Muhammad Zamir Assadi

ISLAMABAD, Aug 30 (INP): The UN Women Pakistan, a United Nations organization dedicated to gender equality and empowerment of women entered into a partnership to work together to increase the recognition of persons with disabilities (PWDs).

An implementing partner agreement for this initiative ‘Moving from Charity Model to Rights Based Work – Delivering as ONE for Empowerment of Women with Disabilities’ was signed by Mr. Jamshed M. Kazi, Country Representative UN Women, and Ms. Angelina Robinson, Programme Director Handicap International, in a ceremony here on Thursday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 15% of Pakistan’s total population over thirty million people are living with different types of disabilities. Around fifty percent of persons with disabilities are women, of which seventy percent live in rural areas with no or limited access to essential services.

Funded by the UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD), this two-year joint project will be implemented in close collaboration with International Labour Organization (ILO) and UN Volunteers (UNV) in three districts of Peshawar, Karachi and Islamabad (Federal Capital).

Delivering his welcome remarks, Mr. Jamshed Kazi said, “The specific needs of women and girls with disabilities have long been ignored, compelling them to live on the margins of society.