Updated: Tuesday April 29, 2014/AthThulatha
Jamada El Thaniah 29, 1435/Mangalavara
Vaisakha 09, 1936, at 09:27:52 PM
[1][1]The
(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
(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
(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
(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
(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
(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
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
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][1]This Act
was passed by the Punjab Assembly on 12 February 2014; assented to by the
Governor of the
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