Women empowerment is critical to nation building and holistic approach of BISP for this purpose is commendable. This was stated by Speaker National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq who was speaking as chief guest at Women Empowerment Conference organized at BISP Secretariat.
The women empowerment conference was held by BISP to deliberate upon how BISP beneficiaries could be best empowered. The conference focused on learning from the views and feedback of the participants and the special programmes which are being designed for women empowerment in Pakistan or around the world, which can be replicated here.
The conference was attended by the members of parliament, diplomats, representatives of World Bank, DFID, ADB, USAID,WFP, CIDA, TIKA, KOICA, JICA, Mera Chand Welfare Trust, National Commission on Status of Women, PPAF, government organizations, Bedari Organization, different NGOs, media houses, academia, civil society and a large number of BISP woman beneficiaries.
During the address, Speaker National Assembly said that the women have equal role in the progress of the country and we must put in all-out efforts to adopt measures for empowering our women. He added that the platform provided by BISP will assist all the stakeholders to work in unison for this cause. He assured the full support of National Assembly in the legal empowerment of women.
Addressing the participants, Minister of State and Chairperson BISP MNA Marvi Memon said that BISP aims to empower women, giving them dignity and meaning to their lives as envisioned by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Chairperson BISP added that the contribution of BISP towards woman beneficiaries is beyond financial assistance, empowering them to exercise their political, social and financial rights. The interventions of BISP enable them to support their families on equal footings, resulting into better nutrition, less stunting, better IQ levels and improved education and health facilities for their families. She expressed her determination to coordinate the efforts of all relevant quarters for the purpose of women empowerment.
During the proceedings of the conference, many important topics relating to women empowerment came under discussion of the participants. Valuable views were given on early childhood education, mother and child care by Ms. Mehnaz Aziz, on Polio immunization by Mr. Mazhar Nisar, on population and family planning by Dr. Zeba A. Sathar, on acid violence by Ms. Velerie Khan, on malnutrition by Ms. Lola Casro, on violence against women by Ms. Fozia Waqar, on financial inclusion by Mr. Asghar Ali Memon, on adult literacy by Mera Chand Welfare Trust, on status of immunization by MNHSR&C and on early marriages by Safiullah Khan.
Deliberations were also made on adopting those programmes for BISP beneficiaries which have been designed for women empowerment in Pakistan and around the world. For this purpose, it was discussed that BISP may coordinate with those organizations which are already undertaking such projects. The ideas of demand driven solutions to the problems of beneficiaries and financial independence of women from their male family members were also discussed. The discussion on these ideas highlighted the role of BISP Beneficiary Committees (BBCs). The feedback of women included in BBCs on their problems may help to design projects which can address their issues related to education, health and finances.
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