Social Welfare Department and LUMS Sign MoU
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Director General Mr. Muddassir Riaz Malik Department of Social Welfare (SWD) and Bait-ul-Maal, and Vice Chancellor, LUMS, Dr. Arshad Ahmad announced a partnership on February 9. The collaboration pertains to research support and data sharing in the field of women protection.
The MoU involves two schools from LUMS — the Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani School of Humanities and Social Sciences (MGSHSS) and the Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law (SAHSOL) — and the Department of Social Welfare. Also present at the ceremony were Deans MGSHSS and SAHSOL, Dr. Ali Khan and Dr. Sadaf Aziz. They were joined by Mr. Mohammad Safdar, Deputy Director NGOs, SWD; Ms. Rabia Usman, Manager, SWD; Ms. Angbeen Atif Mirza, Director Office of Accessibility and Inclusion, LUMS and Dr. Umair Javed, Assistant Professor, MGSHSS.
Mr. Malik hailed this partnership as an opportunity for both parties to learn. “This is a new phase of research, development and public policy. Through this collaboration, we will see practical and theoretical knowledge come together. This will add value to the work we do at SWD, and the students and faculty at LUMS will also help make a difference,” he shared.
Dr. Ahmad added that the partnership will signify experiential learning at its best. He explained, “Students can do needs assessments and help make recommendations to positively affect the lives of people affected by trauma and how to rehabilitate them.”
The Department of Social Welfare is working on social protection systems and encourages empowerment and inclusion for all, particularly marginalised communities. Through this collaboration, students at MGSHSS will work on raw data, and help develop policies and SOPs. The research and consultancy work planned under this MoU will be overseen and administered by faculty and students.
SWD will also closely work with SAHSOL to lend and evaluate data on various topics such as legal aid provided to women victims of violence, as well as need assessment, technical assistance and capacity building under the Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Act. SAHSOL will also be providing legal support to lawyers representing survivors at the crisis centres and other sub-departments at SWD.
Both schools will work together to collaborate with SWD on research, technical support, data analysis and capacity building.
