Zubair Qureshi
The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), in collaboration with UNICEF and the British Council on Friday successfully concluded its series of national conferences under the ‘Roll out of National Women’s Agenda 2024’ by holding the last national conference on ‘Education for Every Woman and Girl’ at the Marriott.
This was the last of the series of national conferences. Earlier, sessions were held on women’s role in society, their health, gender climate action in Pakistan and legal reforms for women and girls.
Experts at these conferences highlighted various issues related to women’s potential which by and large remains untapped and unutilized in our society.
The concluding session turned out to be a healthy debate by the stakeholders and partners with regard to investing in education, particularly for girls.
UN Resident Coordinator & Humanitarian Coordinator, Mohamed Yahya, British Council’s Country Director James Hampson, Minister for Education, GilgitBaltistan (GB) GhulamShehzad Agha, Focal Person for Punjab Chief Minister on Education, ShakeelBhatti, Federal Secretary, Ministry of Education & Professional Training MohyuddinWani, artist Hamza Ali Abbasi, Director Education, Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) Shakoor Muhammad, women and children rights activist, Valerie Khan and a large number of experts from education sector attended the concluding day event and commended the NCSW’s initiative under the National Women’s Agenda – ‘The Next Horizon.
It addressed the educational disparities faced by women and girls across Pakistan in alignment with the Government of Pakistan’s Education Emergency declaration.
Deputy Country Representative of UNICEF DrInoussaKabore and James Hampson highlighted the importance of international collaboration in addressing barriers to education.
Mohamed Yahya shared his insight and referred to the huge potential women have in making a significant change in their lives and that of those around them. Educating girls breaks the cycle of poverty and backwardness as it (education) liberates minds and helps members of society explore new horizons.
MohyuddinWani’s presentation was perhaps the most impressive and reassuring segment of the event as he highlighted various steps and initiatives aimed at equipping girls with advanced education techniques and methods. We are converting Islamabad’s 56 schools (including girls schools) into high impact technology hubs where girls will be trained to learn AI-based and IT courses and find their scope in the world. Moreover, 200 schools with smart classrooms will equip girls and boys with the latest courses which are in high demand.
Artist Hamza Ali Abbasi also reiterated his commitment to work as an ambassador for the education of women of Pakistan.
