President Dr Arif Alvi has emphasised on women empowerment through better health and education, hereditary rights and financial independence. Addressing a ceremony in connection with the International Women’s Day on Monday, the President said the present government has passed several laws to empower women. The President said although laws for women rights existed in the country, however, they were not being implemented. He said the current government is taking steps to ensure their implementation, including the law of hereditary rights of women. Underlining the importance of financial independence of women, the President said the government has started a programme in which banks are offering loans of up to five million rupees to a woman entrepreneur. Under the PTI government’s Ehsaas programme as well, he said, most of the funds are being disbursed among women. Dr Arif Alvi said a Telehealth system should be developed under which women can consult doctors and seek basic advice through telephone. He also stressed on reducing the female dropout level in education as well as employment. The President urged the media not to show women being subjected to violence in dramas. He said instead of highlighting the negative cultural perceptions about women, the rights given to women in Islam should be projected. He said Ulema also have a pivotal role to play in this regard. Highlighting plight of women in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K), Dr Arif Alvi asked the world to take notice of human rights violations in the occupied valley. He said that women in IIOJ&K are subjected to violence by state but unfortunately, world remains silent on the issue. Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari voiced concerns over rising incidents of Islamophobia in the Western world, saying the veil ban in Switzerland is also a violation of human rights. Minister for Defence Production Zubaida Jalal in remarks said that women empowerment is based on education. She said, “In Covid situation we have started the concept of camel library to provide education to children in far-flung areas of Balochistan.” Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Dr Fehmida Mirza said that women are proving their abilities in all fields of life at present. She appreciated the women who are shining in athletics and sports. Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara in her remarks on the occasion appreciated the steps taken by Pakistani government for women empowerment. She especially mentioned Ehsaas programme and improvement in inheritance laws of the country. Separately, in his message pertaining to Women’s Day, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that during the testing times of the Covid-19 pandemic, women in Pakistan demonstrated remarkable resilience and leadership, effectively contributing to our nation’s response and recovery. Qureshi said that women stood at the front lines, as healthcare workers, primary caregivers, innovators, human rights defenders and community organizers. Under the guidance of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan’s landmark Ehsaas emergency cash program to counter the negative socio-economic impacts of the pandemic is being ably led by a woman. The foreign minister said, “We cannot forget the plight of women in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and over the last seven decades, they have endured the worst forms of human rights abuse and oppression at the hands of Indian occupation forces including sexual violence, rape and molestation.” Chairman Kashmir Committee Shehryar Khan Afridi has said in today’s modern world, suffering of women in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir continues unabated. In a tweet on Monday, he said Indian forces are using rape as tool of genocide in Kashmir to break resolve of Kashmiris for freedom from Indian Illegal occupation as women teach their kids to fight oppression.