LAHORE: President Dr Arif Alvi said on Monday that women should remain in the mainstream national development process and the country’s economic cycle to double the development pace.
He cited that Hazrat Khadija (RA) was a businesswoman; therefore, it was not justified to confine the educated women to their homes to look after the family matters only.
Addressing the Minhaj University Lahore (MUL) Convocation 2022 here, he said that Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Jinnah had also advocated for taking women along in the national development process, according to APP.
Society must benefit from their skills and knowledge; however, it was the government’s responsibility to provide women with a harassment-free environment at their workplace.
He said that 50 percent of the women students, after acquiring an MBBS degree, did not go for practice in the field, or most of them went abroad to serve there, which was unfortunate and, in a way, a wastage of the resources spent on them during their studies at respective educational institutions.
Dr Arif Alvi advised the graduating student that they should not isolate themselves from society in their practical life, and their motto should not be earning livelihood only. They must use their knowledge and skills for the well-being of society and uplift the poor strata.
Global IT industry running short of manpower
At the global level, the IT industry was running short of manpower, and the international community was looking towards Pakistan having a youth bulge to cater to this vital sector’s needs; he added that Pakistan must take substantial advantage of this great opportunity.
Dr Arif Alvi said that human relationships were built on communication, asserting that people must take extra care of sharing information through social media and avoid sharing unconfirmed information and out-of-context communication as it is unethical and against the teachings of Islam.
In the past, he added, education was considered necessary to earn a livelihood, creating a state of euphoria but depriving society of spiritual qualities.
He said the Muslims had been resistant to gaining knowledge over the past 600 years, which was unfortunate.
He asserted that Allah Almighty had opened the passage to knowledge, and Muslims, inherent of ‘the knowledge,’ should have continued with this inheritance to achieve success in this world and the hereafter.
He maintained that the nations that adopted knowledge and made education a way to attain social well-being and economic prosperity were advancing at a fast pace in every sphere of life.
He said that the visionary personality of Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri had made great contributions to building Minhaj University, and this institution was producing students who were complete in terms of education, training, and character building.
Dr Arif Alvi said that it was the beginning of opening the heart and door to knowledge for the graduating students, adding that man learned a lot about the behavior and attitudes of society in his practical life.
He said that the knowledge of the universe was very vast, which we called external knowledge, and the Muslim and other scientists and researchers worked a lot on this knowledge, while the other was internal knowledge upon which the Sufia and Saints worked a lot to connect the people with internal knowledge.
He added that man’s quest and desire to get knowledge would always be there, and knowledge was increasing with the passage of time, and new reaches and theories were coming forth.
On this occasion, the President also awarded some position-holder graduates medals and degrees.
Earlier, Prof Dr Hussain Mohiyyuddin, Deputy Chairman of the MUL Board of Governors, and Vice Chancellor Prof Sajid Mahmood Shahzad also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the history and achievements of the varsity.
