K-P CM Khattak instructs them to work for women’s welfare instead. PHOTO: PPI
According to an official handout, the CM asked female MPAs to avoid suggesting such high-risk schemes, which could potentially result in the wastage of capital. These views were expressed by Khattak on Sunday while addressing a delegation of female legislators at the CM Secretariat.
The handout further states the CM urged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s female lawmakers to play a prominent role in guaranteeing the implementation of the party’s agenda of change.
“In addition to legislation oriented towards the welfare of women and ensuring their rights, female MPAs should also suggest projects that would directly benefit women and create employment.
“The PTI government is also willing to provide funds and loans to women for economic activities,” said Khattak.
The chief minister added the need of the hour was for women from both rural and urban areas to participate in economic activities at par with men so as to alleviate poverty and to earn a livelihood for themselves and their families.
“Through imparting different skills including computer courses, sewing, tailoring, embroidery, flower making, cooking, rearing livestock, keeping bees, silk worms and other skills, employment opportunities can be created for women,” the handout quoted Khattak as saying. The provincial government will extend its full assistance to female MPAs for this purpose, said the CM.
Khattak instructed the MPAs to seek out widows and impoverished women in their surroundings who cannot afford to have two meals in a day. “Our legislators should formulate welfare schemes for such women to enable them to stand on their own feet,” Khattak said.
Agreeing with the CM, the lawmakers pledged to begin planning such activities immediately.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 17th, 2014.
COMMENTS (30)
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what good have the women "lawmakers" have done for women and this country so far ever?? they are as corrupt and incompetent as their male counterparts
Let get some facts straight we pakistanin women live in a pre-dominating male world! What diffence does it make if a women works on development schemes or push legislation for women? Why are we trying to put women in boxes as anything a man can do a woman can do better! Should men not be concerned for the women in their district ? & vice versa! The main point is it makes little difference both* men & women** MPA'S are causes of slow movement in Goverment agencies that hold big press gatherings but actually do very little to help the citizens. Look at our schedule of public holidays we are the lowest in productivity in all sectors in the market place. Our Goverment is inefficient, the decision makers are lazy we are stuck as a nation that refuses to budge from a history of snail pace activity!
The comments here once again prove that my fellow Pakistani's are idiots. Why is this sexist? Let me educate you: 1) Women should not suggest high risk schemes that waste capital, but men can (because men have some magical power so they never waste capital). 2) Women should only be restricted to certain occupations and are only capable of participating in certain occupation (as defined by a man obviously). 3) Women MP's only act for other women, they can have no say in matters that affect men.
Women MP's aren't there only for women. They are everyone's representatives. How stupid would it be if someone turned around and said that men should only be able to suggest/legislate on matters that relate to men. We have reserved seats for women because sexism is built into our social structure giving men huge pre-existing advantages and dominance everywhere.
And I could spend days writing about the ridiculous readers comments here. Unfortunately I just don,t have the time.
Very disturbing indeed. The chief party and his party needs to realize it's the 21st century, not the 15th. Women are equal to men.
I do not think Khattak would say these words for women unless age has,by now,taken the better of him
Pervez Khattak (CM KP) remarks is an insult to all smart, educated, intelligent and capable women in PTI.
Day after day the PTI seems more cult-like in the behaviour of its followers. Desperate to find any salvage point in the mess their politicians create they are willing to disregard actual quotes from a minister and focus on how a headline is damaging to their image.
Reserve seat MPAs have no constituency of their own hence them suggesting development schemes often seems strange.
The reason women should not recommend development schemes, is because most are not directly elected, and instead they are given reserved seats. So to promote a specific area/locations interests, and the cost of what you were reserved to do is horrendous.
So full of contradictions!
@Ali Abbasi: Clicks for Google Adsense is the need of the hour ;-)
The PTI has developed a knack for putting its foot in its mouth.
People please read the full article before you comment. KPK all the way inshallah
disappointing biased title and scripting approved by the editor.. SHAME!!!
@ that's no excuse to ban female MPAs from suggesting development projects stating its mans job. That's gender discrimination.
It is chauvinistic to suggest that women should confine their attention to priorities other than those in the male domain. If a young party is so regressive in its thinking this country needs a lot of re-education.
LOL @ "sewing, tailoring, embroidery, flower making, cooking, rearing livestock, keeping bees, silk worms and other skills...."
Sir,
As a newspaper your job is to report. Nothing more and nothing less. The readers can make up their own mind as to what the CM of KPK actually said. Please do not foist your interpretations and agenda on your readers. If you have such compulsions then please convert your newspaper to a political party newsletter.
But I complete forgot! You are after all affiliated to a US media. Please do not turn our media in to a tool to misinform and misguide.
What a nonsense from the chief minister of a province. How far this guy is from the real world where women are equally contributing to every facet of life.
Hahahaha AUR TABDEEELI AA RAHI HAI. lol
CM KPK address was to all MPA's both male and females not to women only. but ET have to make this controversial.
Before the so called "feminists" jump in - i think CM has a valid point! Women should first look after the rights of women & empower them instead of seeking other opportunities. What's the point of women MP's if they can't even look after their own??? We had a woman PM, but nothing significant happened, for women at large, during those 2 tenures of PM Benazir. We just jump on bandwagon of issues which are popular but nothing really happens in practical terms, unfortunately, this is the irony.
ET you are a joke. The whole article is about how he wants to empower women in KP. But you had to put a negative headline. GROW UP
All female engineers in KPK/ PTI led areas, change your disciplines and learn embroiddry, cooking, and kitchen/ home-economics skills......
Does Male MPAs have skill in pavement/ construction? A BIG NO. its technical teams assists...IGNORANT WORLD, IGNORANT NORMS BLENDED into RELIGION and will call its religion and culture has drawn the lines.
A world of fools and stone age in period of scientific age..
PTI keeps unfolding bizarre interpretations of socio-political facts. Can Shireen Mazari one day become Foreign Secretary when their women parliamentarians are not supposed to be capable of devising development schemes ? PTI followers please do not waste your time and energy for PTI. It's simply a suggestion..
Yes, Women Parliamentarians have done little to improve the rights of women in their respective constituencies, rather, they make hay while in parliament and then cry women rights at the next elections to get elected again. . . This has been true of all past governments (provincial and federal), however there should be no direction or order from the CM on what women MPs can or can't do, something, not just PTI, but the Pakistani nation needs to learn. CM KPK is right in telling women MPAs to not waste this opportunity to promote rights of women in their constituencies, but he's wrong in barring them from suggesting anything different (something he cannot do legally anyway). . So liberal's, dont choke on your latte yet.
Very misleading headline. You're suggesting a misogynistic angle here, when in fact the CM's logic is based on priorities, efficiencies and addressing the lowest common denominator.