Daily Times

Speakers at a training camp organised to highlight the role women can play in establishment of peace and stability on Wednesday stressed that participation of women in nation-building is an important ingredient to obtain an equitable, peaceful and prosperous society.

The five-day camp jointly organised by the Paigham-e-Pakistan Centre for Peace and Reconciliation Studies and Dar-e-Irqam Foundation at Government Women Degree College Murree. Dr Samia Raheel Qazi, Zubair Mansoor, Rahim Qadri, Ali Raza and Mushtaq Mangat were prominent among those who spoke on the occasion. A huge number of female students from several cities participated in the event.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Samia Raheel Qazi said women are central to the democratic and economic development and their empowerment, equal status and effective participation in social, political and economic spheres is vital to moving democracy, good governance and development forward. She maintained that the promotion and achievement of gender equality and women empowerment is a means to the elimination of extremism and terrorism, which glorify violence and aggression in the society.

In his address, Zubair Mansoor said the women as mothers, wives, sisters and daughters in family settings and as professionals in workplaces shape the values of community members and are a potential bearer of peaceful messages. He said supporting social inclusion and financial independence of women may go a long way towards giving them a voice and the power to negotiate when it comes to making decisions within families and communities in order to build a balanced and violence-free society.

Other speakers said Pakistan is facing multiple political, ethnic, social, religious and sectarian conflicts at present, which require immediate attention and prompt redressal. They said peace and conflict resolution are vital preconditions for a sustainable economic growth, democracy and development, adding that educational institutions and religious seminaries can effectively train the youth, especially girls, to counter growing radicalism and extremism in the society, particularly by discouraging the elements promoting violence.

The basic objective of the activity was to highlight the importance of empowerment of women with a hope that empowering them will change the dynamics of their homes and communities and eventually lead to the promotion of peace and tolerance in the society by countering the prevalent challenges including hatred, extremism, violence and terrorism.