Islamabad:Education, awareness and change in mindset are essential for ameliorating the plight of women and putting an end to violence against them.

This was the consensus at an interactive session on ‘Combating violence against women through community ownership initiatives’ organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here on Monday.

MQM MNA Fouzia Ijaz was in the chair whereas Mome Saleem from SDPI conducted the proceedings.The participants observed that women play vital role in the informal sector but their contribution is not recognised in statistics, studies and even at family level. Culture, tradition and sometimes religion are also used to suppress the rights of women.

Speaking on the occasion, Fouzia Ejaz said that female MPs formed a Caucasus and were fighting for the plight of women. She said that without the cooperation of male members of society, violence against women couldn’t be reduced. She called for a revolution in this respect. She said that laws are there but not implemented.

Mome Saleem said that 30 organisations including SDPI are part of an investigation to find community solutions and strategies for combating violence against women. She said that inputs would be secured from all stakeholders including local elected members and law enforcing agencies. She said that so far, 30 informal meetings were conducted among men and women separately in nine districts of Punjab, Sindh and NWFP. The news