At a discussion organized by the Institute of Regional Studies in collaboration with the Department of Defense and Strategic Studies, QAU on the ‘role of women in contemporary times’ panelists urged for greater participation of women in the field of digital technology.
In her introductory remarks, Ms. Nabila Jaffer, Research Analyst at IRS, emphasized the need for attitude change towards women in Pakistan which she said was necessary for streamlining women’s role in the socio-economic development of the country. Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Nadeem Riyaz, President of IRS said that women remained an un-quantifiable part of the economy and that trend needed to be reversed. He was of the view that women’s empowerment through digital education was the need of the day.
Panel moderator, Dr. Shabana Fayyaz, Chairperson at the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies, QAU, said that in connection with Women’s Day, today’s discussion under the theme ‘Digit All’ was important to highlight the role of women in the digital era. For that, every country needed to play its role in providing an enabling environment for women in their systems, she added. She urged that the laws passed by the government must be implemented in their true spirit so that the longstanding problems of women especially those living in backward areas can be addressed. She suggested that a collaborative framework needed to be promoted as societies could not progress until people from all walks of life work together.
Ms. Sameena Imtiaz, a Development Worker and Program Head at CRSS urged women to come out of victimhood and focus more on the redressal measures as there were various hotlines and safety platforms available that women could exploit. She was of the view that education, particularly digital literacy can empower women in a significant way, but for that, we needed to mobilize digital companies for necessary support, she added.
Dr. Salma Malik, Asst. Professor at QAU, said that we needed to learn from the Bangladesh model where women started with participation in small economic activities that eventually resulted in the mushroom growth of small and medium-level women entrepreneurship in Bangladesh.
