BHC conference focuses on women empowerment

Islamabad
Focusing on women’s empowerment and the importance of supporting women in achieving their potential, the British High Commission (BHC) in Islamabad hosted a conference on Saturday in advance of International Women’s Day.
The conference was held in collaboration with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women Pakistan), United Nations Development Programme Pakistan (UNDP Pakistan), and the UK’s Department for International Development Pakistan (DFID Pakistan).
The daylong Conference included panel discussions on a range of topics including the role of men in women’s empowerment and the role of media in women’s rights. The discussions invited high profile panellists working for women rights awareness in Pakistan.
The panellists included Nigar Nazar, CEO Gogi Studios, Shahid Nadeem, Executive Director Ajoka Theatre, Omar Aftab, CEO Women Empowerment Group, Qadeer Baig, Country Representative, Rutgers World Population Foundation Pakistan, Minister National Assembly Aasiya Nasir, and Senior Journalist Asma Shirazi.
The conference also gave an opportunity to students from Lahore University of Management Sciences, Bahria University, Iqra University, ARID Agriculture University, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) and Riphah University to showcase their presentations on different topics related to women empowerment in all aspects of society.
Richard Montgomery, Head of Department for International Development Pakistan, Jamshed M Kazi, Country Representative of UN Women Pakistan, Marc Andre Franche, Head of UNDP Pakistan and Jennifer Cole, Political Counsellor, British High Commission also joined the panel discussions Speaking at the event, Richard Montgomery, Head of DFID Pakistan said that the diverse views expressed by the panellists and those of Pakistan’s future leaders will undoubtedly go on to shape opinions in the future.
Richard Montgomery said that it is important for both men and women to have a conversation on men’s role in addressing the challenges facing women and how they can assist in women empowerment. He stressed that equality between men and women is a fundamental right and reducing gender discrimination will not only lead to a fairer society, but a stronger economy and a more prosperous country.
Marc Andre Franche, Country Representative UNDP informed that his organization supports a range of efforts to improve the position of women in Pakistan, including in the justice sector, police force, community organizations, parliamentarians and aspiring women candidates. Marc Andre said that empowered women and girls have a truly transformative role to play in Pakistan as evidence consistently shows that where women are given opportunities, societies develop more rapidly.
He further said that UNDP will continue to take steps to empower women and achieve gender equality as a way to fight poverty. In promoting the ‘HeForShe’ movement in Pakistan, Jamshed M. Kazi, Country Representative, UN Women emphasised the need for a united effort to galvanise momentum. He said that with women constituting half the population of Pakistan, the ‘HeForShe’ campaign will encourage ‘the other half’ to speak out and take action against inequalities faced by women and girls. We are engaging men as champions for change; a change where women can live a life free of inequalities and discrimination, he added.
‘HeForShe’ is a solidarity movement for gender equality that brings together one half of humanity in support of the other half of humanity, for the benefit of all.