Financial inclusion imperative for women empowerment: Alvi

ISLAMABAD: Stressing upon the need for further creation of equal opportunities for the womenfolk in all fields of life, President Dr Arif Alvi Sunday said financial inclusion of women was imperative for their empowerment in the society.

Addressing as a chief guest at a ceremony arranged by the Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for Protection against Harassment at Workplace (FOSPAH) on the occasion of International Women’s Day, the president underlined the need for making collective efforts to ensure women’s inheritance rights, health, education, violence-free environment and equal opportunities in all strata of society.

He said that the creation of awareness in the society about the importance of economic inclusion of women along with their inheritance rights, which were flagrantly denied in the society due to prevalence of certain outdated cultural customs in different areas of the country.

He said “For the first time in the world’s history, the religion of Islam in very clear terms had ensured women’s rights to inheritance which even did not find place in the Western countries for long.”

Such irrelevant barriers in the shape of cultural customs should be discarded with forceful adherence to the Islamic teachings and the contemporary laws.

The Ulema’s role in this regard is critical for creation of mass awareness, he observed.

The ceremony was attended by PM’s Special Assistant on Health Dr Zafar Mirza, PM’s Special Assistant on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar, Federal Ombudsman Kashmala Tariq, Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui, prominent women personalities and representatives of different organisations.

The president also referred to the government’s flagship social security and welfare Ehsas programme and said the

government was committed to ensure social and economic betterment of womenfolk. Quoting a saying of founding father Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah about the significance of women’s role in society, he said womenfolk should be provided with violence and harassment-free environment.