Fauzia Viqar is a Pakistani human rights activist with a focus on women's rights. She served as the first chairperson of the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women from 2014 to 2019.
Viqar has a master's degree in Political Science from the McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. [1]
Viqar worked as the advocacy director for the non-profit organisation Shirkat Gah Women's Resource Centre from 2010 to 2014. [2] Her advocacy efforts at the organisation included work on honour killings and domestic violence. She was a co-author of the civil society-endorsed shadow report titled Obstructing Progress: Growing Talibanisation & Poor Governance in Pakistan presented for Pakistan's periodic review of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 2013. [3]
Since August 2019, she has worked as the Chief Executive Officer of the consultancy firm Rah Center for Management & Development. [4]
In February 2014, the Punjab Assembly passed the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women Act. [5] The Act provided for the establishment of a commission to work on women empowerment in the province. [6] The commission's mandate includes review of laws, policies, and programs with the mission to improve the socioeconomic development of women and to end all forms of discrimination against women. [5]
Viqar was appointed as the first chairperson of the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) on 8 March 2014. [7] Under her leadership, the PCSW developed a gender management information system, started publishing annual gender parity reports for the province, and launched a telephone helpline for women to report abuse. [8] [9] [10] During Viqar's tenure, the commission also launched a smartphone app to help women report incidents of harassment to the police department. [11]
The Women Development Department of the Government of Punjab, which is the public body overseeing the PCSW, served a one-month notice of termination to Viqar to remove her as PCSW chairperson on 21 May 2019. [12]
In 2023 she was appointed as the Federal Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment at Workplace. [13]