The Punjab government in the last four years has heavily invested in working to eradicate the violence against women in the society. Director-General of the Chief Minister Punjab’s Strategic Reforms Unit, Salman Sufi, has been involved in a number of initiatives countering violence.
Salman Sufi was recently awarded for his work to help stop violence against women, and he’s among the top 5 men of the world doing so
He was selected as an honoree for an award that honors men who fight against violence against women and girls. The awards were presented by Vital Voices Global Partnership. This is an organization under the chairmanship of Hillary Clinton. The award ceremony took place on December 4 in, New York City.
Thanks to the unwavering commitment to end #VAW by @CMShehbaz -DG SRU Salman Sufi selected for @VitalVoices Voices of Solidarity award for his work on #WomenProtectionBill and #VAWC -A first for #Pakistan – #Punjab pic.twitter.com/RtAgZXJWUl
— Chief Minister's SRU (@smucmo) December 3, 2017
Salman Sufi took to Twitter to announce the honor
An honor to represent #Pakistan and receive the prestigious #VoicesofSolidarity award from @VitalVoices for the work @GovtOfPunjab has done to end #VAW under the leadership of @CMShehbaz -Salman Sufi #Punjab pic.twitter.com/KwMU7F4zdo
— Chief Minister’s SRU (@smucmo) December 5, 2017
He has been labelled as the male champion of the cause after winning the award
The fabulous @DVF introduces and presents the #VoicesOfSolidarity award to Salman Sufi of @smucmo pic.twitter.com/06qp5yjH4F
— Vital Voices (@VitalVoices) December 5, 2017
The attendees at the award show were quick to pick up on his words of wisdom in his fight against violence
"Violence against women is not just about women, its about men. It’s not about feminism. It’s about humanity and civil rights."
Powerful words from Salman Sufi of @smucmo#VoicesOfSolidarity
— Vital Voices (@VitalVoices) December 5, 2017
"(The fight against) violence against women is not about feminism, it is about humanity and human rights." -Salma Sufi an activist from Pakistan fighting for gender equality. ANOTHER AMAZING MAN BEING RECOGNIZED AS A #VOICESOFSOLIDARITY by @VitalVoices ❤
— Nadya Okamoto (@nadyaokamoto) December 5, 2017
“Violence against women isn’t about feminism. It’s about human rights.” -Salman Sufi at #VoicesofSolidarity @VitalVoices
— Maria Davis (@mariaudavis) December 5, 2017
For those of you who do not know, this champion has been involved in several initiatives in this regard
- He had a key role in the drafting of the Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Act 2016, which formally became a part of the law in the province.
- He was also involved in the establishment of South Asia’s first ever Violence Against Women Centre (VAWC) in Multan. This centre provides shelter to survivors of violence. They also have access to police, medicines, legal aide, and counselling services at the VAWC.
- He is also the Director General Punjab Women Protection Authority. This body is responsible for setting up VAWCs in the rest of Punjab.
Pakistanis are taking to Twitter to appreciate his efforts
Congratulations Salman Sufi and @smucmo for this fantastic and well-deserved recognition! @VitalVoices @CMShehbaz ?? https://t.co/dBNTeDllQu
— Fiza Farhan (@Fiza_Farhan) December 5, 2017
Proud of all the work you and your team have done, Salman, more power to all of you. @smucmo https://t.co/Z9rpEGsDVj
— Mehr Tarar (@MehrTarar) December 5, 2017
Congratulations!
— Samar MinAllah Khan (@SamarMinallahKh) December 5, 2017
The Government of Pakistan also appreciated the efforts of this man
#Pakistan DG SRU Salman Sufi receive the prestigious #VoicesofSolidarity award from @VitalVoices for the work @GovtOfPunjab has done to end violence against women #VAW under the leadership of @CMShehbaz. pic.twitter.com/ZcKF8Qswja
— Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) December 5, 2017
And he was praised by UN Women Pakistan
Mr. Salman Sufi, Director-General,@SMUReforms has been selected as an Honoree for Voices of Solidary Award 2017 to be presented by Vital Voices Global Partnership. The award honors men who have struggled to eliminate gender-based violence
Read More: https://t.co/snHUPH0DdH pic.twitter.com/rkE1e17nYw— UN Women Pakistan (@unwomen_pak) December 4, 2017
Violence against women in Pakistan is a grave issue. Each effort to help eradicate it, must be supported and appreciated.
Here’s a short video to highlight some statistics regarding the problem.