The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), in collaboration with the UNFPA, UNDP, UN Women and Jazz hosted a consultative session on creating a ‘Gender Digital Divide in Pakistan’ today in Karachi. This is the third consultative session out of four which are planned to be held in all provinces of Pakistan. The report will be presented to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. The conference was attended by sectors of the political sphere, media, civil society, and the academia. Nilofar Bakhtiar, Chairperson NCSW, in her opening address stated that the digital divide has further deteriorated the gender disparity in the country. “The policy makers, leaders and relevant stakeholders, need to understand the importance of having women at the forefront viz a viz technology.” Habiba Hassan, Gulalai Khan, Sabahat Bukhari, board member NCSW,member of LUMS faculty and representatives of Jazz spoke on the risks that automatically arise with the increase in technology in the society, namely the risks and dangers for women as well as the increasing digital divide in the nation. Seema Kamil, first female Deputy Governor, State Bank of Pakistan spoke on the nuances of culture and the digital sphere. “A threat assessment training is crucial for those using it,” she said. Mubashir Akram, who is writing the official report, gave a presentation on Women in the Era of Digitalization to set the context for group discussions. The participants then broke out into the first working session wherein different themes were discussed and the final outcome was presented by the respective groups. During the closing session, Mr. Adil Farhat, CEO Procter & Gamble, joined the event and spoke on the role of P&G to increase gender inclusivity. Mr. Asif Ikram, Secretary Information and Technology Department Sindh also participated the session in which he spoke about the precedent set by women throughout history which played a large role in the advancement of society. Ms. Tanzeela Umi Habiba, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister Sindh for Information & Technology closed the event.
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