SAAD UMER
ISLAMABAD- Violence against women is a global phenomenon that needs to be responded with full force
and unity, however, structural reforms in the system are needed in the societies like Pakistan to
implement relevant laws to deal with this menace . This was the crux of a webinar titled: ‘Violence
against Women and Girls in Pakistan: How to Address This Shadow Pandemic Amid COVID-19 and
Beyond’ organized by SustainableDevelopment Policy Institute (SDPI) here. Wendy Gilmour, the
Canadian High Commissioner in Islamabad, while highlighting the global assistance policy of Canada, said
that this policy revolves around strengthening judicial system and supporting victims of such acts of
violence. “We work with civil society organizations at the grass roots level to build support systems for
the victims of gender-based violence, she said, adding that destigmatizing of reporting rape cases is
crucial to ensure victim’s access to justice. Ms Khawar Mumtaz, the former Chairperson of National
Commission on the Status of Women, said the increasing trend of gender-based violence in our society is
quite alarming and must bedealt with stern and speedy actions. ”Such incidents are now being reported
in media and highlighted widely that is a positive sign,” She said. Ms Mumtaz added that the lack
of seriousness on the part of state institutions is one major obstacle in the ways of victim’s no access to
our justice system. Therefore, she maintained, it would be important to build the capacity of people
involved in the justice system. Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, the SDPI Executive Director, was of view that
marking 16 Days of Activism is a much needed initiative but keeping the intensity of violence against
women in our society, we need to work with the same zeal throughout the year to respond to this
menace effectively.“Amid COVID-19, increased reliance on internet and expensive gadgets for the
connectivity hashighlighted the pertinent issue of digital inequality,” Dr Suleri said and added that the
number of out of school children, especially girls, has been increased due to pandemic and thus,
this issue needs to be responded on urgent basis. Romina Khurshid Alam, the Member of National
Assembly of Pakistan, emphasized that policymakers, women parliamentarians, and civil society
organizations need to work together to address the structural lacunas such as rape being treated as a
compoundable offense. “We need to focus on the real issues and improve the capacity of institutions for
the better implementation of laws,” she stressed. Fauzia Shahid, the former secretary-general of
Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, said that after 1977, the society had systematically been turned
anti-women, which ultimately fanned gender-based violence in the country. Asma Shirazi, senior
journalist and anchorperson, said that online harassment of women is a new form of violence, which is
being used as a tool to silence the dissenting voices by the regimes in an organized manner. Munizae
Jahangir and Arifa Noor, the senior journalists and anchorpersons, highlighting the gaps in the
implementation of laws in rape and other crimes against women, emphasized the need for capacity
building and training of the officials concerned in the justice system. Marvi Awan, the Chairperson of
Women Protection Cell, was of view that the government and civil society need to join hands to improve
the implementation of laws in the cases of domestic