Razzaq Sheikh:
Parliamentary Secretary of Law and Parliamentary Affairs Science and Information Technology and Chairperson of Women Parliamentary Caucus Dr. Rubaba Khan Buledi said that currently twenty women of Balochistan were involved in international e-commerce, while e-commerce training was being provided to more than 150 girls
Along with the delivery of recommendations to the Federal Ministry of Law regarding social media crime, work is in progress on framing the necessary laws at the local level, she mentioned.
She expressed these views as part of a consultative session on the role of women in the digitalization process organized by the National Commission on Status of Women Pakistan, UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women, and Jazz here on Monday.
On this occasion, Chairperson of the National Commission on Status of Women Pakistan Nilofar Bakhtiar, Chairperson of Balochistan Fauzia Shaheen, Member of National Assembly Munira Baloch, Coordinator of Chief Minister Balochistan Shania Khan, Zulekha Mandukhel and Deputy Resident Head of UNDP Ammara Durrani National Gender expert Shabana Arif were also present.
Dr. Rubaba Khan Buledi said that the IT department was providing free training in various fields to expose women and youth to information technology in Balochistan.
While various apps have been created at the local level for digitization in government institutions, she said that steps were being taken to give men and women equal access to the digitization process in Balochistan. Consultation of National and Provincial Commissions on the Status of Women would be welcome to further improve these and the suggestions formulated by them would be made part of the digitalization policy.
Ms.Nilofar Bakhtiar, Chairperson of NCSW, said that the digital divide has further deteriorated the gender disparity in the country. “The policymakers, leaders and relevant stakeholders, need to understand the importance of having women at the forefront viz a viz technology.”
Mr. Hafiz Abdul Basit, Ms. Ammara Durani, Ms. Ayehsha Wadood, Ms.Meshal Naz, Additional Chief Secretary Development Balochistan, Resident Representative UNDP, Head of UN Women Sub Office Quetta, Jazz respectively spoke on the risks that automatically arise with the increase in technology in the society, namely the risks and dangers for women as well as the increasing digital divide in the nation.
The participants then broke out into the first working session wherein different themes were discussed and the final outcome was then presented by respective groups.
Ms. Fauzia Shaheen, Chairperson of the Balochistan Commission on the Status of Women then gave a vote of thanks.
