ISLAMABAD - Pakistan People’s Party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Tuesday expressed concern over the growing and unabated incidents of violence against women in Pakistan, with conviction rate of cases of crimes against women being recorded at 2.5 percent as the country continues to be the 6th most dangerous place in the world for women.
In his message on the International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women being observed worldwide under the aegis of the United Nations today (November 25), the PPP Chairman said that it pained him deeply that the nation, which produced Benazir Bhutto as the first-ever elected woman Prime Minister in the Muslim world had been declared as 6th insecure country for women.
He said that Benazir Bhutto and her party’s later governments carried out legislations to protect and promote equal rights for women and their empowerment, and their equal standing in the society. But a lot has still to be done to achieve this goal.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that crimes against women in Pakistan were a source of shame for the entire nation and gory crimes like the Motorway rape case and so many others against the women were a litmus test for the prosecution, as well as the judiciary to prove their mettle instead of trading allegations of loopholes on each other’s part.
PPP Chairman pointed out that PPP governments established separate women police stations, First Women Bank, inducted women into judiciary, distributed land among landless women and introduced Benazir Income Support Programme for economic empowerment of women in Pakistan.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that women were the backbone of any civilised society and their contribution to its betterment could not be ignored. He pledged that PPP, being the architect of the women empowerment in the country, would continue its struggle to protect women against crimes and provide equal opportunities to them in the society.