PESHAWAR: Speakers at a seminar here on Friday called for efforts for economic empowerment of women through education.
The seminar was held at the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University (SBBWU) Peshawar in collaboration with Ministry of Human Rights in connection with the International Women’s Day. The theme of the year 2020 was “Generation Equality”. The participants in the seminar held panel discussion wherein experts from dynamic fields shared their views about gender equality, the measures that were needed to be taken to create awareness among the general public about human rights and gender equality. They also discussed the entrepreneurial opportunities for females, the efforts being made in taking pro-women laws, role of women parliamentarians in decision-making and the challenges faced at policy level for people with special needs of the meaningful steps that encounter and what innovative measures may be taken to ensure inclusiveness.
Prof Dr Razia Sultana, Vice-Chancellor of SBBWUP, said, “I strongly agree that human rights should be ensured to all without any discrimination on the basis of caste, colour, faith, creed and gender.”
She said that she was a great supporter of equal rights for women as they were equally talented as their male counterparts. Ghulam Ali, Director at the Ministry of Human Rights, said that the provincial government was committed to improving the status of women in province. He appreciated the efforts of UN Women in the province and acknowledged the role of education institutions in reinforcing the economic empowerment of women in our society. He said, “It is equally important to mark a day but simultaneously we are required to join hands for collective efforts in order to help women reach their full potential. Although, government has taken concrete steps in this regard i.e. the women empowerment policy is under implementation, pro-women legislative reforms are priority and new initiatives are planned to ensure women rights are safeguarded.”
Zainab Qaiser Khan, Head of Sub Office UN Women Peshawar, talked about the work of UN Women to advance gender equality and empowerment of women and girls. She said that UN Women was committed to women economic empowerment and other than supporting home-based workers on ground.
Member Provincial Assembly Ayesha Bano, who was the chief guest, said it was a good thing that the students were taken on board in order to spread awareness in the general public on gender equality. She stated, “We have to become each other’s strength and facilitate the women with less opportunities. She stated that women constituted 50 percent of the population of the country, therefore, they were supposed to contribute to the economic growth.
The event was attended by teaching faculty, senior management of the women university, civil society, media and more than 100 students. The Chief Guest, MPA Ayesha Bano stated that it’s an achievement that the students are taken on board in order to spread awareness in the general public on gender equality. She stated that we have to become each other’s strength and facilitate the women with less opportunities. She further stated that 50 % of the population are females and we cannot set them apart from the economic growth. The event was attended by teaching faculty, senior management of the women university, civil society, media and more than 100 female students.
