International Women's Day (IWD) is a day of women's solidarity to press for equality and it's a day of pronouncing a policy commitment towards fulfillment of women's' rights. It is a celebration of the positives, not just a reminder of negatives and as such, the day demands renewed inspiration and commitment from all stakeholders to strategize better for a meaningful change.

Commemorating IWD provides us an opportunity to recall and appreciate the tireless efforts of many passionate men and women for their continued struggle for the recognition of women's rights in public sphere.

'Equal Rights, Equal opportunities, Progress for all' is the global theme for 2010 IWD. It is about realizing and protecting women's rights and it must bring more energy to the challenge of reaching this goal. The theme relates to the government's dedication in the promotion of women's rights in different realms of life, seeking women's participation in decision making, in political processes and in integrating women's interests and concerns in legislation and public policy framework. The purpose is to elevate the status of women and ensure full citizenship rights for them.

The Ministry of Women Development (MoWD) is mandated to promote true gender equality and advancement of women across the government institutions through emphasis on social, economic, legal and political empowerment in line with its national policy. As a catalyst, the role of the Ministry is to influence policy processes through lobbying and advocacy to contribute towards fulfilling government of Pakistan's national and international gender equality commitments.

The strategic positioning of the MoWD is critical and requires the strengthening of the Ministry's human, organizational and knowledge resource base with strategic planning as a core measure to define priorities for policy and program interventions.

Gender equality and women's empowerment cut across all sectors and MoWD alone cannot deliver on gender equality results. For mainstreaming women's concerns and interests into sector policies and programs, a collective vision and shared responsibility is essential. Consequently, in order to implement the action plans related to national and international commitments, MoWD needs full support and proactive role of all federal ministries and institutions.

I would like to sum up with an endorsement of the UN-Secretary General's words, we must, in 2010 “empower women like never before”.