GUJRAT: The Department of Sociology at the University of Gujrat (UoG) recently launched a series of workshops and activities aimed at raising awareness about violence against women and gender-based crimes. The initiative was in support of the Women Development Department (WDD) of the Government of Punjab’s 16-day global activism campaign under the theme: Unite! Invest to Prevent Violence against Women and Girls.
Dr Muhammad Shoaib, Chairperson of the Department of Sociology, expressed support for the WDD initiative and committed to launching various activities to achieve its objectives. Mr. Shamraiz Iqbal, a gender expert, commended the students for their enthusiasm and volunteerism in campaigning against violence and harassment towards women.
During the workshop, Dr Shoaib discussed Sociology as an analytical science, while Dr Zaheer Abbas emphasized the unacceptability of any form of violence against women. Faculty members Anila Irum and Sonia Shahzadi stressed the importance of sensitizing families and communities to the issues of violence and abuse against women in Pakistan.
The workshop saw the participation of 150 students who collaborated in groups to design charts highlighting the challenges faced by women. The topics discussed included gender-based violence, forced marriages, women’s decision-making and participation, women empowerment, and domestic violence. Dr Shoaib expressed gratitude to the participants and organizers for the successful organization of the workshop.
Meanwhile, various sessions on the second day of the workshop were held under the theme of ‘A Training on Deterrence of Violence against Women’. The discussion included the role of formal correction agencies including police, court, prison, parole, probation, and informal correction agencies including family, politics, local leaders, tribal leader, jirga head, panchayat head, religious leaders, etc. and many other interlinked other agencies were discussed to combat violence against women in Pakistan.
Seminar advocates for elimination of violence against women in Pak
The Department of Sociology at the University of Gujrat (UoG) organized a seminar, a third on the trot, as part of the ongoing ‘16 days of global activism campaign’ commissioned by the Women Development Department of the Government of Punjab under the UN initiative ‘Unite! Invest to Prevent Violence against Women and Girls’. The event aimed to focus on the elimination of violence against women in Pakistan.
Chairperson of the Sociology Department Dr Muhammad Shoaib, acting as a host, welcomed the distinguished guests.
Those who addressed the seminar included Dr Abre-Rehmat Quratul Ain, Dr Noreena Kausar, Mr Shamraiz Iqbal, Dr. Shazia Kiyani, and Ms. Mobeena Ghazanfar, a lawyer from the Lahore High Court.
