‘Women empowerment linked with education’
KARACHI: Speakers at a seminar on Saturday urged women to get education and learn technical skills in order to be aware of their rights and become economically empowered so that they can play their due role in the progress of the country.
Speaking at a seminar on “Insecurity and women” organised by the Sindh Employees Social Security Institution (SESSI), the Benazir Bhutto Women Support Centre and the National Association of Business, Professional and Agricultural Women, they said that a nation could not progress in real terms if half of its population was not allowed to utilise their abilities for the betterment of the nation.
Sindh Labour Minister Amir Nawab urged women workers to get organised and join trade unions in their respective organisations in order to protect their rights.
He said that women are equally competent and intelligent and whenever they were given equal opportunities they had given equally good or in some cases even better results than their male counterparts.
Referring to the issue of domestic violence, he urged parents in general and mothers in particular to pay more attention to the upbringing and grooming of their children especially boys and teach them to treat their sisters, cousins and other women family members with respect so that when they grew up they would not indulge in domestic violence or such other immoral acts.
Referring to his Awami National Party, he said that unlike many other political parties, the ANP did not have a separate women wing as it considered women equal partners and women workers participated in party activities equally and at one time even a woman – Begum Nasim Wali Khan – headed the party.
SESSI representative Dr Fatima Hassan said that this seminar was being held in connection with International Women’s Day celebrated on March 8.
Tracing the history of the day, she said that formally the first recognised International Women’s Day was held in 1910 and a conference was organised in Copenhagen in 1910 in which 100 women representing 17 countries participated.
Social activist Shamim Kazmi, columnist Zahida Hina, writer Razia Fasih, Advocate Nahid Ahmad and others also spoke.
Source: Dawn
Date:3/6/2011
” 
” 
” 
” 
