LAHORE: Rabiya Javeri-Agha will take oath as the additional secretary of the Ministry of Human Rights next week with an aim to play a leading role in providing a highly informed and objective voice in the struggle for the provision of human rights for all.
The former secretary of the Trade and Development Authority of Pakistan said that the new role would give her an opportunity to further her dream, which was to help build a just society and to facilitate the downtrodden segment of the country.
“As magistrates early in our career we learnt to deal with law and order issues, to cope with emergencies without flinching, to take strong decisions in short time spans. This is all a process of collective learning and character building that a government job entails,” she remarked during an exclusive interview with Daily Times.
Before joining bureaucracy, Rabiya Javeri-Agha worked as a journalist for a leading daily. She wrote over 300 articles on social, political and cultural issues as well as authored and published research papers on Sufism and on the Afghan political and refugee crisis. Rabiya holds the credit for vocational training of 1,200 girls in entrepreneurship, beautician and office management courses through the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Youth Development Programme besides establishment of shelter homes across Sindh. With the support of the CC France Ambreen Iftikhar, she was instrumental behind signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Albert Du Mon School of Fashion, Paris and the Textile Institute of Pakistan.
“If bureaucrats, operate within the law and within established institutional systems they can address and even reduce corruption within their organisations. If systems are upheld and if internal checks ensure that they are upheld, corruption can be effectively combatted by bureaucrats-be they male or female,” the senior government official opined.
With TDAP, Rabiya worked hard in both marketing and supply-chain development. She was the force behind exploring new markets and regions through specific brands that TDAP developed e.g. Aalishan Pakistan in India, Single Country Exhibition in Sri Lanka and the Trade Caravan in Central Asia – the latter, allowing Pakistan strategic entry into markets of the Eurasian Economic Union.
“In supply chain, we actively worked with the Ministry of Food Security with regard to mango, kinoo, chillies etc. New packing methods, education and emphasis on phytosanitary compliances have started to make a difference in perceptions within the agro-sector,” she added.
When posted as secretary for the Women’s Development Department (WDD) of Sindh, Rabiya Javeri-Agha launched the legal aid committee for women in prison. She founded the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus with the help of Shahla Raza and also worked on the bill regarding domestic violence and harassment in the workplace for women. She helped relocate Panah Shelter for women at old Darul Aman, Karachi.
“I cannot see myself as an entity separate to my land. And, therefore Pakistan’s success is my own personal success, its failure my own defeat-not as a bureaucrat but as a citizen of this country. My vision of Pakistan would be one of peace and development, in which our natural and strategic assets would be utilised to the maximum benefit of all areas of the country at large.”