KARACHI:
Around the world, rights activists have been working towards improving women’s access to basic facilities, removing disparities and promoting impartiality in different spheres. Despite these efforts, women continue to face many challenges such as inequality and harassment at the workplace, exclusion from political and economic decision-making processes, violence, etc.
This year, the UN theme for International Women’s Day is ‘DigitALL’ to improve gender equality through innovation and technology. Undeniably, innovation, technological change, and education can bridge the gap between men and women by providing women with access to all the necessary resources. Technology does not discriminate and gives everyone an equal opportunity to learn different skills and create and experiment.
In Pakistan, women are disproportionately affected by many social and political issues. They continue to face significant barriers in education and employment. To ensure sustainable development as per the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the government, academia, and public and private organisations need to make a collective effort to improve gender equality in different fields. They should work together to improve women’s access to technology to bolster long-term progress and growth. This will diversify the workforce and speed up innovation and development.
Dr Intikhab Ulfat
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, March 5th, 2023.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
