KARACHI: Senior businessman and former vice president FPCCI Khurram Sayeed lauding the role of women chambers in promoting businesses has announced his support for the cause of expansion and increase in the number of business and trade bodies comprising women entrepreneurs.
In a statement issued here Monday, he said if women are to progress and participate effectively in the economy, they must receive equal education, equal training, equal dignity and income.
"Pakistan cannot achieve progress if over half its population is ignored," said the business leader.
Taking strong exception to gender inequality, lack of education, absence of credit facilities, and apathy towards small and medium enterprises (SMEs) called for concerted efforts to reduce growing disparity with its severe implications on the society in general.
Mentioning that there are 1.5 billion poor in Asia of which 660 million are very poor, Sayeed said majority of world's poor lives in SAARC region and that as per Human Development Index 60.3% of Pakistanis live on $2 per day while UN says 71% of eligible girls do not attend secondary school.
The senior businessman regretted that many countries have been ignoring poor in their struggle for improved economic growth consequently triggering poverty with women being worst affected.
The situation demanded of the concerned governments to revisit their policies and focus more towards the welfare of resource-less and marginalized sections.
Zahid said that since Women on an average get 40 per cent less salary in the SAARC region than their male colleagues hence responsibilities of the respective governments increase all the more to focus on health, education, technical skills, infrastructure development and facilitate cross-border trade - ensuring additional benefits worth billions of dollars annually.
He said civil society and business community can play a partial role in reducing poverty as it is the government which can fine-tune policies to reduce gap between rich and poor.
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