Women were the backbone of all developing countries, agreed on experts during a Roundtable Discussion at the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS). Ambassador Nadeem Riyaz, President IRS in his inaugural address said that while it was true that Pakistan had reflected immense cognizance in registering women as engines of economic growth, their role in sectors such as agriculture remained largely uncredited.
In that, implementation of available legislation to recognize the role of women was an essential component which still needed attention.
Dr Shabana Fayyaz, Chairperson and Associate Professor at the Department of Strategic Studies Quaid I Azam University said that Women’s Day was a subtle reminder of the fact that as the social role of men in strengthening women empowerment was a major factor that required to be highlighted more than it was. She said that the fact that women in Pakistan were cognizant of their rights and could voice up for them was a blessing in itself. The inadequacies, however, could only be addressed with shared collective responsibility of men and women in our society, she added.
Ms Roshaan Sheikh, said that there was a need to ensure more leadership roles for women, especially in the tech world. The number of female entrepreneurs had risen in the past few years and this in itself was testament of the resolve of women in our country.
Ms Sameena Imtiaz, Head of Programs Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) said that the true essence of celebrating women’s lied in fact in moving away from victomhood attached to women in our society in addition to eliminating comparison with mo e in other countries. She said that digital literacy needed to be optimally used in order to work on sensitivities around the issue.
Dr Salma Malik, Assistant Professor at DSS Department QAU said that empowered women were integral in all realms as their presence meant supporting and strengthening other fellow women. She said that it was commendable that women had gotten a voice in the National Security Policy framework as well. However, factors such as domestic violence and honour killings were still a major challenge, she added.
