ISLAMABAD, Feb 1 (APP): President Dr Arif Alvi Thursday called upon business chambers to encourage women entrepreneurs to avail loans from banks on low interest rates and hire more female workers for their workforce in industries.
He was addressing the Women and Young Entrepreneurs Recognition Ceremony of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI).
He said the banks had allocated substantial business loans for women entrepreneurs on low interest rates.
He said it was appreciable that women were given more representation in the Parliament, giving them an opportunity to resolve issues as decisions makers.
Female parliamentarians needed to work for women empowerment and help the female population in meeting financing needs from the banks, which were giving loan of Rs 1.5 million at five percent interest rate, he added.
He appreciated the banks for increasing the number of female employees, saying the reason for hiring more women was that they were more efficient, trustworthy and focused on their work.
Twenty to 40 percent of employees of State Bank and private banks were now women, he remarked.
On the same pattern, the president said, business chambers should encourage their members to hire more women at workplaces.
As was done in Sialkot in the football industry, women should be given a harassment free atmosphere and transport facility to induce a sense of security, he continued.
Similarly, he said, persons with disabilities should be given more jobs as uplifting downtrodden sections of the society ultimately led to more prosperity and progress in the society.
He cited the example of China which pulled 500 million people out of poverty by investing on their health and education.
He lamented that more than 20 million children were out of school which was hindering progress of the nation.
Pakistan needed 50,000 more schools to bring the children back to schools but it would take a lot of years and money to build the infrastructure, he noted.
He said as an out of box solution, mosques should be used to educate the out-of-school children. The mosques should also be centers of basic health to deal with the diseases of obesity, malnutrition, stunting, blood pressure and diabetes, he added.
He said Pakistan was among the top five countries in terms of successfully tackling the pandemic of coronavirus, and the reason of that success was timely interventions and the government’s decision to not completely shut off businesses.
The president pointed out that mental health and drug abuse had emerged as a big challenge for the society.
Parents should keep a close eye on the behaviour of their children and should take notice when they were hyper, had lack of sleep or started asking for more money, he added.
Earlier, the president gave away shields to female and young entrepreneurs of the Islamabad city.
Speaking on the occasion, ICCI President Ahsan Bakhtawari and other business leaders highlighted the achievements of their chamber and shed light on the issues faced by the industrial and commercial sector.
