When we speak about empowered women, we visualise women sitting in positions of power; women in politics, in law, in corporate sector, in health, media or academics but we fail to visualise the rural women who work equally hard and are greatly responsible for agriculture, food safety, and nutrition in our country. We often neglect the invaluable contributions of rural women like Rehana bibi, Sajida, Farzana, and many others who are key agents for development and support their families, uplift communities, and enable them to prosper.

In Pakistan, 63 per cent of the population (145 million people) represents the rural sector. This sector contributes 22.7 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and yet their contributions, particularly those of rural women, are often ignored. Over the past two and a half decades, the rural female labour participation has doubled – from 16 per cent to 32 per cent. Unfortunately, they do not get the recognition they deserve. Not only that, they also face multiple challenges including limited access to healthcare, education and credit that can help them seek financial independence. These challenges worsen with economic and climate change crisis that Pakistan continues to face.

To empower these women and enable them to become financially independent, the Government of Pakistan launched the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) in 2008. A social safety net program with an unconditional cash transfer of approximately PKR 7,000 to over 6 million beneficiaries, every quarter. The BISP program when launched was aimed at focusing on the economic wellbeing of rural women, enabling them to earn a livelihood for themselves and their families.

BISP is one of the largest programs of its kind in South Asia with approximately over 6 million beneficiaries. It is dedicated to working on poverty alleviation as the commitment to attaining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals - 1 & 5 – no poverty and gender equality.

However, from a financial emancipation standpoint, it was important to graduate from quarterly cash transfers and enable women to become financially independent by working themselves and becoming a part of Pakistan’s productive workforce.

Keeping the vision of creating shared value for communities, Nestlé Pakistan partnered with the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) in 2017 to launch BISP Rural Women Sales Program. The program provides livelihood opportunities to the poorest of the poor women to help them become financially independent. Under this program, rural women go through rigorous trainings to become sales agents and are enabled to become microentrepreneurs, selling products to their communities at a low cost and make a profit for themselves.

Till date, this program has enrolled over 1900 BISP beneficiaries as sales agents in different parts of the country, with a few having set up their own small grocery stores in rural areas. These efforts are in line with the company’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 3: good health and well-being, 5: gender equality, 8: decent work and economic growth and 17: partnerships for the goals.

Keeping in mind the importance of successful partnerships to create a larger impact and leveraging niches of different organisations, the company also partnered with Akhuwat Pakistan (the largest interest-free microfinance program) whereby, improving access to finance, micro-loans worth PKR 2 million as revolving credit (to maximise its impact and benefit) been disbursed to many women looking to scale their businesses. As a result, sales agents of this program have been able to open independent set ups in their villages.

“Poverty eradication programs for the poorest of the poor are most effective when coupled with upskilling rural communities to become a part of the workforce. We, as part of global and local obligations, believe in Creating Shared Value (CSV) for the communities in which it works and lives. The BISP Rural Women Sales Program helps us do that by empowering rural women through skills and employment that lead them to financial independence,” told Waqar Ahmad, Head of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability at Nestlé Pakistan.

“We are very happy with this partnership. This partnership is enabling rural women to become entrepreneurs and gradually scale up their entrepreneurial ventures and eventually graduate out of poverty,” stated Dr. Amjad Saqib, Founder & Chairman Akhuwat.

Impact on rural women:

The impact this intervention has on rural women and their lives extends far beyond words and numbers. Here is a look at some women who have been positively impacted by this program.

Finding opportunity in the middle of a pandemic…

Prior to the pandemic, Rehana Bibi was dependent on her husband’s income who worked as a daily wage worker and made a minimal amount. Running a family on one income source was always hard but Rehana assumed that’s the way of life. She had not seen any different. The pandemic, however, made things worse. Her husband lost his job and for a family that survived on a daily wage, necessities like food and shelter became hard to afford.

After many unsuccessful tries of finding work for Rehana’s husband, she decided to do something herself. Luckily, when Rehana was looking for options and was in most need, the BISP Rural Women Sales Program team visited Pindi Bhattian and met women to orient them about how they can become a part of the program, become a saleswoman at one of the 11 shops in the village and gain financial independence. For Rehana, who had never worked in her life, taking this step was itself a challenge but she did it. “I had a family to take care of and so I began working. Everyday, I spend 3-4 hours at the shop doing sales and make a decent amount to support my family,” she shared.

Rehana began working because her husband lost his job, but it is admirable that this new way of life has inspired her to continue working. When women work, not only do they enrich their own lives, but they also contribute positively to their families and communities.

When one income is not enough…

In today’s rising inflation, sustaining families on one income is hard anywhere in the world, let alone in a rural set up where incomes are extremely low, and families often have more members. Farzana Kausar from Renala Khurd faced a similar challenge when sustaining a family on only her husband’s income became impossible. As a mother, she wanted to give a better life to her children. She wanted to be a breadwinner for them so they could have better food to eat and could attend better schools. That is when she connected with the company and got a loan from Akhuwat to open a basic grocery shop in her village.

“After I opened this shop, the community around us began shopping from us. Thankfully, I have revenues of around PKR 30,000 and save an amount that makes a positive impact on my family,” elucidated Farzana.

For others this may not be a big amount, but for her, it has been life altering. She now doesn’t have to worry about how to feed and raise her children and her greatest accomplishment post working is that she got her daughter married and took responsibility of those expenses.

Farzana’s other children now go to a better school and their living conditions have improved. Not only has this step enabled her to become a supportive and active partner to her husband but she has also been a remarkable example for her community by showing them the role women can play in enabling families to lead better lives.

Finding financial independence in the face of adversity

Sajida Jafer had four children to feed when her husband was diagnosed with a heart disease and couldn’t actively work anymore. Not only did she have to deal with her husband’s sudden illness but now had an added responsibility as well – to take charge of her family financially. Overnight, she had to be the sole breadwinner. That is when Sajida decided to get into the sales business and after many initial challenges; she was approached by the company, which helped her get a loan from Akhuwat.

Sajida then set up a shop in Ahmed Colony in Renala Khurd where she sells everyday use grocery items including water, juices, milk and others. Gradually, her sales increased, and she began doing well, enough to sustain their family expenditure.

“I am earning a respectable income and my children now go to good schools,” she mentioned. Sajida’s efforts are not only helping her raise her family but also enabling her to envision a better future for her children. She sends them to better schools in the hope of a better life for them and is setting an example for her daughters too. “Women must also work and contribute to the family’s income for a brighter future,” added Sajida.

The future looks bright…

2022 marks five years of the Nestlé and BISP partnership that has spread across 25 districts in Punjab and Sindh. In the coming years, the program will expand to more districts across the country, including Haripur, Abbottabad and Mansehra in North, Hyderabad in the South, and Sialkot, Jehlum and Narowal in Punjab. This expansion ensures that more and more rural women who come from poorest of the poor backgrounds will become financially independent.

This program is an example of how public private partnerships can find sustainable solutions to empowering women, increasing livelihood opportunities, and eradicating poverty for wider social empowerment. While traditionally rural women may be unable to participate in structured economic activities, this intervention helps these women become active players in their families and beyond, get into the business of retail and pave a way for economic empowerment. Moreover, it also makes affordable fortified nutritious products available in rural Pakistan, which is equally challenges with malnutrition in young children, adolescents, and young adults.