UN Women-Pakistan, the Ministry of Human Rights, and the U.S. Embassy’s Office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Celebrate International Women’s Day

In collaboration with the Ministry of Human Rights, U.N Women held a national seminar on “Innovation and technology for gender equality: Creating Safe Spaces” to mark International Women’s Day (IWD) in Islamabad. The event was organized under the Tahafuzz programme funded by the Office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) of the U.S. Department of State.

The event was aligned with the global theme for International Women’s Day, “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality,” which recognizes the women and girls championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education. UN Women’s Country Representative Sharmeela Rassool welcomed the distinguished participants and highlighted the importance of creating safe spaces for women online and offline. She emphasized, ” The gender equality is operational necessity to make innovation and technology gender responsive so  that digital spaces are made safer for women.”

In his keynote address, Federal Minister for Human Rights, Mr. Riaz Hussian Pirzada, highlighted the steps the Government of Pakistan was taking to prevent and protect women against online harassment and shared the reforms for creating a better environment for tech-based businesses for women in the country. “I pay tribute to strong women who broke the barriers in this male-dominated field. More women and girls in technology can lead to more ground-breaking solutions that meet women’s needs while promoting gender equality.”

The panel discussions highlighted the importance of protecting the rights of women and girls in digital spaces and addressing online and ICT-facilitated gender-based violence.

The event was organized under the Tahaffuz programme, which focuses on preventing violence against women and enhancing their access to justice. It will be implemented in 5 districts of Punjab and Sindh, as well as the Islamabad Capital Territory, from 2022 to 2024.

During the program’s life, Tahaffuz will strengthen law enforcement officials’ capacity by improving knowledge and attitudes on gender, enhancing the handling of cases of VAW, along with improved coordination between security and justice sector stakeholders, forensic officers, and medical examiners.

Erum Fareed, Communications Officer- UN Women at [email protected],