[1]THE
PUNJAB COMMISSION ON THE
STATUS OF WOMEN ACT 2014
(Act I f 2014)
[24 February 2014]
An
Act to provide for the establishment of
Preamble.– Whereas it is expedient to establish Punjab Commission on
the Status of Women for the empowerment of women, expansion of opportunities
for socio-economic development of women and elimination of all forms of
discrimination against women and for ancillary matters;
It
is enacted as follows:-
Chapter I
Preliminary
1. Short title,
extent and commencement.– (1) This Act may be cited as the
Punjab Commission on the Status of Women Act 2014.
(2) It shall extend to the whole of the Punjab .
(3) It shall come into force at once.
2. Definitions.–
In this Act–
(a) “Chairperson”
means Chairperson of the Commission and includes acting Chairperson;
(b) “Commission”
means Punjab Commission on the Status of Women established under the Act;
(c) “Executive
Committee” means the Executive Committee of the Commission;
(d) “Fund”
means the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women Fund established under the
Act;
(e) “girl” means a female human being who has not attained the age of
eighteen years;
(f) “Government”
means Government of the Punjab ;
(g) “member”
means a member of the Commission;
(h) “prescribed”
means prescribed by rules;
(i) “Secretary”
means Secretary of the Commission; and
(j) “woman
“means a female human being of eighteen years of age or above.
Chapter II
The Commission
3. Establishment of the Commission.– (1) The Government shall constitute
a Commission to be known as ‘Punjab Commission on the Status of Women’.
(2) The Commission shall be a body corporate,
having perpetual succession and a common seal with power to acquire, hold and
dispose of any property and shall sue and be sued by the said name.
(3) The Commission shall consist of–
(a) the
Chairperson, who shall be a woman having experience for more than fifteen years
of working on issues relating to women and their rights;
(b) one
member from each Division of the Punjab ,
preferably women, but at least fifty percent members shall be women;
(c) one
woman member who is a non-Muslim;
(d) Secretaries
to the Government, Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Finance, Planning and
Development, Home, and Women Development Departments or their representatives
not below the rank of Additional Secretaries;
(e) President,
Women Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Central and North Punjab for the
first term of three years, followed by President, Women Chamber of Commerce and
Industries, South Punjab for the second term of three years, and thereafter, in
like order and for like term; and
(f) Secretary of the Commission.
4. Appointment of Chairperson.– (1) The Government shall appoint
the Chairperson on the recommendations of a search committee headed by Chief
Secretary of the Government and consisting of the following:-
(a) two
female members of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab ,
one each nominated by the Government and the Leader of Opposition in the
Provincial Assembly; and
(b) Secretaries
to the Government, Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Finance, Human Rights and
Women Development Departments.
(2) The
Chairperson shall be appointed on such terms and conditions as may be
prescribed and, until prescribed, as the Government may determine.
(3) The Chairperson shall be a full-time
officer of the Commission and shall have the status equivalent to BS-21 officer
of the Government.
(4) If
the office of the Chairperson falls vacant owing to death, illness, resignation
or otherwise, the Government shall appoint a woman member of the Commission to
act as Chairperson for a period not exceeding three months or until the
appointment of a new Chairperson, whichever is earlier.
5. Appointment of members.– (1) The Government shall appoint members
mentioned in clauses (b) and (c) of subsection (3) of section 3 in such manner
and on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed and until so prescribed,
as the Government may determine.
(2) A member appointed under subsection (1)
shall not be less than thirty years of age or more than sixty-five years of age
and shall have experience of working on issues relating to women and their
rights.
(3) The Government shall, within thirty days
of occurrence of a vacancy, appoint a member for the residual term of the
outgoing member.
6. Term of office.– (1) Subject to section 7, a person appointed as the Chairperson
or a member, other than ex officio
member, shall hold office for a term of three years from the date he enters
upon the office but the Chairperson or a member shall not hold office for more
than two terms.
(2) The Chairperson or a member, other than ex
officio member, may resign by submitting the resignation to the Government.
