Peshawar
Mr. Shaukat Yusufzai, Minister for Labour, reiterated the KP Government’s commitment to eradicating child labour and harmful practices like early age marriage.
He was speaking at the Concluding Session of the two-day Aawaz II KP Learning & Development Forum in Peshawar today. The Minister said that the Child Labour Survey for KP will be completed by June 2022 and the recommendations will be used to shape government policies and actions.
He appreciated the role of Aawaz II in highlighting key implementation challenges and on-ground service delivery issues. Mark Crossey, Deputy Country Director, British Council Pakistan said that together with support from partners and stakeholders, Aawaz II is making an impact in the 22 districts of KP and Punjab to promote inclusion and basic rights of the marginalised and vulnerable members of the society.
The Forum brought together about 100 activists from nine KP districts in which the Aawaz II Programme is operational. Dialogue and information sharing were identified as the two key factors that are helping the programme promote inclusion of vulnerable groups including women, children, transgender persons, the differently-abled and religious minorities.
On the second day of the two-day event, three sessions were held.
The first was on Including the Perspectives of PWDs. Mr. Zawar Noor, speaking in this session, stressed that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2021 must be expedited so the rights of the differently-abled are protected and they feel integrated and equal to other citizens.
The Deputy Secretary Social Welfare, Mr. Altaf Husain, said that the Social Welfare Department is very hopeful that the legislation will be passed very soon. He also shared current projects initiated by Social Welfare Department including setting up of brail printing process and facility for online registration of the differently-abled.
In the session on Mainstreaming of Transgender Persons, Ms. Namkeen, Social Activist appreciated efforts to include transgender persons through programmes like Aawaz II and stressed on the need to promote registration of transgender persons with the social welfare department.
Speaking about including Religious Minorities, MPA Mr. Ravi Kumar said that the government has given priority to integrating religious minorities in the province. He said it was important to recognise that the majority has played an important role in the rights and integration of religious minorities.
As a Member of the KP Assembly, MPA Kumar said that he not only takes up issues of religious minorities but also of other vulnerable groups like women, trans persons, and persons with disabilities. Mr. Kumar encouraged young activists to continue to work for interfaith harmony and appreciated the efforts of Aawaz II in this regard.
Aawaz II Programme works with local communities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab to romote the rights of children, women, youth, and other vulnerable groups, to work towards a more inclusive, tolerant and peaceful Pakistan. Aawaz II is a programme managed by the British Council.
