Jamshoro: 11, July, 2020:  (Report: Ali Murad Chandio) Speakers have underlined the need for conduct of sample survey as a follow up study to ascertain facts, labeling National Census 2017 as " disputed", " De' jure instead of De' facto", unreliable", "politically-motivated", " conducted by non-expert, untrained, non-professional bureaucratic apparatus in lieu of scientifically-trained, field-expert demographers in the country. 

They strongly recommended a follow-up sample survey proposing SU to lead the survey in collaboration with institutions and individuals ' relevant', ' qualified' and ' fit' for the purpose.

They further said that the denial of rights to women is not only common but also rampant in Pakistan and the world.

What aggravates this situation is the physical, emotional and psychological abuse women and girls are subjected to suffer on account of a horde of reasons and pretexts.

The scene worsens when the victims have nobody or nowhere to look up to seek remedy and justice.

The government as well the civil society need to take urgent heed, put in place strategies to implement, to provide speedy relief to such unfortunate lot of society.

Population increase, high fertility rate, water-shortage-impelled by mass migration, poverty and illiteracy are some of the major factors adding to women's deplorable plight.  

This they said at the Interactive Webinar organized by Sindh University's Department of Sociology in collaboration with Bureau of Students Tutorial Guidance / Counseling Services and Co-curricular Activities (STAGS). 

The theme of the Webinar was " Putting the Brakes on Covid 19: How to Safeguard Health and Rights of Women and Girls Now". 

It was broadcast live via the Varsity's official Facebook page to mark the World Population Day. 

The event was presided over by Vice Chancellor, University of Sindh, Jamshoro Prof. Dr. Fateh Muhammad Burfat. Prof. Dr. Mehtab S. Karim, Vice Chancellor, Malir University of Science and Technology, Karachi; Prof. Dr. Muhammad Nizamuddin (SI) , Pro-Rector, Superior University, Lahore, Member UNFPA Working Group on Population and Ex-Chairman, HEC Punjab; were the Guest Speakers; whereas Prof. Dr. Aijaz Ali Wassan, Chairman, SU Department of Sociology and Dr. Sumera Umrani, Director, SU Bureau of STAGS were the event hosts. Dr. Passand Ali Khoso, Lecturer, SU Department of Sociology facilitated the event as moderator.     

SU Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Fateh Muhammad Burfat in his presidential views hailed the proposal made to the effect of conduct of follow-up sample survey on National Census 2017, expressing the Vasity's eager consent to it.  

Thereafter, Dr.  Burfat in his PowerPoint presentation said that women the world over constituted around 71 per cent of workers in medical sector alone, including those working in care institutions.

They spearheaded the battle against COVID-19. As a consequence of the pandemic, they had to confront a dual weight: longer shifts at work and additional care work at home. 

For the almost 100 million female workers at health and care institutions around the world, balancing work and family responsibilities has become a hard challenge.

The outbreak of the Pandemic has accentuated the long-standing gender inequalities.

It has also exposed and exacerbated an already existing global care crisis" added the Vice Chancellor, citing a study.  

Dr. Burfat maintained that as a sociologist, his research informed him that generally, during ordinary times, women carried out a daily average of 4 hours and 25 minutes of unpaid domestic work against 1 hour and 23 minutes for men.

The Pandemic, along with its associated closure of schools, offices and other workplace venues had substantially and alarmingly multiplied the number of hours and magnitude of unpaid home duties done by women at households. 

Dr. Burfat proposed setting up of special complaint cells and rapid response force units by the government involving community and non-governmental organizations as a coping strategy with reference to the context. 

He registered felicitations and appreciation for the event hosts Prof. Dr. Aijaz Ali Wassan and Dr. Sumera Umrani for having successfully organized the Webinar; and extended thanks to the learned Guest Speakers to have spared time to share their valuable insights on the topic of the Webinar. 

Dr. Burfat expressed special appreciation for Director STAGS Dr. Sumera Umrani who, in her capacity as the event-organizer, and who, by virtue of her acumen and insight; had selected and invited Pakistan's top-notch population and social sciences experts/scholars for the Webinar.  

Guest Speaker, Vice Chancellor, Malir University of Science and Technology, Karachi; Prof. Dr. Mehtab S. Karim alarmed that population of Pakistan will double as compared to now by 2047, producing 55% youth bulge, for which the varsities must start preparing.

Sharing statistics, he said 7% youth went to varsities in Pakistan, whereas,  this ratio in Bangladesh was 15%, in Turkey 30% and around 70% in majority advanced parts of the world. 

Dr. Mehtab S. Karim added that Pandemic had impacted the lives of all pockets and sections of society but it seemed to have more adversely affected women and girls as the press had been reporting surge in the cases of gender-based violence at households. 

" Studies reveal that in our society, a massive number of women and girls get subjected to emotional, physical or sexual violence in in the country with the likelihood of further spike in the face of pressing socio-economic landscape brought in view by COVID-19", Dr. Mehtab observed.  

Dr. Mehtab called upon all those who mattered in the given context to come forward and do their practical bit to alleviate the plight of the luckless and the victimized womenfolk in the spectrum of usurption of their rights and the lack of curative facilities. 

The other learned Guest Speaker Pro-Rector, Superior University, Lahore, Member UNFPA Working Group on Population and Ex-Chairman, HEC Punjab Prof. Dr. Muhammad Nizamuddin maintained that the on-setting and prevalence of COVID-19 had rendered women-and-girls-relief scene more bleak, more depressing and more difficult to manage as almost all domestic-help women and girls workers had been hurled work-less, forced to face starvation for want of income, anti-violence centres had been closed down, crisis centres called off, movement restricted, access to shelter homes becoming unmanageably hard, and thus plight of women and girls multiplied.     

" I would like to stress federal and provincial governments to first officially acknowledge the issue of rise of violence against women and girls as a newly-supplemented reality, task community outfits to monitor, record,  and report such incidentens, and engage in provision of relief as conscientious citizens", Dr. Nizamuddin urged.  

He said immediate establishment of helplines, appropriate sensitization campaigns through social media and exploitation of the influence of popular public figures with mass following could be some useful and effective remedial pathways to placate the severity of the problem at hand. 

The erudite speakers also urged on governments, organizations, advocacy groups and influential individuals to help control population explosion, which they termed inversely proportional to the misery of women in the world. 

Prof. Dr. Aijaz Ali Wassan, Chairman, SU Department of Sociology presented welcome note at the outset of the program and tendered vote of thanks towards its end.  Dean, SU Faculty of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Zareen Abbasi was in attendance in the webinar. 002