The long-awaited nomination of the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) chairperson enters the next phase as the Ministry of Human Rights has submitted short-listed names of candidates to the prime minister.
According to the NCSW Act, which became part of the Constitution on March 8, 2012, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf will now consult with the leader of the opposition, Chaudhry Nisar Ali, and further shortlist the names. The names will then be presented to the Parliamentary Committee for the NCSW for final decision.
National Assembly Speaker Dr. Fehmida Mirza has already announced the Parliamentary Committee, which includes Atta-ur-Rahman (MMAP), Humaira Hayat Khan Rokhri (PML-N), Saira Afzal Tarar (PML-N), Muhammad Baleegh-ur-Rehman (PML-N), Khush Bakht Shujaat (MQM), Bushra Gohar (ANP), Yasmeen Rehman (PPP), Attiya Inayatullah (PML), Heman Dass (JUI-F), Nuzhat Sadiq (PML-N), Rubina Khalid (PPP) and Sehar Kamran (PPP).
Talking to ‘The News,’ Ministry of Human Rights Secretary Shaigan Shareef Malik confirmed that the ministry has submitted names to the prime minister after initial scrutiny. He said that the ministry received eight suggestions for the post. Out of them, two were found ineligible whereas six names were forwarded to the prime minister for further consultation.
Adviser to the Prime Minister Shehnaz Wazir Ali and Women Parliamentary Caucus General Secretary MNA Nafisa Shah also assisted the ministry in the initial scrutiny.
A candidate for the NCSW chairperson has to be a woman with more than 15-year experience of working on women’s rights. Another criterion to qualify for the post is the commitment of candidate for the cause of women’s empowerment. The procedure for the selection of the NCSW chairperson has already taken more than what was anticipated.
The major reason was the fact that the post was advertised twice — once for the ‘Call of Applications’ and after that, for the ‘Call of Suggestions.’ When the ‘Call of Applications’ was advertised through newspaper on April 3, it was expected that the process of the nomination will not take not more than two to three weeks. Even after almost six months, the nomination is still under process.
The previous NCSW body has finished its term in June that has created a vacuum for any women related body at federal level. According to sources, the federal ministry re-advertised the post to avoid any criticism over not following the nomination procedure mentioned in the act. Before, the ministry advertised for the applications, which, according to Ministry officials, was the violation of the act as it mentions call for suggestions. “Under law, the candidate has to be nominated by the third party. She can not nominate herself for the post,” said the source. The Ministry of Human Rights received total 18 applicants in response to its ‘Call of Application’ back in April. Out of total, the ministry short listed nine names and submitted the names with the prime minister, but the process stopped at that point and Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf ordered re-advertisement of the post.
Talking to ‘The News,’ Parliamentary Committee for National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) Member MNA Attiya Inayatullah said that the committee will start working only after it receives names of the short-listed candidates for the commission. She confirmed that the committee has not received any names for consideration yet.
Unlike Parliamentary Committee for National Commission on Human Rights where Naseer Bhutta (PML-N) has been nominated as chairperson of the committee, the NCSW Parliamentary Committee is yet to nominate its committee chairperson also.