Government has released the Gender Parity Report (PGPR) 2021. This report was jointly developed by the Department of Women Development and the Punjab Commission on Women’s Status. Provincial Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Environmental Protection and Cooperatives Mohammad Basharat Raja was the chief guest of the opening ceremony. Secretary Women Development Punjab Sumera Samad, Secretary Punjab Commission on Status of Women Nada Azhar, Deputy Representative of United Nations Program (UNFPA) for Pakistan Miss Latika Pradhan and other concerned officers also participated. Provincial Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Environment Protection and Cooperatives Muhammad Basharat Raja while welcoming the release of PGPR said that practical implementation of this report was more important than preparation. “Cooperation of the United Nations in this regard was fantastic”, lauded the minister. He said that under the vision of Chairman Imran Khan and the leadership of Punjab Chief Minister Ch. Pervez Elahi, gender parity was being ensured at the province level. He said that there can be no balance in the society without gender equality. “Civil society must cooperate with the government to end domestic violence and provide equal opportunities for women and transgender to work”, stressed the minister. He said that discussion in length on such an important report should be mandatory in the Punjab Assembly. “Unfortunately that there was not much discussion on the previous gender parity reports, but God willing, I will ensure a detailed discussion on this report in the House now”, pledged Mr. Raja. Speaking on the occasion, Secretary Women Development Sumera Samad said that collecting the data of Gender Parity Report was not an easy task; however this difficult task has been completed with great effort. “In the next phase, district level consultation will be held on the report”, she announced. She said that domestic violence and inequality are increasing all over the world including Pakistan. “This social evil must be removed together”, said Samad. Miss Latika Pradhan, Deputy Representative of UNFPA for Pakistan, said that strengthening of institutions is necessary to solve other problems including child marriage. “The United Nations will continue to cooperate with the Punjab government in the future”, she assured.
