EU and UN Women Join hands to promote Social Cohesion through effective women’s Leadership – first national dialogue takes place in Islamabad

25.08.2021

A National Dialogue on Social Cohesion through Effective Women’s Leadership was organized today in Islamabad by the UN Women to inform peacebuilding initiatives and policymakers on factors undermining social cohesion and its effects on women’s voices and representation.

Through this discussion, UN Women also aimed to highlight the findings from its research titled "Resilience, Community Security, and Social Cohesion through Effective Women's Leadership" that identified knowledge gaps in the current research available regarding community security and social cohesion from a gendered lens.

Representing the European Union Delegation to Pakistan, the Head of Development Cooperation Mr Ovidiu Mic said that women’s rights, representation, empowerment and elimination of all forms of violence is a priority under EU-Pakistan engagement.

The EU works on some of these areas with UN Women Pakistan to engage with women community leaders, support victims of GBV and build capacity of Pakistan's National Human Rights institutions.

Speakers during an event

UN Women Pakistan is planning the two national dialogues on the gender impacts of violent extremism. The objective of these national dialogues is to enhance the understanding of gender aspects in the prevention of violent extremism but also to localize the dialogue between key stakeholders. Through these dialogues, UN Women hopes to:

  • Disseminate data-driven knowledge products on the drivers of violent extremism and its gendered impacts.
  • Strengthen women’s active participation in policy dialogues and initiatives to prevent violent extremism and promote social cohesion.
  • As a follow-up, engage with government stakeholders to ensure women’s representation and input in the revision of national security policies.

The panel discussion during the programme brought on board experts from the government, civil society, and political background to give their take on the gendered drivers of violent extremism where women’s role as victims, perpetrators and as a bulwark against violent extremism was discussed. This is expected to result in a constructive debate on the recommendations of the research report for legislators, policy makes and civil society.

Event audience

The European Union has supported UN Women Pakistan in assessing the dynamics of women in promoting and mitigating conflict and peace as well as their role in security-policymaking through researches like “Resilience, Community Security, and Social Cohesion through Effective Women’s Leadership”. This research sheds particularly sheds light on the gendered dimension of conflict, its impact and highlights case studies of brave women who have been able to emerge as leading voices of human rights and community activists in times of conflict.

EU has been on the forefront on contributing towards peace, social cohesion and stability in Pakistan.   The EU remains committed to the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 16 which emphasises the importance of “peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development”.

Audience and speakers during a conference

EU believes that women have an important role to play in the development and prosperity of Pakistan. Women constitute almost half of the population of Pakistan, and it is of utmost importance that they be at the forefront of processes, policies and dialogues that promote peace, security and social cohesion in communities.