New York (TDI): During a high-level event on the sides of the 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), Pakistan called for including women of Gaza in the peace and reconstruction process.
Dr. Nafisa Shah, Chairperson of Gender Mainstreaming Committee, National Assembly of Pakistan made this call on the occasion as she represented Pakistan at the session.
She remarked: “Together, we can work towards a future where peace prevails, and the voices of women are heard and respected in the pursuit of justice for all Palestinians.”
The event marked 30 years of the Adoption of Beijing Declaration, which remains the most comprehensive global framework for women’s rights.
Themed “Women in Gaza Rising for Freedom and Dignity,” it was organized by the League of Arab States and Arab Women’s Committee in collaboration with UN Women.
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In a general remark to all women, she said: “To the women let me say that I want you to know that pain does not present you as victims, but each tear, each drop of blood, every mark and scar inflicted by the occupier, counts as a testimony to your historical and stellar struggle for justice and for freedom.”
Dr. Nafisa Shah also reiterated Pakistan’s position regarding a permanent solution to the Palestinian issue – an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital. She observed that reconstruction will not ensure lasting peace, while emphasizing that peace building must include women of Gaza.
So far, women of Gaza remain missing from peace talks and negotiation tables. In major peace processes around the world, women constituted only a 13% of negotiators and 6% mediators (1992-2019).
For sustainability, as premier forum for women’s representation, IPU must examine whether quotas and special measures are going to make sustainable changes or do we need to look at systems – structures of democracy, the way we do politics, the overall indicators for women’s… pic.twitter.com/qqDz4LHgvl
— Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN (@PakistanUN_NY) March 11, 2025
Dr. Nafisa also participated in another high-level event convened by the Inter-Parliamentary Union. She took the opportunity to revisit that thirty years ago, former Prime Minister and the only woman PM of Pakistan represented the country at this forum.
While it took decades for countries to elect women leaders, Benazir Bhutto had already become the Prime Minister for the second time, thirty years ago.
Dr. Nafisa also called IPU’s attention to the actual impact and sustainability of representational quotas for women in decision-making fora.
