Chief Minister's Special Monitoring Unit & UN Women launch their street theatre initiative for Women Empowerment Awareness at GC University today. Statement by Mr. Salman Sufi: "The Street Theatre Initiative launched by SMU & UN Women in the 16 days of activism is a grass-roots level initiative to make the public aware regarding the challenges faced by women as they step out of their homes and effective means to address these challenges."
The Chief Minister's Special Monitoring Unit-Law & Order in collaboration with UN Women has launched its performance at the Government College University, Lahore today to raise awareness regarding women empowerment and protection. The themes of the performances included issues pertaining to women's mobility, Violence Against Women (VAW) especially in regards to domestic violence, forced marriages and rape. The performance concluded with an interactive session with the audience comprising of 400 students to debate and deliberate upon gender inequalities and identities in an attempt to change perspectives for a more equitable society. Students questioned societal norms and showed their support for the various initiatives taken by the Punjab Government for women empowerment.
The audience was informed of various initiatives taken by Chief Minister's Special Monitoring Unit including the Women-on-Wheels campaign and Violence Against Women Centres (VAWCs) alongside UN Women's Safe Cities & Public Spaces Initiative. SMU launched its Women-on-Wheels campaign in collaboration with the City Traffic Police and City District Government for the provision of free motorcycle trainings to the women of Punjab. Furthermore, SMU's Violence Against Women Centres (VAWCs), which are in the process of being implemented, present a holistic justice delivery system to the female victims of violence, with the pilot centre being built in Multan. SMU's Violence Against Women Centres (VAWCs) will be the implementation arm of the Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Act spearheaded by SMU which was passed earlier this year.
Later today, street theatre performances will be held at the Emporium Mall in Lahore. The campaign will spread to Faisalabad and Multan later this week.