Faisalabad: March 13, 2015. (PCP) A women workers convention entitled “Labor Instruments for Visibility and Rights of Women Workers: Make it Happen” to mark international women's day was held at Faisalabad on March 7, 2015. The event was hosted by the Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM), implementing project of “Enhancing Women Workers’ Awareness on their Rights & Labor Laws” under the Gender Equity Program (GEP) of Aurat Foundation by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). At this juncture, women workers presented a role play depicting harassment of women and exploitation of women workers in a patriarchal society. They also set up stalls to display their products clearly demonstrating their skills in handicrafts. At the conclusion of the event, the participants gathered to form the outdoor female gender symbol, also known as the Venus symbol; in celebration of the International women’s day. Speaking on the event, a member of the Punjab assembly, Dr. Najma Afzal said, “The government has made remarkable strides for the empowerment of women by ensuring their 33% representation in all decision making boards and committees, and 15% representation in government departments and institutions.” “A helpline 1213 has been established in Faisalabad to provide assistance to women facing violence or abuse, which will help curb violence against women and enable them to report abuse without fear,” she added. A member of the national assembly, Khalida Mansoor said, “The government has taken unprecedented measures for bringing women into mainstream of national development through passage and implementation of pro-women legislation, and ensuring their significant participation in diverse fields of life.” “The government has set up special centre for redressing the grievances of women through the provision of justice to women subjected to violence, where police, prosecution, medical and forensic facilities will be available under one roof,” she added. A member of the Punjab assembly, Kaneez Ishaq said, “Females face obstacles in life due to a mindset that puts them in a position of inferiority, therefore, females must focus on improving their literacy and technical skills, and must struggle for the defense of their due rights.” “The government has carried out effective legislation for the empowerment of women due to which women are discharging their national and economic responsibilities with more confidence. It is a collective responsibility of the society to discourage negative attitude and promote positive trend of equality and non-discrimination,” she added. The project manager of the AWAM, Shazia George said, “Women have to work side by side with men in practical field, as it is the only way to make Pakistan a developed and prosperous country.” “Women face exploitation and violence, and they are deprived of any form of legal protection, including a minimum wage guarantee, social security and EOBI benefits, for not having a status of a worker; therefore women should know their rights and make efforts to protect them. The government must regularize Home-based workers and domestic workers to extend social and legal protection to them,” she added. The president of the Faisalabad chamber of commerce, Rizwan Ashraf said, "The trade forum makes efforts to increase awareness among women about handling and running business despite challenges. The chamber has established training schools where new courses are offered for women to learn skills, which will help women to find avenues for earning and starting their own businesses. It has also established centre for businesswomen where they can display their products and hold meetings to promote their businesses.” “The chamber has set up a cell to monitor compliance with rights enshrined in 27 UN/ILO conventions associated with the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Plus status to Pakistan, granting 20% of Pakistani products to enter the European market at zero tariff and 70% at preferential rates,” he added. A social activist, Ghalia Farrukh said, “The women must improve their skills in collective bargaining and learn new skills to develop products and earn money for supporting their family, as the economic empowerment of women will definitely boost up their confidence and improve their status in the society." The grant holder of the Aurat foundation, Sumera Saleem said, “The women workers face harassment which badly affects their confidence and skills, therefore the employers must adopt code of conduct for gender justice against sexual harassment and establish committee to deal with such cases for making the environment at workplaces favorable for women.” “The government must pass legislation to protect women against domestic violence,” she demanded. The director of the AWAM, Nazia Sardar said, “There is a need to create an enabling environment for women, where they feel comfortable to come forward and play their due role in the practical field after acquiring education.” “Women workers experience poor working conditions such as long working hours, high level of health hazards or lack of social security usually accompanied with poor earnings, low productivity, and lack of legal protection. There is a need to undertake advocacy actions for realization of their rights, and enhance responsiveness of duty-bearers for the adoption and implementation of domestic and international instruments safeguarding rights of women workers,” she added.