Role of women in economic development to be enhanced

Islamabad: Secretary Information and Broadcasting Shahera Shahid said on Thursday that women constituted 51 per cent of the population of Pakistan and providing them maximum opportunities was imperative for their active participation in the nation building process, says a press release.

This she said while addressing the logo launching ceremony of ‘Her Hunar’ exhibition to be hosted by Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) at Pak- China Friendship Centre on March 4-5. The event is being organised to encourage and celebrate women entrepreneurs of the country. She said that the progress and prosperity of any nation was not possible without active participation of female gender. The secretary appreciated the TDAP for planning an event to give opportunities to women entrepreneurs from North Pakistan to get exposure.

Speaking on the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) said that bringing women into the mainstream of economy is very important to achieve sustainable economic growth. He called upon the government to make more conducive policies for women with particular focus on promoting women entrepreneurs so that women could start their own businesses with ease and play an enhanced role in the economic development. Lauding TDAP for organizing women expo, he said that the event will provide them a suitable platform to showcase the potential of their products, development networking, share knowledge & experiences and generate new business leads. He assured that ICCI would fully cooperate with TDAP in such positive initiatives.

Muhammad Naseer, Director General, TDAP Islamabad said that women entrepreneurs of the north region have a lot of potential and the aim of this first-ever dedicated expo is to provide them better exposure and market access. He said that TDAP would try to make it an annual event to promote the women entrepreneurs of the north region. Rizwana Asif, President, Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that the expo would help women entrepreneurs to scale up their businesses and assured full support to make it successful.

The women entrepreneurs of Chitral, Kalash, Dera Ismail Khan, Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum and Chakwal would participate in the expo to display a wide range of products including apparel & home textiles, gems & jewellery, carpets & rugs, food sector, handicrafts, fashion accessories, cosmetics, decorative items, dry fruits etc. The two days exhibition would feature seminars & workshops, cultural performances, food courts, kids’ arena and will be live streamed for Pakistani trade missions and social media.