LAHORE, October 18, 2025: HomeNet Pakistan (HNP) organized a convention at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan to commemorate International Home-Based Workers Day 2025, celebrating the resilience and contributions of millions of home-based workers (HBWs) across Pakistan.
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HNP Executive Director Ume Laila Azhar reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to ensuring HBWs’ recognition, rights, and access to social protection. “Decent work is not defined by where it takes place—factories, homes, or digital spaces—but by the dignity, fairness, and safety it guarantees every worker,” she stated. Highlighting progress since the Kathmandu Declaration (2000), she emphasized Pakistan’s leadership as the first country with four HBWs legislations enacted since 2018, while noting ongoing challenges regarding minimum wages, social protection, and grievance redress.
Punjab Assembly Member Ms. Sumble Malik applauded the movement for women’s economic empowerment and assured continued support for enforcing the Punjab HBWs Act 2023. Mr. Ayaz, Director at PESSI, shared that social security plans for HBWs had been finalized and that the Rules of Business under the 2023 Act had been submitted to the provincial cabinet for approval.
Reflecting on the movement’s journey, Mrs. Mehnaz Rafi, Senior Vice President of HNP, recalled how organizing women home workers in 2000 transformed their invisibility in production chains into a policy and rights movement. Ume Laila Azhar added that 80% of Pakistan’s HBWs are based in Punjab, with nearly 62% women engaged in the garment and textile sector. She urged women to form unions and strengthen collective voices, while also highlighting HNP’s advocacy for customized loan schemes tailored to HBWs’ financial realities.
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Mr. Irfan Mufti, Director SAP-PK, underlined the need for political empowerment of women in the informal sector, calling it essential for the next phase of the HBWs movement. Mr. Hanif Ramay and Mr. Niaz Khan emphasized the importance of union formation and equal representation in policymaking forums.
Advocate Ishtiaq Chaudhry highlighted HNP’s pro bono legal helpline (042-111-467-111), which has assisted over 4,500 women in cases involving harassment, unpaid wages, divorce, and inheritance. Ms. Shaheena Kasur, HNP Board Member, recalled early struggles when HBWs earned as little as Rs. 1,200 in 2007 and fought collectively for fair wages.
Mr. Muhammad Akram, from the Employers’ Federation of Pakistan, praised the Punjab HBWs Law 2023 for recognizing non-discriminatory employment, maternity benefits, and pensions, urging women to claim their rights confidently. Mr. Shahzad Bokhari called for tripartite collaboration between the government, employers, and civil society to extend social security and ensure no worker is left behind.
Ms. Zubaida, from SMEDA, shared new opportunities for women micro-entrepreneurs, while Mr. Sajid Ali of Asia Floor Wage reiterated that International HBWs Day honors the “often unseen but vital role of home-based workers in sustaining economies.” HBWs representatives Memhoona Aqeel, Kishwar, Rabail, and Saira Adnan demanded equal pay, social security, and access to regular work.
The major demands included the allocation of budget for an HBWs fund and exclusive economic empowerment programs.
The event concluded with a symbolic tree-planting ceremony, promoting environmental awareness and climate resilience among home-based workers.
