Hiraj criticises ministerial body for women in distress

ISLAMABAD: State Minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights Raza Hayat Hiraj has expressed his dissatisfaction with a committee of the women’s ministry that deals with women in distress. At the Women in Distress and Detention Fund’s board meeting on Thursday, which he presided over, he said the committee did not meet often enough. He directed the board’s secretary to ensure participation of all provinces in the fund’s activities. He also stressed the need to develop monitoring mechanisms for timely implementation of the committee’s workplan. The minister said a special meeting involving all the provinces should be held soon to assess the success of the fund’s initiatives. He also asked the board’s secretary to request the home department for data of women in prisons. Additional Secretary Ministry of Women Development and Social Welfare (MWD) Rukan Abdullah Gardezi informed the board that the MWD had planned to establish seven new crisis centres for women in distress. He said that the crisis centres would provide women with legal aid and medical assistance in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Mianwali and Kohat. Three such crisis centres were already operating in Islamabad, Sahiwal and Vehari, he said. app

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