Begum Samina Alvi here on Saturday called for meaningful engagement of women, constituting more than 50 percent of the country’s population, to give a boost to national development including economic activities.
Addressing a seminar titled “Status of Gender Equality in Pakistan” organized in connection with International Day by Women by All Pakistan Women’s Association (APWA), wife of President Arif Alvi said prosperity could only be attained by ensuring equal rights to women and addressing their issues related with social status and financial security.
“To help materialize the dream of forming a model Islamic Welfare state and development of Pakistan , it is vital to guarantee equal rights to women”, she said adding that development goals could not be achieved when over 100 million women of the country were kept out of economic activity and lack of basic facilities.
No state could develop without the indispensable contribution of the entire work force in economic activities proactively, she said adding, it was imperative that all segments of society work harmoniously.
She urged on creating opportunities for inclusion of women and differently abled persons in education, health and various sectors of economy and said joint and coordinated efforts would help establish an inclusive society.
She further informed that a project for street children was under consideration.
Begum Alvi appreciated State Bank’s measures and policies aimed at women empowerment and suggested that such policies must be widely publicized so that women could be facilitated through them at grass root level.
