ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders (ICST) on Sunday said economic exclusion and inequality of women is one of the causes of the underdevelopment in the country. Majority of the women do not enjoy the basic rights to full economic inclusion, as the countries that deny women this essential right deprive themselves of sustainable economic development, it said.
Our society, government, and private sector continue to undermine growth and the creation of human capital by ignoring the development of the women, said Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders patron Shahid Rasheed Butt.
He said that around sixty percent working women in SAARC region are linked to agriculture that can be lifted out of poverty if they are supported. All the countries, including Pakistan, stress importance of female education but the women’s share in the economy is kept very small.
He said that majority of the women working in agriculture are also do not get paid and they are kept away from critical decisions.
He said that government should focus on agriculture to support farmers and improve their standard of living. The issues facing this sector should be resolved and provision of loans should be facilitated which will improve lives of millions besides boosting the share of agriculture in the GDP.
