Empowered women can change the fate of world, Pakistan

Lahore: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has said that it will fully support all the women empowerment initiatives by the United Nations.

Government of Pakistan has taken a lot of steps to empower women but a lot is to be done for which international institutions should play their due role, it said.

President FPCCI Abdul Rauf Alam said this while talking to delegates representing different countries during the launch of Women and ICT Frontier Initiative (WIFI) at a the convention arranged by the United Nations Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (UN-APCICT) in Korea.

He said that the aim of WIFI to create socially and economically-empowered women through ICT-enabled entrepreneurship, supporting women entrepreneurs by enhancing their knowledge and skills in business management and ICT usage which is a noble cause.

Abdul Rauf Alam said that this project is to be coordinated through Centre of Pakistan and International Relations (COPAIR) while FPCCI has already signed an agreement with the President of (COPAIR) Ms. Amna Malik to empower and facilitate all members of various women chambers and rural women.

The President FPCCI said that WIFI will have a transformative impact on the lives of women entrepreneurs, their families, and their communities which triggers growth and reduce negative tendencies in the society therefore it is a laudable move.

The success of women results in increased household savings and investment in children’s health and education which contribute to national socio-economic growth, he said adding that economically productive women imperative for a healthy society.

At the occasion, Amna Malik said that almost half of the world’s population comprises of women while lack of opportunities is keeping the whole world from developing on rapid pace.

Companies like Google, Microsoft and Intel presented their initiatives in the launch and emphasized how they can collaborate and support women entrepreneurship.

Hundreds of participants including high-level officials and representatives from government, academia, civil society, international organizations and the private sector from over fifty countries participated in the event.