Empowering women – elevating the nation and economy

How can we, as a nation in times like today, survive let alone talk of progressing if the women in our society are taken as nothing more than a tradable commodity?” These words echoed the suppressed voice of the women of Pakistan as I read the article titled, ‘I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.’ The article talked about Saira, an 18-year-old acid attack victim, who was learning to challenge the odds despite the tremendous setback she faced in her life. This article was written by Fiza Batool Gilani, honorary goodwill ambassador for women empowerment, the daughter of the prime minister of Pakistan. As I sat ready to interview her, she entered the room, sat down, and apologised for the delay as she was caught up in a meeting. Amiably she asked how I would like to proceed with the interview.

An old calling
I had dozens of questions lurking in my mind, questions that revolved around her motivation to be a part of the cause of women empowerment in Pakistan, when she could have easily taken a backseat gazing at the horizon beyond, as things progressed in Pakistan.
“I was always motivated to work for the women of Pakistan. Hailing from Multan, there is a deep rooted culture where the women who come to work in our households would sit down with us to discuss the problems that they faced. When I used to hear those problems, I genuinely felt they deserved a sense of security, security that would come only through enabling them to become self sufficient, to contribute equally to their households, to be financially empowered and aware of their basic rights,” explained an animated Fiza.
“Hailing from a political family, my first political experience was when I helped my father campaign for the 1997 elections. That was my first exposure to politics, and even though we lost, it was a rewarding experience for me,” she said as she smiled. “When Pakistan was facing volatility in the northern areas and millions of people were displaced as a result, I worked with several organisations together with the IDPs to serve them as best as we could.”

Lessons in democracy
And so, I asked her how she would rate her father’s role in motivating her to take up women empowerment issues of Pakistan. She chuckled and said, “My father has been very democratic in the house too. He has encouraged me to have an equal say in matters governing the house, a habit inculcated in the family. All opinions matter in our house, and so do mine. Such an environment has encouraged me to come forward and play an active role for the women of the country.” How do you think will women empowerment contribute to the economy, I asked her.
“It has a very important role to play for the economy. Women in Pakistan actively participate in several sectors that are vital for the country, including agriculture, entrepreneurship, social work, education, media, television and the list goes on. You cannot exclude women if you want to see a progressive Pakistan, if you want to develop the economy, if you want to succeed as a nation,” she said.
When asked about what medium can be used to disseminate awareness amongst the women of the country, she said that psychological conditioning of the masses is the most important tool to raise awareness about women rights and empowerment. You need to find the key to the subconscious minds of that segment of society which engages in women oppression. For this purpose, TV shows and dramas depicting the culture, albeit in a setting where women are portrayed to be equal partners of men will go a long way to serve the interests of women in the country. Therefore, she added that people socially have an important role to play.

Relating goodwill to empowerment
I wanted to know more about the actual projects that Fiza Gilani as the Goodwill Ambassador has initiated and so I asked her regarding the projects initiated under her directives. “Well we have started work on the prime minister’s special initiative for village product specialisation. Around 50 per cent of the total participants of this programme are women. Under this initiative we are working to impart necessary skills to these women so that they can be financially independent. Women are being trained in different products like Khadi, blue pottery, etc, and we sincerely hope this project pays its dividends. At the end of the day, what matters is the will of the people to avail these opportunities and take lead in their own lives,” Fiza Gilani explained. In Pakistan unfortunately, women’s access to basic needs such as property, education, employment and social security remain considerably lower than that of men. Education and literacy in women is also low where the school dropout rate among girls is almost 50 per cent. Economically as well, only 16 per cent of Pakistan’s women are economically active. These statistics are considerably low compared to other Muslim countries of the world.
Talking about her vision for developing active women participation economically and socially, she said she sincerely wants to work with small entrepreneurs from rural to urban women, who can be internationally marketed for their products. I believe that the role of the middleman must be eliminated that works to suppress these women of what is rightfully theirs. They are paid meager amounts of money for products that take a lot of effort while the middle man makes the profit. Secondly, she said that she wants to actively work for the plight of women languishing in jails of the country.

Leveraging the BISP
“When I visited these women in jails, I realised that they have to endure a plethora of problems. Some of these women gave birth to their children inside the jail cells, children who were living with their mothers because they had nowhere else to go,” she said, as she talked about the need for revamping the system that prevails at present.
Elucidating about the important role that BISP has played she said that it is an initiative that targets those at the lowest ebb of society. It’s not about merely providing these people with cash, it’s about facilitating their transition to become self sufficient.
People criticise this programme that it is merely teaching the citizens of this nation to become beggars, how would you respond to such criticism, I asked her.
“Beggars? No. Not at all. The programme encompasses various initiatives that deal with transition strategies of these people on their path to self sufficiency, along with a multitude of training programmes after which they can get absorbed in the labour force,” she responded candidly. “To ensure transparency, a balloting system has been implemented whereby through an automated system, the lists of families are finalised by the president or the prime minister. Contrary to all the criticism, this programme focuses on teaching people how to fish, rather than merely providing them with fish,” Fiza Gilani said.

