MULTAN, March 7th: Commissioner Multan Division Imran Sikandar Baloch said that Gender equality and economic development go hand in hand and unless we make our women economically independent we will be unable to curb the huge gender gap. This issue is not just the responsibility of the government but the private sector and families should also play their role in bringing the change. Discrimination also limits women’s choices and freedom; as per Article 25 (2) of Pakistan’s Constitution, women have equal rights.He was delivering his speech at a seminar on " Economic Growth through Women Empowerment, Challenges & Opportunities"jointly organised by Multan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI) USAID- Punjab Youth Workforce Development Project to mark the International Women Day. Commissioner said that Government has taken a number of steps for the protection and empowerment of women, to check violence against women.He said that our women could not be developed Because of various reasons, females have restricted mobility, access to education, access to health facilities, and lower decision-making power, and experience higher rates of violence. President of Multan Chamber Muhammad Sarfraz said that the women socially, economically, educationally, politically and legally has always been a difficult task to achieve in an underdeveloped country like Pakistan and backward area like South Punjab . Therefore, Our policymakers should specifically make the policies on women’s empowerment at the national level for health, education, economic opportunities, gender-based violence, and political participation.MCCI President said that denying women opportunities to realize their potential is a waste of human capital and bar to economic progress. Women have played a key role in the creation of Pakistan, they have the potential and should be treated equally and fairly.It is fair to say that women are undoubtedly the foundation of the basic unit of society, the family. Even in traditional roles, they demonstrate great innovation, skill, intelligence, hard work, and commitment. If we can harness these attributes effectively, Pakistan’s growth can be more inclusive and equitable. Qaiser Nadeem Chief of Party USAID -PYWD threw light on the purpose of celebrating the International Women Day and said that it is a display of Social ,Economic, Cultural and Political responsibilities and achievements of women. He explained the USAID-PYWD project which is supporting the women by providing benefit to more than 4500 women and their families.The project's objective is to enhance job creation and entrepreneurship opportunities by imparting skill and brokering employment for youth between the age of 16 to 19 in growth oriented sectors in Multan, Lodhran, Muzaffargarh, and Bahawalpur districts of South Punjab.The project,he said, is striving hard to achieve at least 35 % female inclusion,Out of total 10,000 marginalized youth through skill development,equal participation in decision making ,self employment and micro-finance services for improverished women in focus areas of the region ,he said. Representatives from MCCI,TEVTA,PVTC,Civil Society, NGOs, PYWD beneficiaries,Government officials and mediamen attended this event.Other Guest speakers were Zahra Sajjad Zaidi, Rizwana Tabassaum, Rubina Magsi, Mrs.Filza Akbar, Syeda Sarwat Zahra, Muneeza, Begum Romana Tanvir Ex-SVP MCCI, Khurram Javed Butt Secretary General of Multan Chamber,Shomaila Jamil and others. Later Guests visited the stalls of Fashion designing, Blue Pottery, Clay-pots,Camel skin work and hand made jewellery.
