Faisalabad: November 11, 2010. (PCP) Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM) organized a one-day training workshop on the theme “Empowering Women with Disabilities to Defend their Rights” on 7th November 2010. The purpose of the workshop was to create understanding among participants about human rights, gender and disability concepts, and to impart skills for empowering them to raise voice for their rights. 16 Muslim and Christian women with disabilities actively participated in the training workshop held at Barkatpura in Faisalabad. The facilitators of the workshop included Shazia George, Mumtaz Kousar and Farzana Paloos, who discussed different topics like: Understanding human rights, gender and disability, Challenges facing women with disabilities in Pakistan, Legislation, policies and registration process for persons with disabilities in Pakistan, Impact of myths and stereotypes about people with disabilities. Shazia George said, “There are negative myths and stereotypes towards persons with disabilities in our society, which are purely baseless, illogical and fabricated, the societal discriminatory against people with disabilities has promoted the sense of deprivation and interiority complex among them.” “We must adopt positive thinking and must engage rather than isolate persons with disabilities in social and recreational activities in order to build confidence in them,” she added. Mumtaz Kousar said, “Persons with disabilities especially women have never been provided with better opportunities for portraying their better status in society, the result is that they face discrimination, barriers, prejudice, hatred and injustice throughout their lives.” “God has created them with special gifts and capabilities, therefore they just need encouragement and human rights rather than sympathy and charity in order to polish and explore their talent,” she added. Farzana Paloos said, “It is imperative for the empowerment of women with disabilities that they should be furnished with opportunities for formal and technical education, and they must be given debt on easy and flexible conditions in order to start business on small scale.” The participants unanimously passed a resolution for the empowerment of persons with disabilities and called upon the Government that: Disability registration process must be made easy, short, accessible and speedy in order to mitigate the sufferings of people with disabilities; Government should ratify UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD) for addressing their problems and needs, and must repeal discriminatory laws against women such as Hudood Ordinance, Qisas and Diyat Ordinance and Qanoon-e-Shahadat in order to give equality to women, and must outlaw customary practices and informal courts (Jirga/Panchayat), and should take punitive actions against the violators; Every Tehsil Headquarter Hospital along with DHQ hospital should be authorized to issue disability registration certificate keeping in view the problems facing persons with disabilities in mobility; Government must ensure strict implementation on all privileges, policies and legislation concerning persons with disabilities, and must eliminate the tariffs, duties and taxes imposed on assistive devices and vehicles for them; Government should take steps for ensuring easy access to educational institutes, health facilities, rehabilitation centres, employment, transportation, public buildings and places, based on universally accepted standards for all persons with disabilities, and must ensure availability of disability registration form in Urdu in place of English.