7. Removal of Chairperson and members.– The Government may remove the
Chairperson or a member, other than ex officio member, from the office
if–
(a) after proper inquiry, the Chairperson or the member is found guilty
of misconduct; or
(b) the
Chairperson or the member is adjudged as an un-discharged insolvent;
(c) the
Chairperson or the member is unfit to continue in office by reason of being
mentally or physically challenged and stands so declared by a medical board
constituted by the Government; or
(d) the
Chairperson or the member has been sentenced to imprisonment for an offence
involving moral turpitude.
8. Secretariat of the Commission.– (1) There shall be a Secretariat of
the Commission headed by the Chairperson and consisting of the Secretary and
such officers and support staff as may be prescribed and, until prescribed, as
the Government may determine.
(2) The terms and conditions of appointment
of employees of the Commission shall be such as may be prescribed and, until
prescribed, as the Government may determine
(3) The
Chairperson shall be the chief executive of the Commission and shall be
responsible for the effective conduct of the business and discharge of
functions of the Commission, and for the purpose, the administrative and
financial authority of the Commission shall vest in the Chairperson.
(4) The Secretary shall be appointed in such
manner as may be prescribed and until prescribed as the Government may
determine.
(5) The Secretary shall perform such
functions as may be prescribed or as may be assigned by the Commission or the
Chairperson.
(6) The Secretary, under instructions of the
Commission, shall prepare a draft three years’ strategic plan, the annual work
plan and budget of the Commission for approval of the Commission.
Chapter III
Functions of the Commission
9. Functions of the Commission.– (1) The Commission shall–
(a) examine
the policy, programs and other measures taken by the Government to materialize
gender equality, empowerment of women and their representation and political
participation, assess implementation and make suitable recommendations to the
concerned authorities;
(b) review
the Punjab laws, rules and regulations affecting the status and rights of women
and suggest repeal, amendment or new legislation essential to eliminate
discrimination, safeguard and promote the interest of women and achieve gender
equality in accordance with the Constitution and obligations under national and
international covenants and commitments;
(c) sponsor, steer and encourage research to generate information,
analysis and studies and maintain a database relating to women and gender
issues to provide knowledge and awareness for provincial policy and strategic
action for women empowerment;
(d) develop and maintain interaction and dialogue with non-governmental
organizations, experts and individuals in society and an active association
with similar commissions and institutions in other territories for
collaboration and action to achieve gender equality at the provincial,
national, regional and international level;
(e) mobilize grants from provincial, national and international agency,
including multi and bilateral agencies, approved by the Government, for meeting
any of its obligations or performing its functions;
(f) consider,
approve and monitor implementation of the strategic plan, annual work plan and
the annual budget;
(g) facilitate and monitor implementation of instruments and obligations
affecting women and girls to which Pakistan is a signatory, and advise the
Government before ratification or accession to any such proposed international instrument,
covenant, protocol or treaty; and
(h) perform
such other functions as are ancillary to the above functions or as the
Government may assign or as may be prescribed.
(2) The Commission may–
(a) seek
and receive information, data and documents from any source or entity in the
course of performance of its functions;
(b) inquire into any complaint of violation of
women’s rights and make appropriate recommendation for remedial action to the
concerned agency or authority;
(c) call for information or report from any agency
or authority of the Government, civil society organization or any autonomous
body;
(d) exercise
the powers vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (V
of 1908) for enforcing the attendance of any person and compelling the
production of documents;
(e) inspect any jail, sub-jail or other places of
custody, where women and girls are kept, in accordance with relevant laws and
rules and after prior permission of the Government and to make appropriate
recommendations to the concerned authority or agency;
(f) act
for advocacy, lobbying, coalition building, networking and as a catalyst for
promotion of cause of women to facilitate their participation in all spheres of
life including legal, economic, social and political empowerment;
(g) on the recommendation of the
executive committee, fix an honorarium or remuneration of advisors, consultants
and experts;
(h) monitor
the mechanism and institutional procedure for redressal of violation of women’s
rights; and
(i) exercise
any power ancillary to above powers or as may be prescribed.
10. Meetings of
the Commission.– (1) The Commission shall hold at least four meetings in a
year, not less than one in every quarter, on such dates and at such times as
the Chairperson may determine.
