SUKKUR: Speakers at a women’s conference held in Ghotki on 27th February said that upper Sindh districts of Ghotki, Kandhkot-Kashmore, Jacobabad and Shikarpur have become killing fields for women and demanded an end to the dark and oppressive traditions imposed on them.
They said at the moot titled “Women’s equality, self-sufficiency and the struggle for Sindh’s resources” organised by the Sindh Sahai Organisation (SSO) and the Joint Action Committee at district council hall in Mirpur Mathelo that intellectuals of Sindh must make serious efforts to ensure women were accorded protection and a rightful status in society.
Sindh’s renowned writers, intellectuals, women’s rights activists and civil society members, including Dr Aisha Dharejo, Inam Sheikh, assistant commissioner Rida Talpur, representatives of Surmiyon Cultural Organisation Islamabad, Gulnaz Sheikh, Nida Paras Dayo, Farzana Khosa, Asma Batool, Sindhu Hasan, Tabassum Khosa, Isa Memon, Raouf Paras Dayo, Ayaz Khahawar, Zarqa Shar, Azhar Nounari, Mark Manan Chandio, Imdad Phulpoto, Sahil Jogi, Barkat Mirani, Syed Ashraf Shah, Shanal Khosa, Khalid Kori and others demanded the government implement relevant laws strictly to rescue women of Sindh from their sufferings.
They pointed out that no society in the world, whether it be Semitic or non-Semitic, taught discrimination between men and women in its religious teachings. But in Sindhi society, women were not even considered human beings, they lamented.
They said that issues and priorities of urban and rural women differed significantly, and the sole reason for the humiliation of women was the state’s apathy and complete absence of the rule of law.
They said that without empowering women, society could not achieve any stage of progress, even after centuries. Sindhi society could only progress if its women were free to express their talents like Noorul Huda Shah, Samira Zareen, Rasheeda Hijab and other courageous women, they said.
They said that Sindhi women vowed to struggle alongside their brothers in this fight for Sindh’s rights and struggle against the conspiracy to construct six canals on the Indus River.
They said that the districts of Ghotki, Jacobabad, Kashmore and Shikarpur had become killing fields for women. Hence, all intellectuals should make serious efforts to ensure women were protected and they were given rightful status in society, they said and demanded an end to dark and oppressive traditions imposed on women.
The conference, which featured various sessions on different topics concerning women’s issues, collectively held class-based system responsible for outdated customs and agreed that until the feudal, landlord and tribal systems were uprooted from Sindh, women would remain deprived of their rights.
The program concluded with outstanding performance by students, including tableaus and songs, highlighting women’s issues and struggles.
Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2025