ISLAMABAD: Women’s participation at both micro and macro levels empowers them to develop the ability and the competence to counter conflicts peacefully, it was observed.
“Without a vocal approach and constructive intervention, it is difficult for aspirational women to act as leaders and change-makers,” said Professor Shaheen Akhtar of National Defence University (NDU) during a day-long capacity-building training workshop.
The event was hosted by the Kashmir-based think tank Center for Peace, Development, and Reforms (CPDR) and attended by a group of 25 local women.
Akhtar emphasised the necessity of structural reforms and policies in advancing women’s participation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s socio-economic life.
She was of the view the impact of the Kashmir dispute circumscribed women’s majority in drafting and execution of the strategic plans embodying the policy-making and hampers their functioning in numerous other core spaces.
“It is vital to recognize the contribution and efforts of women in the peace-making process for meaningful results as they constitute 49 percent of the Azad Jammu Kashmir population”, she emphasized.
Akhtar also specified the very existence of empowered women demands the termination of conventional patriarchal practices for befitting governance. Their representation requires acceptability and substantial validity for participation and ratified output.
Addressing the ceremony, the president of CPDR, Zulfiqar Abbasi, said the group seeks to advance gender-sensitive and inclusive policies to assist social and economic reform in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Abbasi, no nation has ever advanced economically or socially without empowering its women; putting women behind will keep the nation behind.
Ershad Mahmud, executive director of CPDR, while addressing the event, said: “Women’s involvement and participation may be ensured through educating and empowering them at various levels. He claimed that although the empowerment of women is currently receiving some attention from the authorities in AJK, more thorough research is still required to fully comprehend the reality of women’s access to healthcare, jobs, and education.”
While discussing the creation of an institutional framework, Asma Ali Shan challenged the traditional dynamics of the society that generally overlooked the perspective of gender. She observed: “Such a worldview increases the sorrow and desperation among the abandoned people.”
Irtaza Muhmmad, a programme officer at CPDR, underlined that Kashmiri women were gradually advancing in every aspect of life. 31 women ran for office in the most recent local government elections, and some of them won against fierce competition, shocking political watchers worldwide, he noted.
