms. Asma Rasheed (People’s Majlis of the Maldives), Former MNA Ms. Yasmeen Rehman (National Assembly of Pakistan), Mr. Muhammad Khashih Ur Rehman (Legislative Drafting Expert), and Ms. Madiha Latif (Country Director Path Finder). This interactive session witnessed a detailed discussion among the participants and panelists to identify the barriers and gaps in existing legislation hindering gender equality. The participants and panelists proposed and discussed practical strategies for legislative reforms.

Chairperson Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP), Ms Zainab Gimba stated that we are gathered here to discuss and review the international standards and legal frameworks towards the promotion of gender-sensitive legislation across the globe. Furthermore, she underscored the need to collectively review and evaluate the best regional and international practices for incorporating gender-sensitive legislation into the existing legislative frameworks and learn from each other’s experiences and legislative drafting skills. She further stressed adopting each other’s gender-sensitive legislation while lauding the provincial and federal assemblies and women parliamentarians of Pakistan for their immense contributions towards gender-sensitive legislation and promoting gender equality in Pakistan.

The int’l workshop also witnessed participation from Deputy Speaker Provincial Assembly of Balochistan, Ms. Ghazala Gola, Senator Saadia Abbasi, MNA Ms. Shaista Pervaiz, MNA Ms. Farah Naz Akbar, MNA Ms. Asia Naz Tanoli, MPA Ms. Tanzila Umi Habiba, MPA Ms. Shahida Rauf, and MPA Ms. Bibi Yasmeen Shah.