The Punjab Minister for Social Welfare and Bait ul Maal Syed Yawer Abbas Bukhari, Punjab Minister on Sunday said that Punjab government has drafted a law to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities under which all kinds of social and economic rights would be given to the disable persons in the country.
He was speaking here at a two-day event organized by Aawaz II Programme in joint collaboration with its provincial partner Peace & Justice Network (PJN).
The main objective of the event was to enhance understanding of inclusion and tolerance among Aawaz II partners and build knowledge and capacities of the key programme team members in 13 districts of Punjab.
Over 120 provincial stakeholders, including social activists, Aawaz II forum members, Aawaz II Change Agents, district partners and Aawaz II field teams participated in the event. The provincial Minister highlighted the salient features of the proposed bill and shared that hopefully this proposed bill will be passed by the Assembly as an Act by December 3, 2021 Ansar Majeed Khan Niazi, Punjab Minister for Labour and Human Resource participated in the inaugural session and informed participants about the new initiatives by the ministries.
Dr. Yasmin Zaidi, Aawaz II Team Lead highlighted the importance of inclusion of vulnerable segments of the population in mainstream life. She appreciated the efforts of Aawaz II district partners for bringing persons with disabilities, transgender persons, religious minorities together on the Aawaz II platform. She also explained how Aawaz II is promoting tolerance and inclusion in the society.
Mahindar Pall Singh, Punjab Parliamentary Secretary for Human Rights and Minorities emphasized on the importance of interfaith harmony for peaceful societies. He appreciated Aawaz II Learning and Development Forum for organising the event, which he termed as fully inclusive. Mr. Ansar Majeed, Punjab Minister for Labour and Human Resource, in his address recognised the rights of domestic workers and shared that the registration process of domestic workers is underway in Punjab, which will help addressing child labour in the province. A panel discussion on the rights of persons with disabilities was attended by Sana Khurshid, Advocate and PWD activist, Advocate Pervaiz Malik, Mr. Shafiq ur Rehman, PWD activist and Ms Zahida, PWD activist. They recommended making homes, public places, and transport systems more accessible. The panellists asked for a comprehensive set of laws to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities in all aspects of life.
Punjab Learning and Development Forum participants also stressed on the filling of vacancies as per minority quota for all government jobs, government housing schemes, social protection services like BISP and Ehsaas Programme and education opportunities at all levels.
