Standard Chartered hosts awareness session on women’s rights

KARACHI: Reinforcing its commitment to fostering an inclusive and supportive workplace, Standard Chartered Pakistan recently hosted the Legal Aid Society (LAS) for a legal awareness session focused on women’s rights, legal protections, and access to support services in Pakistan.

The session brought together colleagues from across the Bank, including support and contractual staff, reflecting Standard Chartered’s commitment to extending awareness across its wider workforce. By equipping women with greater knowledge of their rights and available support mechanisms, the initiative also contributes to broader efforts aimed at advancing empowerment, inclusion and economic participation.

The session deepened participants’ understanding of key legal issues impacting women, including inheritance rights, the Nikahnama, cyber safety, online harassment, gender-based violence laws, and available legal aid resources. Participants were also introduced to support platforms such as the Sindh Legal Advisory Call Centre (SLACC) and NAZ Assist, Pakistan’s free multilingual legal advisory chatbot.

The session featured Barrister Haya Emaan Zahid, Chief Executive Officer of the Legal Aid Society, and Advocate Farah Khan, Strategic Litigation Lead at the Legal Aid Society, who shared insights on legal empowerment, access to justice, and the importance of creating greater awareness around the rights and protections available to women. The discussion was also attended by representatives from organisations including OICCI and Jazz, helping broaden the dialogue around women’s empowerment and inclusion.

Yasir Khwaja, Head of Human Resources, Standard Chartered Pakistan, said: “Knowledge is a powerful enabler of empowerment. At Standard Chartered, we are committed to creating opportunities for meaningful learning and dialogue that help our colleagues better understand the issues that impact their lives and communities. We are grateful to Haya Emaan Zahid and Farah Khan for sharing their expertise and perspectives, and for helping raise awareness about the rights, protections and support systems available to women in Pakistan. By fostering greater understanding and extending these conversations across our wider workforce, we can contribute to a more inclusive workplace and help create more equitable communities.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026