NCSW | Pakistan

The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), a statutory body working for women rights, on Friday condemned the “misogynistic and irresponsible remarks” made by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi on the Noor Mukadam case, saying that they reflected a “harmful mindset that shifts responsibility away from the perpetrators of violence and onto women themselves”. Justice Najafi — a member of the three-judge bench of the Supreme Court that had upheld the death penalty awarded to Noor’s murderer — attributed the ghastly 2021 murder to what he described as a vice prevalent in society. In his additional note, which surfaced on Wednesday, Justice Najafi upheld the sentence handed to Zahir and observed that “the present case is a direct result of a vice spreading in the upper society which we know as ‘living relationship’ [sic]”. It appeared the judge was referring to a live-in relationship, where two unmarried individuals in a romantic relationship cohabitate. The jud­ge also observed that societal compulsions in such...

The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) on Thursday welcomed a marriage dissolution judgment authored by Supreme Court Justice Ayesha A. Malik, terming it a “progressive step“ to an “equitable and gender-sensitive” interpretation of family law, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported. On October 25, in a 17-page ruling, Justice Malik set aside a Peshawar High Court (PHC) ruling over a divorce case, terming psychological abuse as cruelty, based on which a marriage can legally be dissolved, along with highlighting the “deeply patriarchal” approach of the court in such cases. NCSW chairperson, Ume Laila Azhar, in a statement, called the verdict “a progressive step towards a more equitable and gender-sensitive interpretation of family law.“ According to APP, she noted that the “court’s acknowledgement of emotional and psychological cruelty as equally serious as physical abuse marks a significant milestone in safeguarding women’s dignity and well-being within marital relationships.” “This rul...

ISLAMABAD: National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), in collaboration with UNFPA and Legal Aid Society, convened a consultation on Friday to address the pressing issue of child marriage in Pakistan. Opening the session, Ume Laila Azhar, who is NCSW chairperson, stressed the urgent need to standardise the minimum age of marriage across Pakistan, highlighting persistent gaps in the implementation despite Sindh pioneering law. Key insights were shared by government representatives, law enforcement, civil society and community stakeholders emphasising on more female station house officer (SHOs) and specialised training for handling child marriage cases. Reforms in nikah registration through digitisation and mandatory CNIC verification were also emphasised by participants. Among other demands was on strengthening Sindh Child Protection Authority’s role with resources and awareness. Participants also emphasised on government ownership to ensure sustainability and real improvements. Shaheena Sher Ali, who i...

Islamabad - national Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) and the National Cyber Emergency Response Team (NCERT-PKCERT) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at protecting women and children from rising cyber threats and technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV).