Speakers at a one-day conference here discussed the challenges faced by women in Pakistan, especially gender bias, sexual harassment, imbalance between work and personal life, inadequate education opportunities, incidents of rape and honor killing and social insecurities.
The “3rd Women Law Conference 2020” was organized by Justice Helpline in collaboration with Law & Justice Commission of Pakistan, Paigham-e-Pakistan and Sindh High Court Bar Association. Eminent personalities from judiciary and lawyer community besides civil society members, journalists and law students participated in the conference.
This conference also held a constructive debate on issues faced by women in the law profession, including the utilization of innovation and technology as an essential tool for new and senior lawyers in the furthering of diversity and inclusion, quality leadership, best practices, flexible work options, achievement of policy and law reforms and attainment of access to justice.
The speakers called for empowerment of women by providing them with a harassment-free and discrimination-free environment at home as well as workplace so that they are able to grow and contribute to the social as well as national development. They said Pakistani women have established their mark and performed tremendously in all walks of life, adding that their services can get even more valuable if they are provided with more opportunities to move forward.
They said women have been a part and parcel of the social, economic, political, cultural, religious and scholarly life of the Muslim communities, adding that the highly skilled women have now embedded themselves into the local and international platforms where their voice and demands can meet success.
The speakers said that women are central to the democratic and economic development and their empowerment, equal status and effective participation in social, political and economic spheres is vital to moving democracy, good governance and development forward. They said the dream of building a healthier, better educated, more peaceful and more prosperous society cannot be realized without recognizing the inherent dignity of women and ensuring their active and robust role to build foundations of the society stronger.
The conference also provided a platform to the women lawyers to share their experiences and challenges at the workplace and discuss critical solutions and way forward for career advancement. It also provided an opportunity to the women lawyers to review and endorse women lawyers’ charter.
