Aurat Foundataion’s Lahore office organized the launching of Pakistan NGOs Alternative Report on CEDAW-2012 on December 20, 2012, at Ambassador Hotel, Lahore. The event was chaired by Ms Maliha Zia, one of the authors of the report.   The participants included Ms Irum Bukhari, Secretary Women Development Department, Ms Neelum Hussain, Executive Director Simorgh; Ms Maliha Zia, one of author of the report, Mr Peter Jacob, Director, National Commission for Justice & Peace, included Ms Mumtaz Mughal, Provincial Manager Aawaz and Ms Nasreen Zehra, Resident Director, Aurat Foundation.  Representatives of civil society organizations, government institutions, legislation departments women parliamentarians from different political parties also attended the event.

Maliha Zia said that in some places women were not allowed to cast their votes in the 2008 elections and the government despite knowing that did not act against tribal or political leaders who were responsible for this denial of very basic right. She said many laws, including the Citizenship Act 1951 (which allows foreigner wife to get husband's Pakistani nationality, but does not allow a foreigner husband to get wife's Pakistani nationality), Qanoon-i-Shahadat, certain portions of honour killing laws, Child Marriage Restraint Act etc were discriminatory to women and very little was being done to review them.

Mr Peter Jacob said that civil society has shown its willingness to work for betterment of this society. They are courageous and dedicated.  Ms Neelam  Hussain said that society is ruined due to corruption which is destroying  each  and every system I the  country, and  we need to raise our voices against this corruption.   Ms Mehnaz Rafi from Pakistan Tehreek Insaf said that Civil society is doing good work by  raising women’s voices to the political  parties. Dr Ghazala Rana, member Provincial Assembly, Punjab, said that all rights of married women are in the marriage certificate  (nikahnama) but they are not read and considered by the nikah-khawan.