20 years in the making: Sindh govt finally regularises 25,576 lady health workers
Bilawal, CM distribute appointment orders in a ceremony at CM House.
KARACHI:
Twenty years after the inception of the programme, the Sindh government has finally regularised 25,576 lady health workers and supervisors at a ceremony at CM House on Friday.
Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) patron-in-chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari distributed the appointment orders, announcing that PPP would continue its policy of creating more jobs and empowering women.
During the ceremony, CM House echoed with slogans of "marsoon marsoon Sindh na desoon [We will die but we will not give up Sindh]" and "BB ka beta aae ga, rozgar laae ga [BB's son will come and bring our livelihood]". Initially shouted by Bilawal himself, the slogans roused many of the lady health workers and party workers to follow his example as the chief minister and his cabinet members urge them.
"We have fulfilled the dream of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, who started the lady health workers programme when she was the prime minister, and now we are going to regularise it," he said. "It is my privilege to distribute orders among these women who have proved that they are not lesser but are equal to their male counterparts, with the same potential and capabilities."
He added that PPP had always prioritised women's issues, especially their employment and opportunities. "With this programme, maternal and child mortality rates have decreased significantly," he said.
Shah asserted that the rest of the provinces had once opposed the lady health workers programme and had wanted to wind it up during a Council of Common Interests meeting. "Sindh resisted because we wanted to continue with it regardless of financial constraints, given the outstanding performance of the lady health workers," he claimed. "We faced much criticism from different quarters, but after 20 years, their work has proved the importance of this programme." He further said that women with and without Matric education were given the opportunity to work in this sector, receiving equal incentives.
"Bilawal is a reflection of his grandfather and his mother," said Shah, who has also worked with PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his daughter, Benazir. "PPP is the only party in the country that represents the masses and Bilawal has the potential needed to lead it."
Published in The Express Tribune, September 27th, 2014.
Twenty years after the inception of the programme, the Sindh government has finally regularised 25,576 lady health workers and supervisors at a ceremony at CM House on Friday.
Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) patron-in-chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari distributed the appointment orders, announcing that PPP would continue its policy of creating more jobs and empowering women.
During the ceremony, CM House echoed with slogans of "marsoon marsoon Sindh na desoon [We will die but we will not give up Sindh]" and "BB ka beta aae ga, rozgar laae ga [BB's son will come and bring our livelihood]". Initially shouted by Bilawal himself, the slogans roused many of the lady health workers and party workers to follow his example as the chief minister and his cabinet members urge them.
"We have fulfilled the dream of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, who started the lady health workers programme when she was the prime minister, and now we are going to regularise it," he said. "It is my privilege to distribute orders among these women who have proved that they are not lesser but are equal to their male counterparts, with the same potential and capabilities."
He added that PPP had always prioritised women's issues, especially their employment and opportunities. "With this programme, maternal and child mortality rates have decreased significantly," he said.
Shah asserted that the rest of the provinces had once opposed the lady health workers programme and had wanted to wind it up during a Council of Common Interests meeting. "Sindh resisted because we wanted to continue with it regardless of financial constraints, given the outstanding performance of the lady health workers," he claimed. "We faced much criticism from different quarters, but after 20 years, their work has proved the importance of this programme." He further said that women with and without Matric education were given the opportunity to work in this sector, receiving equal incentives.
"Bilawal is a reflection of his grandfather and his mother," said Shah, who has also worked with PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his daughter, Benazir. "PPP is the only party in the country that represents the masses and Bilawal has the potential needed to lead it."
Published in The Express Tribune, September 27th, 2014.