Relief sought for women

Published in Pakistan Observer (9 Jan. 2011)

Sana Jamal

Islamabad—In a male-dominated society where a women is faced with inequality of some kind or other, Dr. Rakhshinda Parveen’s latest book asks the state for some relief in taxation system for disabled, divorced women, divorced mothers and unmarried women, at least the exemption in property tax.

With an objective to unveil the hidden faces of gender inequality in connection with the taxation system, Rakhshinda Parveen- a social activist launched her book titled ‘A Tax Break For Economic Freedom: The case of divorced mothers, divorced, disabled and never married (above 40 years) Pakistani Women- a Civic Entrepreneur’s Perspective’ at a local hotel here on Saturday.

Economic Freedom Network- Pakistan (EFN) in collaboration with Creative Anger, and sponsored by Friedrich Naumann Stiftung arranged the book launch-cum-seminar which was attended by gender experts, human rights and women rights activists, legislators, policy makers financial pundits and media persons participated.

The purpose of the book is the realization of the author’s dream, that is “a society where policy recognizes the needs of divorced, disabled and never married women through a clear policy and strategy in taxation system,” said Rakhshinda Perveen, the author of the book.

Calling herself a dreamer, Perveen said that she had a “dream of a society in Pakistan where divorced women, disabled women, divorced mothers and unmarried women (above 40 years) who face a number of emotional traumas and stigmatized both subtly and openly can at least get some support from the state.”

Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen, Dr Donia Aziz (MNA), Barrister Zafarullah, Hashim Babar, Mehfooz Elahi President ICCI, Gulmina Bilal Ahmed director Individualland, Olaf Kellerhoff resident representative FNF, Dr Ayub Mehar representative EFN and Zubair Ahmed Malik, Chief-Coordinator of EFN spoke on the occasion.

The speakers urged that the book will definitely offer a window of opportunity for an unexplored area of gender inequality with a special focus on much neglected categories of women.

Speakers on the occasion held that the book will help materializing some of the objectives through a rapid review and analysis of the contemporary key issues on gender and taxation, bringing together a sizable volume of intellectual solidarity and diversity, including public opinion on matters of taxation and overall viewing the problems of the identified groups of Pakistani women with an emphatic economic and gender lens.