ISLAMABAD: A delegation of the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (WPC) visited the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) on Tuesday and called for stronger ground-level implementation of laws and policies aimed at protecting women’s rights.
Ms Noureen Bano Lehri, Interim Chairperson NCSW, welcomed the delegation and briefed the members on the Commission’s ongoing initiatives and priorities. These included the NCSW Strategic Plan 2026–2029, the National Gender Parity Dashboard, bilingual awareness materials on women’s rights, and the longstanding issue of pending appointments to the Commission.
WPC Secretary Dr Shahida Rehmani appreciated NCSW’s efforts for promoting gender equality and advancing women-related legislation. She stressed that laws, policies and programmes must be translated into effective implementation at the grassroots level.
She said the collective focus of the WPC should be on ensuring that laws, policies and programmes reach underserved and vulnerable women.
Dr Rehmani also strongly condemned the recent brutal murder of Ms Hina Javed, an employee of the National Information Technology Board (NITB) deputed at the National Assembly Secretariat. She said Ms Hina Javed was brutally murdered by her husband and a domestic worker at her in-laws’ residence.
Expressing deep concern over the incident, Dr Rehmani said violence against women in any form must not be tolerated.
She said the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus was committed to pursuing justice for Ms Hina Javed and ensuring that the matter was investigated in a free, fair, transparent and impartial manner.
The WPC secretary further said that NCSW was being taken on board by the Caucus so that all relevant institutional mechanisms were engaged to ensure transparency in the investigation. She said all those found responsible for the murder should be brought to justice and awarded severe punishment in accordance with the law.
During the meeting, WPC members emphasised the need for stronger coordination between NCSW and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to address the disproportionate impact of climate change and natural disasters on women.
They called for women’s specific needs to be incorporated into disaster preparedness, relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction programmes. The members also stressed the need for accurate, comprehensive and gender-disaggregated data to support evidence-based legislation, policymaking, budgeting and monitoring.
Particular emphasis was placed on rural women. The delegation called for targeted measures to improve rural women’s access to education, healthcare, justice, economic opportunities and information about their rights.
The delegation also proposed incorporating awareness of women’s rights and gender equality into primary school curricula. It also called for strengthening awareness of women’s legal rights and protections through the Nikahnama at the time of marriage.
Ms Noureen Bano Lehri appreciated the WPC’s engagement and underlined the importance of institutional coordination, reliable gender data, accountability and effective implementation.
The WPC members appreciated NCSW’s efforts and reiterated that legislation must be backed by awareness, reliable data, institutional coordination and effective implementation to bring meaningful improvements to the lives of women and girls.
The delegation comprised MNAs Ms Sofia Saeed Shah, Ms Huma Akhtar Chughtai, Ms Zahra Wadood Fatemi, Ms Naeema Kishwar Khan, Ms Tamkeen Akhtar Niazi, Ms Mah Jabeen Abbasi, Ms Neelum, Ms Asia Naz Tanoli and Ms Akhtar Bibi.
