The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), in collaboration with UNDP & UN Women, held a national conference and a ceremonial handover to the Election Commission of Pakistan the proposed Code of Ethics to Prohibit Hate Speech against Women in Politics, today in Islamabad. The event was held after consultations on the Code of Ethics in each province during past few weeks. The consultation was attended by parliamentarians, representatives from the Election Commission of Pakistan, security agencies, civil society and media. NCSW is pushing the Election Commission of Pakistan to bring provisions and some restrictions to the code of conduct for political parties, candidates, political workers etc. which may restrict and control the hate speech spewed against women. Commission has also put forward the recommendations to implement strict and severe consequences in case of violation i.e. disqualification from contesting elections. Chairperson NCSW Ms. Nilofar Bakhtiar in her opening remarks thanked all the participants for attending the event. She said that Women of Pakistan have worked very hard to get to the position where they are today, we have and we will continue to make the country a safer place for women. Senator Fauzia Arshad and Senator Seemi Ezdi, while addressing discussed the unkind remarks towards women within the political sphere that must be curtailed. They highlighted how it was essential to work together towards curtailing such comments. Ms. Nabila Malick, member UN Women, gave a thorough presentation on the introduction and the initiative of the Code of Ethics. The recommendations from provinces were also presented, voted upon and were edited on the suggestion given by the participants. Before the initiation of the official ceremonial handover, Ms. Maimoona, UNDP commented on the importance of this initiative by NCSW, UNDPA & UN Women. The proposed code of ethics was then handed over to the chief guest Secretary ECP, Mr. Omer Hamid. He thanked the NCSW, UNDP & UN Women for this initiative and promised to do everything he could to create a more tolerant environment for the women contesting on political forums in the country.
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