KARACHI: First Lady Begum Samina Alvi urged the need for a women-friendly and harassment-free work environment so that women could work fearless and contribute to the prosperity and development of their families, organizations, and country.
She added that the business community was responsible for making their workplaces women-friendly and offering them support and necessary facilities to enhance their inclusion in the mainstream economic sectors.
Begum Samina expressed these views while addressing a Saturday ceremony to celebrate International Women’s Day at a private sector organization.
The First Lady said that Pakistan could not progress without making women a part of businesses and a productive workforce. She stated that those nations progressed that invested in the education and health of women and their empowerment. She regretted that women’s representation in the labour force and mainstream socio-economic activities in Pakistan was much lower than men’s. She stressed the need to provide skills, education, and employment opportunities to women to alleviate this situation.
Begum Samina calls for ending gender-based discrimination
The First Lady also called for imparting market-demanded skills to women to make them financially empowered and independent. She said that special efforts are needed from the federal and provincial governments for women’s skill development, besides enacting better policies and ensuring their implementation. She also called for creating awareness about women’s rights and ending gender-based discrimination in our society.
Begum Samina Alvi emphasized the need to use digital technologies for women’s financial inclusion. She said that digital technologies could help women gain new skills and also help improve their access to loans and financial services.
The First Lady said that women could offer their services internationally while using online platforms and become financially independent.
She underscored the need to improve women’s access to digital technologies and asked them to focus on self-education, skill development, and online work.
