NEWS

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Thursday said the government was taking steps to bridge gender divide in the country by providing women equal opportunities to make them excel in their lives.

Addressing at ‘Meet the girls who code’ event organized by Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication here at the PM Office, the Prime Minister said he believed that Pakistani women had the potential to deliver their best if provided a level-playing platform.

The Prime Minister lauded the project aimed at imparting practical computer education to girls from across the country to help them become economically self-reliant.

 

He said the programme would impart digital skills to over 30,000 women who were part of the Pakistan Bait ul Maal and 110,000 from the ICT School programme.

He appreciated the role of Ministry for Information Technology in reaching out to the far-off areas of the country and to connect these with the cyber world.

He said that ICT for girls would merge with the DigiSkills program and serve as a way forward for them to get good jobs and help their families stand at their own feet.

He said many new areas were available for the women to use their newly gained digital skills and added that the programme would open a new world of opportunities for the women.

He termed it a very significant programme for the empowerment of women and expressed satisfaction that women of the country were taking lead in all fields of life.

The Prime Minister said the government was giving women an opportunity with the belief that they would rise and shine.

He said the programme needed to be expanded and urged upon the provinces to follow the suit by learning from these experiences in education sector.

He said provision of broadband connectivity to the far-flung areas of the country would create new employment opportunities and expand the reach of people to modern amenities of life.

State Minister for Information Technology Anusha Rahman said the programme had enabled the girls learn computer skills resulting in their mainstreaming in various jobs.

 

She mentioned that the girls received training in coding, computing and coaching at the 144 facilities set up in the country.

She thanked Universal Service Fund, Microsoft, UN Women and Huawei for being exceptionally supportive partners in the programme.

The Prime Minister witnessed the signing of Letter of Intent between the Universal Support Fund and the UN Women and also gave away 150 electronic Tablets sponsored by Huawei to the distinguished girls who received digital training.