Karachi: September 30, 2014. (PCP) Chairperson Global Human Rights Association Alliance Ms. Jacqueline Sultan Chaired Training Workshop held at Dominican House on Sunday 21-09-2014 organized by MSLCP Karachi Region on the topic “How to give legal and para legal aid to victim women” in Pakistan. She said yet, women often have claims in family law, inheritance, and property matters, and the resolution of these cases often has a strong bearing on a woman’s ability to create a life free of violence. She said women should be given equal rights in the Society. However, the state of Pakistan does not deliver to its female citizens when it comes to equal rights. It is very unfortunate but the Pakistani constitution does not view women as equal and productive citizens of the country. The state views them as daughters, wives and mothers and values them according to their assigned roles in society — not as individual citizens with rights and aspirations of their own. Take the imposition of laws such as the Hudood Ordinance which gave control of a woman’s body and sexuality to the state and other members of her family. Then there is the Qisas and Diyat Law, or the Law of Evidence, which institutionalised a reduced value assigned to a woman’s testimony based on the assumption that a woman’s role in society is different, or perhaps less productive, compared to that of a man. It is not just that but these legal and constitutional inequalities have also made certain types of criminal activities such as honour killings, domestic abuse and violence within families. Pakistan must prioritise prevention of violence against women not just on paper but in actual implementation, and pass a law on domestic violence with punishments for those who commit violence against women. She said Global Human Rights Association Alliance is ready to provide legal assistant to all victim women who have been tortured, harassed by the family or the Society.