Department of Gender Studies’ students field visit to the office of Punjab Commission on the Status of Women
Department of Gender Studies, University of Management & Technology, Lahore arranged a field visit to the office of Punjab commission on the Status of Women for its students on 10th May 2018. Miss Fouzia Viqar, chairperson PCSW, welcomed UMT faculty and students at the commission’s office. From Gender Studies department Dr. Ambreen Salahuddin (In-charge DGS), Ms. Iram Rasheed (Lecturer) and Ms. Rozeen Shaukat (Research Associate) accompanied the students. The students of MPhil 1st Batch, MPhil 2nd Batch and BS 2nd Semester were a part of this visit.
Three exclusive sessions were organised by PCSW team for Gender studies students. Dr Noreen Zafar, a renowned Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, delivered the first session; she spoke to the participants about the key issues pertaining to female reproductive health. She de
bunked numerous misconceptions regarding female health perpetuated by socio-cultural norms, and stressed upon the importance of prioritising women’s health.
The next two sessions were about the operations at PCSW. Ms Zaineb delivered a comprehensive session about the Commission’s functions and its various ongoing projects. She guided the students about the helpline and complaint system. Ms Fatima delivered the third session, in which students were walked through the new Gender Management Information Systems (GMIS) online database. This database has been established to achieve accurate reporting on women’s status and issues in Punjab. It is able to capture information on key indicators for women including education, health, population, inheritance, employment, violence against women and implementation of Punjab Women Empowerment Packages. Academic researchers can use this database to get authentic information about women’s status.
All the sessions were followed by a comprehensive question-answer session in which all the students participated enthusiastically.