Staff Reporter
Lahore
Speakers at a conference here on Friday maintained that the women have the power to change the fate of the entire Muslim world, adding that empowerment of women is vital to establishment of peace and development of a country.
The conference titled ‘women of excellence’ was organised by the Lahore College for Women University in collaboration with Dukhtaran-e-Pakistan and Paigham-e-Pakistan. Senator Kausar Firdous, former MNA Dr Sameea Raheel Qazi, Dr Bushra Nadeem, Afia Sarwar, Aroosha Amir and Anum Butt were prominent among those who spoke on the occasion. A large number of academicians, faculty members, civil society activists and students attended the conference.
Addressing the participants, the speakers underlined that women have an important role in nation building. They said Islam provided equal opportunities to the women, adding that development of a society is unachievable without participation of the women. They elaborated the role of women in Islamic history and correlated the examples to the contemporary requirements.
The speakers said educational institutions are a vital place as those can effectively train the youth to counter extremism and terrorism in the society and spread the message of peace and harmony. They maintained that contribution of women in national development cannot be overlooked because their participation in nation-building is an important ingredient to obtain an equitable, peaceful and prosperous society.
The speakers stressed the need to promote a behavioural change through dissemination of laws related to women, mainstreaming gender into education and facilitating access to justice mechanisms for women and girls. They said the dream of building a healthier, better educated, more peaceful and more prosperous society cannot be realised without recognising the inherent dignity of women and ensuring their active and robust role to build foundations of society stronger.
The speakers said women are central to the democratic and economic development of a country and their empowerment, equal status and effective participation in social, political and economic spheres is vital to moving democracy.
