PESHAWAR: The participants at a conference here on Thursday urged the provincial government to appoint women ombudsperson to protect women from sexual harassment at workplace.

The conference on violence against women was held under the auspices of Blue Veins, MEN UNiTE Alliance in collaboration with the department of human rights at Peshawar Press Club.

Aqal Bacha, the additional secretary of law department, was chief guest on the occasion while members of the civil society organisations, lawyers, educationists and women rights activists attended the conference.

The participants of the conference termed violence against women, children and transgender a serious issue and demanded of the authorities to take pragmatic measures to eliminate it. They suggested that men should be made members of Provincial Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) or they should be given the status of observers. They also urged the government enact law to stop child marriage.

The speal(ers said that bill on domestic violence should be passed without any further delay. They said that women rights organisations played important role in highlighting their rights and creating awareness among people about their issues. They, however, said that it would not be possible to eliminate violence against women, children and transgender without the support of men.

The participants demanded of the government and civil society organisations to play effective role in creating awareness about the needs of survivors of sex and gender-based violence and highlight importance of engaging men and boys in prevention of violence against women.

They said that provincial government should appoint woman ombudsman to protect women from sexual harassment at workplace, as mentioned in the law. They said that Fata commission on the status of women should be established and tribal women should be made responsible for policy recommendations related to women protection in Fata.

Speaking on the occasion, Aqal Bacha expressed the hope that the alliance would contribute significantly to woman`s liberation and would create awareness among people about violence against women. He said that government was committed to help feminists and their men supporters to deconstruct patriarchy, shifting the paradigm of what it meant to be a real man. Qamar Naseem, coordinator of Men UNiTE Alliance, Zar Ali Khan Afridi and Taimur Kamal of Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Network also spoke on the occasion.