Gender equality ‘vital’ for poverty eradication

Speakers emphasise empowering both genders for societal prosperity

QUETTA:

Speakers at a consultation hosted by the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) emphasized the necessity of a comprehensive approach to promoting gender equality in combating poverty. They highlighted the importance of addressing root causes and empowering both men and women.

Participants focused on gender issues and poverty, particularly on economic empowerment for women and poverty eradication. Recommendations included equal access to education, skill development, and employment opportunities, alongside enforcing anti-discrimination laws in workplaces.

NCSW engaged provincial stakeholders to prepare the National Report on ‘Need Analysis for Financing and Strengthening Institutions with Gender Perspective for the Empowerment of Women and Girls,’ to be presented at the 68th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

Representatives from civil society organizations, academia, media, and government departments attended the consultation, part of a series held across Pakistan. The theme of the UN Commission’s 68th session is ‘achieving gender equality and empowerment by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions with a gender perspective.’

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Chairperson NCSW, Nilofar Bakhtiar, thanked consortium partners for their support, stressing the need for inclusive solutions to gender challenges, particularly in economic empowerment and poverty eradication.

She maintained that we look forward to working toward inclusive and sustainable remedies for gender-related challenges with a particular focus on economic empowerment and the eradication of poverty. She underlined that societies can at the same time fight to foster gender equality while minimizing poverty by using an all-encompassing and integrated approach.

Acknowledging the connections between gender issues and poverty is crucial, as is working together to address them with the help of communities, NGOs, governments, and the commercial sector.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2024.