New members of women business association sworn in

Islamabad : The Association of Business, Professional and Agricultural Women (ABP&AW) was held a meeting at the Rawalpindi Gymkhana for the oath-taking ceremony of members of the newly elected committee members, followed by a talk on diabetes.

The proceedings started with a recitation from the Holy Quran, followed by the administering of the oath by Zeba Bokhari, founding member of the ABP&AW. President of the association, (Pindi) Tahmeena Malik then welcomed the new members and outlined the association’s rules and regulations. She further highlighted the progress of the association’s small credit scheme which has expanded to a revolving credit of PKR 1,200,000 with 44 loans currently being in circulation. Thanks to private donations of the members and friends, the grant money has increased exponentially from the initial seed money of PKR 30,000.

Following this, a detailed presentation on diabetes was given by diabetes specialist, Dr. Sana Ajmal, the Founder and Executive Director of ‘Meethi Zindagi,’ an association of people dealing with diabetes, founded in 2012. Her desire to improve lives of people living with diabetes stemmed from her own experience with diabetes. Dr. Ajmal gave a detailed presentation on the symptoms, causes, treatment and management of Type-1, Type-2 and Type Gestational Diabetes. She further highlighted the organization’s work and how it aims to target environmental, educational, political, financial, health, technological and psycho-social factors for improving the lives of people living with diabetes. The presentation followed an interactive Q/A session with the audience and was followed by a few light-hearted games for attendees.

Continuing its policy of providing a platform to its members, the event included a special feature, showcasing women entrepreneurs and their home-based products. These included stalls selling home-made pickles; chutneys; salty snacks; samosas and embroidered dresses.

In the end the General Secretary, Asma Naveed thanked the members and guests for their support and participation.

The new office bearers of the association are: Tahmeena Malik (President); Parvin M. Khan (Vice President I); Najma Shahid (Vice President II); Asma Naveed (General Secretary); Suraiya Jabeen (Finance Secretary) and Maheen Malik (Public Relations Officer).