Summary Men's literacy rate is 70% and women's literacy rate is 50% in the province.
LAHORE (Web Desk) – According to Punjab Gender Parity Report 2016, incidents of torture on women have increased by 20% while 173 women were killed for ‘honour’ in 2015.
The report was presented at an event organised at a private hotel in Lahore
The report surfaced a day after Punjab Governor Rafique Rajwana signed Women Protection Bill into law. The bill was passed by the provincial assembly last week.
Pakistan sees thousands of cases of violence against women every year, from rape and acid attacks to sexual assault, kidnappings and so-called "honour killings".
In 2013, more than 5,800 cases of violence against women were reported in Punjab alone. Those cases represented 74 percent of the national total that year, the latest for which data is available.
The new law criminalises all forms of violence against women, whether domestic, psychological or sexual, and calls for the creation of a toll-free abuse reporting hot line and the establishment of shelters.
According to Punjab Gender Parity Report 2016, 6505 women were subjected to torture in 2015 whereas 5391 incidents were reported in 2012. Courts delivered justice in 378 cases in 2012 and in 81 cases in 2015.
It was further highlighted in the report that 173 women were killed for ‘honour’ in different areas of Punjab last year.
Women representation in the government offices between grade 18 and 22 posts remained disappointing. Around 13.5% women are working at grade 18, 5.5% at grade 19, 10% at grade 20, one at grade 21 and no women is working at grade 22nd post.
Women from seven different institutions are heading the governing bodies. Number of female candidates in the National Assembly went up by 129% while 200% increase was reported in the Punjab Assembly.
In Punjab Prosecution Department, only 96 out of 1023 prosecutors are women.
939 women are behind bars, 599 are under trial and 295 have been found guilty on various charges across the province.
There are only three women police stations in the province, the report added.
Men’s literacy rate is 70% and women’s literacy rate is 50% in the province.
Reportedly, there was a visible decline in maternal mortality ratio. The number of female deaths during childbirth decreased from 330 to 227 in 2015.