(2) The Secretary, on the directions of the
Chairperson, shall call a meeting of the Commission and shall maintain the
minutes of each meeting in the manner prescribed.
(3) The Chairperson, or in case of absence of
the Chairperson, a member elected by the members present in the meeting, shall
chair a meeting of the Commission.
(4) The quorum for the meeting of the
Commission shall be one-half of the total membership of the Commission.
(5) The decisions of the Commission shall be
taken by the majority of the members present and voting but, in case of a tie,
the Chairperson or the person presiding the meeting shall have a second vote.
(6) A decision of the Commission shall not be
invalid merely for the reason of any vacancy or defect in the constitution of
the Commission.
(7) All decisions of the Commission shall be
authenticated by the signature of the Chairperson or the person who presided
the meeting.
11. Committees.– (1) The Commission shall appoint an Executive Committee
consisting of the Chairperson and three other members, of whom at least two
shall be women.
(2) The Executive Committee shall be
responsible to oversee the implementation of the decisions and recommendations
of the Commission.
(3) The Commission may constitute such other
committees from amongst its members as it deems fit and may refer to any such
committee any matter for consideration and report.
(4) The Commission may, if it considers
necessary, co-opt in a committee any person possessing special knowledge and
expertise in the relevant subject.
(5) All committees of the Commission, except
the Executive Committee, shall be constituted for a specified period.
Chapter IV
Financial Provisions
12. Fund.– (1) There shall be a Fund to be
known as Punjab Commission on the Status of Women Fund, which shall vest in the
Commission.
(2) The Fund shall consist of–
(a) the
grants-in-aid made by the Government;
(b) donation
made by any person, and any provincial, national and international agency;
(c) income
from investment by the Commission; and
(d) all
other sums or properties which may in any manner become payable to or vest in
the Commission.
(3) The Fund shall be spent for purposes of
performance of duties and discharge of functions by the Commission, including
expenses on the Secretariat.
(4) The
Commission may invest its Fund or a part of it in the prescribed manner or in
accordance with the instructions of the Government.
(5) The Chairperson shall be the principal
accounting officer of the Commission.
13. Accounts
and audit.– (1) The
Commission shall maintain proper accounts and other relevant record and prepare
an annual statement of accounts in such manner and form as may be prescribed.
(2) The accounts of the Commission shall be
annually audited by the Auditor General of Pakistan
(3) The Government may conduct or cause to be
conducted a special audit of the accounts of the Commission.
(4) The Government shall lay the annual or
special audit report of the Commission in the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab and shall comply with the directions of the
Provincial Assembly on an audit report of the Commission.
Chapter V
Miscellaneous
14. Annual
report of the Commission.– (1) In January each year, the Commission shall submit an
annual report on performance of each one of its functions to the Government.
(2) The Government shall, at the earliest
possible opportunity, lay the annual report of the Commission in Provincial
Assembly of the Punjab .
15. Assistance
to the Commission.– All
Provincial executive authorities shall assist the Commission in the performance
of its functions.
16. Indemnity.– No suit, prosecution or legal proceedings shall lie against the
Commission, the Chairperson or any member, officer, employee, advisor or
consultant of the Commission in respect of anything done in good faith under
this Act or the rules or for any order made, publication of report by or under
the authority of the Commission.
17. Members
and officers to be public servants.–
The Chairperson, a member and every officer or employee appointed under this
Act or the rules shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of
section 21 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 (XLV of 1860).
18. Delegation of
powers.– The Commission may, subject to such conditions as it may
specify, delegate any of its powers or functions to the Executive Committee or
to any other committee or to the Chairperson, the Secretary or an officer of
the Commission, except the functions of–
(a) appointment
of the Executive Committee or constitution of any other committee;
(b) the
approval of strategic plan, annual work plan, annual performance report and
annual budget; and
(c) recommendations
relating to laws, rules, regulations or policies.
19. Powers
to make rules.– The
Government may, in consultation with the Commission and by notification in the
official Gazette, make rules for purposes of giving effect to the provisions of
this Act.
[1]This Act was passed by the Punjab Assembly on 12 February 2014; assented
to by the Governor of the Punjab on 19
February 2014; and, was published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated
24 February 2014, pages 2641-45.
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