(July 08, 2019)
President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), President All Karachi Industrial Alliance (AKIA), Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI and former provincial minister, Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday lauded the women empowerment initiatives of Prime Minister Imran Khan. He also supported the decision to allocate separate quota for the women in different important fields which will also improve the gender equality situation.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader that women are almost 51 percent of the population which must be included in the national mainstream through a comprehensive policy.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that Constitution guarantees the protection of the right of the women but it is not practiced as required.
The former minister noted that the government, as well as the private sector, should encourage and empower women to ensure sustainable national development. The issues barring the women from development should be addressed on a priority basis as they are facing problems like financing, discrimination, and exploitation by the middlemen. He said that there are eleven women chambers and many other associations working for the betterment of women with some doing a very good job that should be supported.
The government should find new markets for the products produced by the women and arrange expos across the country to introduce their products and services with an aim to make them financially stable, he demanded. He noted that education should be accorded top priority for the girls in the rural areas which will have an impact on the coming generations. Generally, women are underpaid as compared to the women which is unjustified and discouraging, he said.
