HYDERABAD: The Hari Welfare Association (HWA), a non-profit organization working for the rights of peasants, has expressed deep concern over lax enforcement of the laws for protection of the rights of rural women.
In a statement issued here on Friday to mark the International Day of Rural Women, the association’s President, Akram Ali Khaskhlei, said the day reminded the global community that there was still a way to go to provide protection to rural women, especially peasants.
He argued that government initiatives like Ehsaas and the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) gave financial support to the women, but they were far from ensuring the protection enshrined in the constitution.
The HWA’s President called for the implementation of the Sindh Women Agriculture Workers Act, 2019, saying the act was a pivotal step towards recognizing the work of women in the agriculture sector and promoting their participation in decision-making to foster empowerment.
He lamented that the provincial government passed the law four years ago, but its adequate enforcement has yet to materialize. According to him, the Act acknowledged several important rights, including the right to equal pay for equal work, the right to unionize, the right to a written contract, and access to social security and welfare benefits. Khaskheli said a lack of access to education, particularly in rural areas, exacerbated the suffering of women.
“This low literacy rate contributed to their vulnerability and impeded their access to economic and political opportunities,” he underscored. He also drew attention to the alarming statistics of violence against women, including honor killings, child marriages, and domestic violence.
The HWA President urged the federal and provincial governments to prioritize the well-being of rural women, establish livelihood programs, support social systems, provide land to landless women peasants, and ensure that social security programs covered all rural women.