Businesswomen have high hopes for new Pakistan government

Multan: Women entrepreneurs have urged Pakistan’s new government to make gender equity-focused policies in the days to come.

Multan Women Chamber President Filza Mumtaz said that they had pinned high hopes on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government to bring about meaningful change in the country.

She said she hoped the government would reach out to women entrepreneurs to find out reasons why they were not coming into export business, suggesting that it should also take all stakeholders on board for revising the policies.

Chambers are the gateway to knowing the problems being faced by the business community, she said adding that women should be given a relaxed quota policy, as they make 48 per cent of population of the country.

Filza recommended a revision of the policies of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), adding that taxation policies should also be reviewed.

She pinned hopes on PTI female members of parliament, saying that they were educated ladies and would definitely do something for womenfolk in general and for entrepreneurs in particular. Chairperson FPCCI Committee for Women Economic Reforms Masooma Sibtan said that gender mainstreaming was part of the PTI manifesto and she was sure that the PTI leadership would execute its manifesto completely. She hoped that the government would take the trade bodies on board before taking a decision so that they could contribute to the revival of the economy of the country. She said that she was delighted to see an educated and visionary team of the PTI, which would perform well in its tenure. Like all other countrymen, they had high hopes of the PTI, she added. Poetess and writer Siama Noureen Bokhari said that numbers of authors have written material, but they were unable to get it published owing to financial constraints. Holding book festivals, setting up of E-libraries, copy rights royalty and a better environment for female writers in literary world should be priorities of the new government, she said.