Pakistan Catholic Women's Organization Lahore (PCWO) and Caritas Pakistan Lahore (CPL) organized a one day training workshop at Trindade Hall CPL on 28 June 2010

Lahore, Pakistan: July 27, 2010, (PCTV Newsdesk)

Pakistan Catholic Women's Organization Lahore (PCWO) and Caritas Pakistan Lahore (CPL) organized a one day training workshop at Trindade Hall CPL on 28 June 2010. Thirty-five women participated in the program from nine parishes of the Lahore Diocese. Ms. Samia Francis and Ms. Shaheen Yousaf welcomed and briefed the introduction of the CPL and PCW and working strategy. They shared the aims and objectives of the training to enhance the capacity building of the women to maintain an active role in their respective areas, to organize the other women at one platform and address the challenges concerning women’s rights through fact finding and reporting of women’s rights violations.

The resource persons were Ms. Samia Francis (Coordinator Women Empower Program CPL) Ms. Shaheen Yousaf (Diocesan coordinator PCWO), Advocate Roquia Kosur (MDM) and Ms. Rosemary Noel (National coordinator PCWO). Following topics were discussed during the training:

• Community Organizing tools (Ms. Shaheen Yousaf)
• Women groups and Team work (Ms. Shaheen Yousaf)
• Women and development Concepts (Ms. Shaheen Yousaf)
• Women’s situation in Pakistan (Ms. Roemary Noel)
• Discriminatory Laws & Customary Practices against Women (Advo Roquia Kosur)
• Fact-finding and Report writing (Ms. Shaheen Yousaf)
• Future Plan  (Fr. Joseph Louis, Rosemary Noel)
• Words of Thanks (Ms. Samia Franics)

The resource persons shared that women are facing different problems in Pakistan since their childhood. They are doing their efforts in all fields of life but not recognize due to set norms of the society. Many discriminatory laws and reforms were introduced to devalue to status of the women and their position in the society. They condemned all the discriminatory laws and social practices around the society and demand for the repeal at all level. The government should provide equal opportunities to the women for their development and introduced such measures and laws to stop the violation against women they added. Participants took part and involved actively in different exercises and group works during the training. The plan of action in future was shared at the end.

Auxiliary Bishop Sebastian Shah (Archdiocese of Lahore) expressed his valuable views that the Women are beautiful creatures of the earth and they performed a very important in the development of the Nation (as Sister, Mother, wife and daughter. He appreciated the efforts of the both organizations to strengthen the women at grass root level and assured for full support in that great struggle.

Fr. Joseph Louis (Diocesan Executive Secretary of Caritas Pakistan Lahore) shared that both organizations are focusing to organize and strengthen the Christian women in social and development fields. He encouraged the women to come forward and take part an active role in decision making process and development of the country.