Pakistani women should prove their mettle by being independent: Neelofar Bakhtiar
16 April, 2006
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| KARACHI: Girls gather around a stall of cosmetics during the Women Expo, at Karachi Expo Center. |
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KARACHI, April 17(Online): Advisor to Prime Minister on Women Development, Nilofar Bakhtiar has stressed on Pakistani women to prove their mettle by being independent, in order to play a conducive part in the development and progress of their country.
She was expressing her opinion while addressing the opening ceremony of Women Expo 2006, at the Karachi Expo Centre on Saturday. Sindh’s Minister for women and social welfare, Dr. Saeeda Malik, NWFP’s Minister for women and development Kashif Azam and a vast majority of women attended the event the Expo.
Nilofar Bakhtiar said that women should not limit themselves only to arts and crafts, but also venture into other diversified fields like health, education and other social, scientific and technical arenas and prove their mettle.
She pointed out various major contributions of women, which have proven that Pakistani women are not lagging behind other women in the world. A woman has held the most important and powerful portfolio of Prime Minister, another is the current governor of State Bank of Pakistan whereas recently trained females have proven to be adept fighter pilots and have even conducted free falls from ultra heights, only men were capable of. Besides the women have 33% representation in the Assembly.
She lauded the current government of President Musharraf as being chiefly responsible for all this and assured the women that the government is taking all necessary steps to safeguard the rights of women.
She also said that a time would soon come, when women would stand shoulder to shoulder with men in regular battlefields.
She also lauded the women participation in EXPO, and hoped and prayed for its success.
Women EXPO 2006, has been held in collaboration and sponsorship of Fourth Dimension (pvt) ltd and Federal Ministry of Social Welfare and Women and other government agencies.
The EXPO, which has a total of 400 stalls out of which 100 belong to the corporate sector, 200 stalls of quake affected rural areas and 100 stalls belong to the local city women, would continue until 16th April. The organizers have also established a special pavilion by the title of "Woman of Crafts", which includes all the arts and crafts of four provinces.
About 103 women participants hail from Quetta, Lahore, Peshawar, and Multan, whereas 100 women artists belong from Sindh. Lahore and Quetta is represented by 50 each, whereas 80 women are from FATA, NWFP and Quake affected areas.
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