ISLAMABAD: A national consultation to discuss issues and challenges in the implementation of pro-women laws was held on Thursday in connection with the National Women`s Day to be observed on Feb 12.

The Women`s Parliamentary Caucus organised the consultation at the Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services (Pips) to raise awareness among policymakers about challenges confronting women in accessing justice and identification of technical gaps and lacunas in the implementation of laws.

Parliamentarians from national and provincial assemblies, Azad Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan were invited to the event.

Secretary Caucus MNA Shaista Pervaiz Malik said a number of prowomen legislation had been enacted but the conviction rates remained low and still women cannot access justice.

The national consultation was also a part of the WPC`s endeavours to address these challenges. She assured her commitment and stance on working for the social, economic and political development of the women.

`The recommendations drawn from this consultation would be considered for adoption and strategising future actions by the relevant quar-ters,` she said.

Minister of State for Information Mariam Aurangzeb emphasised the importance of creating awareness for making the implementation of the laws effective and accessible to women. She said mostly stakeholders either in parliament or in law enforcement agencies did not know much about the laws.

She said the key to progress of women and girls was education. Unless a woman is not treated equally on the basis of education with male counterparts at the household level, the struggle to attain equality would continue.

She also stressed the importance of engaging men in the process of empowering women.

Secretary Ministry of Human Rights Rabiya Javeri Agha said despite a number of women-focused laws, Pakistan continued to rank low in the gender index on account of weak institutional mechanisms. If an improvement is desired, the relevant institutions need to be strengthened and empowered.

She also stressed the need for collective efforts with civil society for addressing the gaps in the implementation of the pro-women laws.

John O`Brien, the country representative for Trocaire, expressed commitment to supporting the national and provincial women parliamentary caucuses for empowering women andgirls to eliminate all forms of genderbased discrimination.

He also committed Trocaire`s support in the establishment of a commission in Sindh, strengthening its impact in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and continuing their engagement with national commission and the Federal Women Parliamentary Caucus.

The proceedings were divided into three parts to discuss different laws and challenges in the implementation of the laws. The first plenary discussed challenges in the implementation of the Harassment at Work Place Act 2010. Ms Maliha Saeed from the Alliance against Sexual Harassment shared an overview of the implementation of the Act.

The plenary two discussed the issues and gaps that challenge the implementation of pro-women legal frameworks.

Internal and external factors impeding elimination of violence against women and their access to justice as well as gaps in existing response mechanisms were discussed.

In plenary three, the speakers discussed the roles of mindsets in law enforcement agencies and the lack of awareness as representatives from the National Police Bureau, human rights activists, panelists from police, higher education and civil aviation discussed benefits of the law and how their institutions have taken steps to implement it.