PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa government’s Social Welfare Department, AusAID and Trocaire held an award ceremony for women at a local hotel on International Women’s Day. The ceremony was arranged by Aiming Change for Tomorrow (ACT), a civil society organization working for women, children and marginalized communities across Pakistan. These awards were presented as appreciation for best efforts towards women empowerment. The ceremony was attended by Mr. Sikander Hayat Khan Sherpao, Minister for Social Welfare, Special Education and Women Empowerment KP, Ms. Neelum Toru, Chairperson Provincial Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW), Ms. Meraj Hamayun, MPA and Chairperson, Women Parliamentary Caucus, KP Assembly, Khwaja Wajih Uddin, Dean Judicial Academy KP, Mr. Adeel Shah Additional Secretary Social Welfare Department, Mr. Fareed Ullah Marwat Director GRAP, Social Welfare Department and Mr. John O’ Brein, Country Director Trocaire. It was also attended by several women activists, sportspersons, writers, poetesses and journalists, who were later awarded appreciation for best efforts towards women empowerment. Opening the conference with the theme of Be Bold for Change, Mr. Marwat welcomed the participants of the conference and shared that the KP government is launching several programs for women. He also shared the achievements of the government which include strengthening of PCSW, women protection committees and harassment committees along initiation and extension of various services across the province focused towards women. Mr. John O’ Brein said that Trocaire is extensively working with the communities in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa in partnership with several civil society partners and the government. He urged that all the stakeholders need to work together which can have a very positive effect in terms of women empowerment in the society. Mr. Akhter Ali Shah, Additional Inspector General of Police said that he felt great honor and privilege to be a part of the award ceremony. He shared several statistics related to women’s education, health, life expectancy, employment, labor and police. He added that the strength of KP police is 68530, whereas the strength of women is 582, which makes 0.84 percent of the entire police force in province. Ms. Neelum Toru stated that the women of Pakistan have braved several challenges along women across the globe. She said that women also stood up against Zia regime in 1980s when they were being sidelined. She added that PCSW is working to ensure women are integrated into all spheres of life. She said that currently PCSW is actively working on laws on honor killing, domestic violence, acid and burn comprehensive bill and reviewing Sikh and Hindu marriage laws. She also emphasized that a lot of work needs to be done in FATA after its mainstreaming. Ms. Meraj Hamayun congratulated women on behalf of the parliamentary caucus. She saidf that International Womens Day is a story of long struggle against oppression of women in different cultures and societies. She said that a woman should not take birth only to sit at home, give birth abd isn’t able to freely breath even. She urged that women should be taken as equal partners. She stated that women Employment Policy was developed in 2014 but its implementation strategy could not be finalized until now. She urged the government to form an independent Women Development Department in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, which can ensure initiation of laws and their implementation in the province. Khwaja Wajih Uddin said that there is a vast gap between gender mainstreaming and women empowerment in our society. He said that the old practices are no secret in society which include honor killing, acid throwing and deprivation from inheritance. Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Sikander Sherpao stated that we celebrate this day every year to recognize the struggle for women’s rights that is taking place since decades. He said that though there have been a number of efforts, yet there is still a long way to go. He added that there is a need for steps to ensure implementation of laws related to women empowerment and gender equity in the country. Concluding the ceremony, Mr. Mubashar Nabi, CEO ACT thanked all the participants and speakers for taking out time for the award ceremony for disabled women of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa. He said that there is a visible change in terms of adaptability of women’s rights in the public and private sector due to efforts of activists for the past several years. He urged that there is a need for coordinated and strong steps to further the cause of women empowerment across Pakistan. A total of 9 awards were presented which included Ms. Saira Shams from lower Dir who is a district councilor working for disabled women of KP. Moreover, the first female journalist from Swat, Ms. Shaista Hakim was also awarded during the ceremony. Apart from her, Ms. Zainab Barkat, the twice winner of wheelchair table tennis championship was also awarded for her spirit to work for women despite being physically challenged.