LAHORE – Appreciating the formation of the platform of Provincial Stakeholders Alliance (PSA), stakeholders have stressed the need for coordinated efforts and concerted efforts to ensure empowerment of women agricultural workers in Punjab, as it would lead to achieving social as well as economic equality.
The stakeholders were speaking during an event held here on Friday, which proved to be a significant step in addressing the issues raised in the research report titled ‘The Hands that Feed Us: Struggles of Women Agricultural Workers in Pakistan’ produced by Awaz Foundation Pakistan: Centre for Development Services, JAAG Welfare and the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA).
The PSA is a platform of representatives from various relevant stakeholders, including government agencies, non-government organisations, civil society organizations, bar council, and representatives from media.
In his welcoming address, Nadeem Ashraf, Member Punjab of the National Commission for Human Rights, said, “To guarantee women empowerment and well-being, we must all work together to put the appropriate measures into place. The PSA, aimed at fostering the empowerment of women agricultural workers, brought together various stakeholders committed to creating positive change.”
Zia-ur-Rehman, Chief Executive of AwazCDS-Pakistan, introduced the purpose of the PSA, emphasising, “This platform aims to be a catalyst for positive change, ensuring the rights and empowerment of women agricultural workers are prioritized and protected by ensuring legislation for the Punjab Agricultural Workers especially for women.”
The Deputy Secretary Labour & Human Resource Department Punjab shared that there is need to bring policy for agriculture and workers since we do not have any. He further added that the government of Punjab is undertaking unprecedented and substantial labour law reforms. These efforts involve rationalising, consolidating and simplifying over two dozen labour laws into comprehensive Labour Codes.
PMA Kanwal Parvaiz said, “Working Conditions and Working hours; currently, there is no law in place to regulate the working conditions of the agriculture workers, we are working to introduce new laws for regulating working hours and working conditions of the workers engaged in the agriculture sector especially women.”
Different civil society leaders also expressed that by employing a multifaceted approach that combines advocacy, research, capacity building and public awareness, CSOs can effectively advocate for the legislation for the protection and welfare of women agricultural workers in Punjab. These efforts can lead to significant improvements in their working conditions, wages, and overall quality of life.
Zia-ur-Rehman expressed that PSA will coordinate to enhance advocacy efforts to promote legislation for the Women Agricultural Workers and will also advocate for increased programmes and increased budget allocation for support of women agricultural workers.
He also took the lead in finalising the “Follow-up actions,” outlining the practical steps that would be taken to translate discussions into meaningful actions.
