Appreciating women’s participation, the Senate on Friday passed a unanimous resolution commending the role of Pakistani women in nation building and demanded of the government for appropriate measures for empowerment of women. The resolution was moved by Nuzhat Sadiq on the occasion of International Women’s Day (IWD). When the House started discussion on IWD, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani left the seat for minority member Senator Keshoo Bai to preside the session. Sadiq Sanjrani lauded the contributions of Pakistani women in different fields including politics and sports. He said such an environment should be created that enables our women to move forward without any impediment. The opposition senators staged a walkout from the house against the government’s exclusion of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s name from the official Women’s Day advertisement. The issue was raised by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman who took to the floor of the House and said, “The world acknowledges the services of Benazir Bhutto. The government should apologise for not including her name in the official advertisement released to mark IWD. The government should make alterations to the advertisement by this evening. Leader of the House Senator Shibli Faraz seconded Sherry Rehman and said, “Pakistani nation values the services of Benazir Bhutto. The advertisement should have mentioned Benazir’s name. We will look into how her name was not included.” In his remarks on the occasion, Sanjrani appreciated the contributions of Pakistani women in different fields including politics and sports. He said such an environment should be created that enables our women to move forward without any impediment. The Senate held discussion to commemorate IWD. Initiating the debate, Senator Sassui Palijo hailed the services of Fatima Jinnah, Benazir, Kalsoom Nawaz, Asma Jehangir and others for the cause of democracy in the country. She said women should be given equal perks and privileges as per their male counterparts in the fields they are serving. Rehman said the PPP had always raised voice for the rights of women. She added that the Aurat March was being taken out in different cities and all segments of the society should participate in them. Sitara Ayaz said our women were excelling in different areas which depict that they were second to none. She said our women parliamentarians were actively participating in the proceedings of the House and bringing legislation on important matters. Rubina Khalid called for economic empowerment of women folk. Nighat Mirza stressed the need for creating awareness amongst the people about the rights of women. Quratulain Marri said that curbs on women should be lifted and they should be provided conducive environment to leave an impact on the society. Sana Jamali recalled that women played an active role in the independence movement. She said personalities like Fatima Jinnah and Benazir were a role model for us. Kalsoom Parveen said Islam gave great respect and honour to women. She said that we should follow the Islamic injunctions for empowerment of women. She regretted that women in our society were not being given their share in inheritance. Nuzhat Sadiq said women constituted 52 percent of the population and the government should take requisite steps to facilitate them. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad said the lives of Ummahatul Momineen were a role model for all of us. He said the government was committed to work towards the empowerment of women. Others who also spoke on the occasion include Najma Hameed, Rukhsana Zuberi, Abida Azeem and Gul Bashra. The House has now been prorogued. Published in Daily Times, March 9th 2019.