NEW YORK: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday reaffirmed the country’s commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment, urging the international community to turn decades of pledges into action.
In his address at the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, Dar called on the international community to translate decades of promises into “bold and measurable action,” emphasising that while progress has been made, much more is needed to fulfill the vision laid out in the landmark 1995 Beijing Declaration.
“For Pakistan, gender equality is anchored in the vision of our founding father, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah,” Dar stated. “He reminded us that no nation can rise to the height of glory unless its women stand side by side with men.”
According to a press release issued by the Foreign Office, he highlighted Pakistan’s milestones in women’s leadership, noting the country’s historic election of the late Benazir Bhutto as the first female Prime Minister in the Muslim world, adding that women now hold key positions across politics, the judiciary, law enforcement, and the armed forces.
Dar also pointed to a range of institutional reforms and legal protections in place, including specialised courts for gender-based violence, women’s police stations, and national and provincial commissions dedicated to advancing women’s rights.
He added that social protection programmes like the Benazir Income Support Programme and the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme are examples to empower women at the grassroots level, lifting them out of poverty and into economic independence.
Despite these achievements, Dar acknowledged the persistent challenges. “Progress remains uneven, both globally and nationally,” he said, urging countries to significantly scale up investments in gender equality through national budgets, international cooperation, and innovative financing mechanisms. “Commitments without resources remain unfulfilled promises,” he warned.
Concluding his statement, Dar called the Beijing Declaration the “boldest global compact for women’s rights,” and stressed the need for collective action. “Let us act with urgency, courage, and solidarity so that every woman and girl can live free from poverty and violence, and be empowered to lead and contribute to inclusive development.”
His remarks resonated with the core theme of the 30th anniversary: not just commemorating the past, but accelerating action for the future.