Woman behind the father
Talking about the lighter side of things, I asked her what role her mother has played in motivating her to take up women issues.
Not sparing a thought she replied smiling, “Well to be honest, my father is who he is because of the support of my mother. My mother has been very supportive of my father. Being a politician is not an easy job, it requires a person to invest time and effort to interact and solve problems of the proletariat, which means that the family does not get the attention that it wants. Despite that my mother has always encouraged my father, and I truly believe that behind every successful man there’s a woman,” she said.
She further explained the significant role that mothers play in the development of the nation. “Mothers have to nurture their children, inculcate in them values that define the future prospects of nations, you cannot eliminate the role of women from society, when they work to anchor the foundations of nations.”
“Women empowerment is cardinal for economic development and national integration. Since women make almost 49 per cent of our population so, their potential cannot be left unattended. The role they play in various sectors of the economy will ultimately contribute to economic well-being of the nation. We have to educate our girls, only then will they be able to compete in the job market, which is getting more and more competitive,” Fiza said while talking about the urgent need for educating the women populace of the country.
Talking about the initiatives taken by Benazir Bhutto, she said, “Benazir Bhutto is a symbol of women empowerment the world over and particularly in Pakistan. Her initiatives —-The First Women Bank, Women Police Stations and Lady Health Workers—- have gone a long way in empowering Pakistani women. The Social Action Program initiated in 1992/93 has helped in reducing gender disparities. It was under her government in 1996 that the ban was lifted on Pakistani women taking part in international sporting events.”

A relevant ministry?
Despite all the measures taken for women empowerment, we see little change in the status quo so I asked her how she would respond to this. “You see all stakeholders need to play their role in bringing change. No system or law can ever be successfully implemented if the respective stakeholders do not make concerted efforts to put it to practice. We need everyone on board to bring real change, and most importantly it needs to be brought about by changing mindsets.”
“The problem lies in the fact that women are not aware of the rights, of the laws that protect them, and with the lack of awareness they do not know if they can hold perpetrators of crimes against them accountable for their actions. This is another hurdle in the implementation process, one that we are actively working to overcome,” Fiza Gilani explained.
It is not an easy field to work in and there remain many challenges. So I asked her, what challenges she has faced so far in her tenure as the Goodwill Ambassador for women empowerment.
“There is no dedicated federal women development ministry. Therefore with our efforts we are trying to fill in the void,” she said and responding to my question about the conservative mindset of the masses and how it impedes women empowerment efforts, added, “Conservatism, firstly must not be confused with religion.
When we look at our religion, we see that the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) married a progressive business-woman. The problem of conservatism is more a cultural issue that plagues the subcontinent. So, a change in the collective mindset of people is needed, and women need to be reminded of the power they hold in their hands. A woman runs a family, her role cannot be undermined.”

The pipeline ahead
How do you see the prospects of Pakistani women taking the lead in the years to come I asked her.
“Women have taken a lead in the country since it’s inception. We have in front of us the example of Fatima Jinnah and how she supported her brother in the cause of Pakistan. We have the example of Benazir, who is one of the strongest women I ever knew. In fact I do not know many men who can do what she has done for the country. Our women have excelled the world over in all fields, be it science, economics, philanthropy, sports, you name it. So the prospects have always been bright, and they will remain to be so,” she replied passionately.
Talking about her achievements and what she would want to do in the future, she honestly replied, “I wouldn’t want to lead by action and not mere words. It would be dishonest of me to state aims that I am not able to deliver. Yes, I have plans that I would want to implement, that are in the pipeline but I want the people to see the end result of my efforts, the final product so they can see for themselves. Criticism is easy, and I will always take it constructively but that would not stop me from my efforts to bring about real change for the women of Pakistan. I want women to have power over themselves, only then can they succeed.”
Finally, I asked her how she would respond to those who feel that those in the government and herself are alienated from the ground realities of the people.
“I am a woman myself. I have lived a normal life, a life where my father was evolving as a politician, where I regularly interacted with women from different walks of life. Those who know me realise that I am an accessible person, that I believe in honesty and I am not a proponent of false pretences. Those who think that I am not aware of ground realities are mistaken, because I would not like to publicly flaunt my interaction with burdened women, seeking respite, seeking empowerment and social security. I regularly interact with them, I know their problems and I want to work for them, but I want to work in this domain because I find the task self actualising.
My message to everyone: Don’t let anyone tell you how good or bad you are, you ought to know your own worth. Don’t let anyone suppress you, or hold you back. Take a step for yourself and see the world shaping around you.”

Writer is News Editor, Profit. Comments and queries: [email protected]