Faisalabad: February 9, 2018. (PCP) On February 3, 2018 a consultation meeting organized by Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM) entitled ‘Enabling Women Empowerment in Punjab’ at Raj One Hotel Faisalabad. The meeting was attended by 30 professionals from different walks of life including political parties, government representatives, students and social activists. The government must take substantive measures to develop an effective monitoring mechanism to check the implementation regarding women empowerment initiatives in Punjab. An awareness campaign must be launched to educate the communities in general and women in specific about the reserved facilities this was demanded by the participants of the meeting. The consultation was organized to highlight challenges faced by women in Punjab, and to discuss the effectiveness of the statutes concerning to protect women rights. The key speakers including Shazia George (PCSW), Nazia Sardar (Executive Director AWAM), Dr. Binish Asad (University of Agriculture), Ayesha Jameel (District Jail Women Prison), M. Alyas (PVTC), Farzana Ch. (Municipal Corporation), Khalida Rafique (Qaser-e-Behbood) and Naseem Anthony (AWAM). The event was moderated by Naseem Anthony. Speaking on the occasion the Executive Director of AWAM, Nazia Sardar said, “Government has announced several facilities and empowerment packages that are not known by the concerned stakeholders.” “An awareness campaign to educate the communities in general and women in specific about the reserved facilities so that the women can access them,” she further suggested. The Member of Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW), Shazia George said, “The empowerment of women helps develop to gender-equality society. The government of Punjab is specifically focusing on the economic empowerment of women and for this purpose announced numerous packages and schemes.” “The women should approach the concerned institutions in order to claim the facilities and privileges and should utilize the opportunity to prove their abilities,” Ms. George added. Dr. Binish Asad of Agriculture University Faisalabad said, “Skilled women get importance at workplace and also earn a handsome amount however their access to skill training centers is a challenged due to unfavorable social setup.” “The government should protect the women by ensuring the social protection and also increased the stipend for the trainee women,” she called upon the government. The Manager of Social Welfare Society Women Jail, Ayesha Jameel said, “The development of any nation depends upon the cooperation and participatory approach but we are accustomed to criticize each others.” “It is imperative to lend supportive hand to institutions and departments in order to achieve the goal of women empowerment,” she suggested the civil society organizations. A member of the Municipal Corporation, Farzana Chaudhary said, “Several pro-women laws have been passed in recent years but unfortunately majority of the women unaware. Hence, it is imperative to educate and aware the general masses about the legal frame work for the proper utilization and effectiveness of the legislation, she added. The principal of Vocational Training Institute Muhammad Ilyas said, “The civil society organizations should connect the women groups to the Punjab Vocational Training Council (PVTC) for preparing them to avail the economic opportunities in a professional manner for a dignified life.”