EU organises workshop on women and elections

ISLAMABAD: The European Union's Delegation to Pakistan organised a workshop on 'Women and Elections' in Islamabad yesterday. In the run up to International Women's Day, this workshop sought to explore ways to increase the participation of Pakistani women in general elections. It gathered women and men from a broad spectrum of the Pakistani civil society, says a Press release. For the first time, women Ambassadors of EU Member States in Pakistan headed roundtable discussions on separate topics relating to elections.  Speaking at the occasion, Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan Jean-François Cautain said, "Gender equality is a core value of the European Union and enshrined in its legal and political framework. Discriminatory laws, practices or cultural norms often limit girls' and women's social, economic and political participation.  The gap is even larger when gender inequality intersects with other forms of exclusion such as disability, age, caste, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or geographical remoteness. The EU is supporting Pakistan in its efforts to promote more women as full stakeholders in Pakistani politics in particular in the run up of next year's general elections."  Recommendations resulting from the discussion will be presented in a seminar being organised by the Election Commission of Pakistan in Islamabad on 7th March. International Women's Day is celebrated on 8 March each year to highlight the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, and to accelerate action towards gender parity. This year, the European Union's theme is #BeBoldForChange and #4WomensRights, which is a call to all of us to help forge a more gender-inclusive world. "Through purposeful collaboration, we can help women advance and unleash the limitless potential offered to economies the world over."  International Women's Day (IWD) has been observed since the early 1900s. It is a collective day of global celebration and a call for gender parity. IWD is a powerful global platform that unifies action for gender parity while celebrating the social, cultural, economic and political achievements of women. It is based on ten values: justice, dignity, hope, equality, collaboration, tenacity, appreciation, respect, empathy and forgiveness.