Pakistan urges legislative action & global cooperation to reshape justice system for women

UNITED NATIONS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Mar, 2026) Pakistan has emphasized the need for sustained legislative leadership and international cooperation in a determined effort to move closer to justice systems that truly serve all women and girls.

"Ensuring women’s and girls’ access to justice remains one of the most critical dimensions of achieving gender equality," Pakistani delegate Senator Bushra Anjum Butt told a session of the Commission on the Status of Women devoted to ensuring justice to women and girls.

The Commission's 70th session is taking place from March 9–19, 2026, at UN Headquarters in New York.

Across the world, Senator Bushra Butt pointed out, women continue to face systemic barriers that limit their ability to seek protection, remedies, and accountability within justice systems.

"These barriers are often reinforced by discriminatory social norms, economic inequalities, and institutional constraints that disproportionately affect women, particularly those belonging to marginalized or vulnerable groups," she said, while urging parliaments to review national legislation aimed at identifying and repealing discriminatory provisions.

In Pakistan, Senator Bushra Butt said, Parliament has played a central role in strengthening legal and institutional protections for women, noting that significant legislative measures have been enacted to address gender-based violence, discriminatory practices, and barriers to justice, including laws addressing honour crimes, anti-women practices, workplace harassment, and rape and sexual violence.

"We believe that legislative reforms must be accompanied by sustained institutional efforts to ensure effective implementation," the Pakistani delegate said, underscoring Parliaments' critical responsibility not only to enact laws but also to strengthen oversight of justice institutions, ensure adequate budgetary allocations, and promote accountability within the justice system.

In this regard, Senator Bushra Butt called for strengthening parliamentary oversight of justice institutions to ensure effective enforcement of laws and accountability for gender-based violence as well as allocation of adequate resources to expand legal aid, victim support services, and gender-sensitive judicial mechanisms.

APP/ift