‘Empower women through education’

LAHORE : Postgraduate Medical Institute (PGMI) and Ameer-ud-Din Medical College (AMC) Principal Dr Muhammad Al-Fareed Zafar has stressed the need for empowering women through education.

Addressing the participants in an awareness walk and symposium at Lahore General Hospital on the eve of the International Women's Day, he said empowerment of women meant raising the status of women through education and training.

The PGMI principal appreciated the government’s decision to relax eight-year age limit for nurses and the plans to abolish the quota system. King Edward Medical University Prof of Surgery Dr Ayesha Shaukat, Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS) Lahore former Dean Dr Shahnaz Javed Khan and Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr Mahmood Salahuddin, Dr Amna Javed jointly stated, “Today women in Pakistan are playing a vital role in education and health sectors.”

They said that independent and literate women could be helpful in reforming society. “Our religion Islam also provides full security and rights to women to perform their role in any circumstances,” they said. They said that it depended on woman to make themselves stable and safe and face the challenges. Prof Ayesha Shaukat said that now women were not restricted to certain fields, but they were exhibiting their talent in judiciary and army also. Even they are flying planes in Pakistan, she added.

She said that especially in the field of medicines, Pakistani women had produced excellent results. Dr Mahmood Salahuddin said that the country could not ignore 52 per cent portion of its population and maximum opportunities should always be given to them. The

symposium and awareness walk were held under the aegis of Surgery Department of Lahore General Hospital.