KARACHI: Pakistan’s ongoing digital transformation is fast changing the country's business landscape as more women employ their entrepreneurial skills to bridge the gender pay gap that has remained a norm in the country for decades, female business leaders told Arab News on Tuesday.
“Women in Pakistan are becoming entrepreneurs not only to be more self-reliant but also to financially support their families. They are also closing gender pay gap. The country’s digital transformation is creating vast online business opportunities for women,” Shanaz Ramzi, President Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WCCI) Karachi (South), said.
Women constitute more than 50 percent of Pakistan’s population which, according to the 2017 census, stands at 207.7 million.
The country’s female labor force participation rate stands at 22.18 percent in 2020, according to the World Bank data. It was 12.51 percent in 1995, but went up to 23.85 percent in 2015.
“Women are taking advantage of online opportunities after the outbreak of COVID-19. Some of them have started food businesses with delivery options. Others are running educational setups. You will also find some highly qualified women are in tech businesses. They are doing this right from their homes. Hence, they are not only financially supporting their families but also looking after children,” she continued.
Pakistani businesswomen say that COVID-19 opened new avenues, enabling many of them not only to run their businesses better but also expand them further.
Last week, a Lahore-based female fitness studio chain, AimFit, raised $1 million to become the first Venture Capital-backed fitness startup in Pakistan. The organization, which has been in the market for the last six years, said it would utilize the amount to expand fitness studios across the country.
“We have three studios in Lahore and one in Islamabad. The money raised would be utilized to expand physical outreach and online expansion through development of app-based technology system,” Mariam Yasin, its chief operating officer, told Arab News. “We plan to provide both online and offline fitness solutions to women.”
Yasin said that her organization intended to redefine fitness by taking a holistic approach and focusing on both physical and mental health. “Bringing out women to studios was a challenge that we met by providing them a secure environment,” she said, adding: “We now aim to add 10,000 more women to the network of 5,000 within the next two years through our home workout challenge.”
Another female fitness facility in Karachi has also witnessed an increase in female participation by providing a secure atmosphere and modern workout gadgets.
“We have made separate arrangements for females so their families are more comfortable. This explains why the number of female fitness freaks is rising,” Amber Naeem, operations manager at the Atmosphere Gym, told Arab News.
“We have also made substantial investment in hi-tech machines for ladies,” she added.
The government is also supporting female entrepreneurs by extending soft loans to them at a maximum markup rate of 5 percent per annum. Women can avail up to Rs5 million for five years.
“Women are also availing government facilities offered by banks and microfinance institutions that suit their business models and empower them,” Ramzi noted. “Many of these women who have attained financial autonomy are now immune to workplace harassment.”
One of the major impediments to female financial autonomy is resistance from families not only because of the conservative social norms but also the fear of losing male dominance, say businesswomen.
“Business opportunities are equally available to male and female members of a family, but male partners usually feel threatened when women seek financial independence due to the conservative nature of our society,” Sobia Raheem, director at the Macca Foods, told Arab News.
“This mindset has to change since it’s a kind of harassment,” she continued.
Raheem, who also exports seafood, another male dominated business, said: “We don't care about gender in business dealings.”
Businesswomen say Pakistan’s digital transformation bridging gender pay gap
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Businesswomen say Pakistan’s digital transformation bridging gender pay gap
- The country’s female labor force participation rate stands at 22.18 percent in 2020, according to the World Bank
- Women entrepreneurs are less prone to workplace harassment as compared to working class women, say business leaders
Pakistan PM directs task force to propose budget plan for low-cost housing
- Pakistan faces a housing crisis, with the shortage particularly acute in urban areas
- PM says ahead of the budget low-cost housing is his administration’s top priority
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday his administration is prioritizing the development of low-cost housing while directing a task force to present financing recommendations to include the facility in the upcoming budget.
Pakistan has been facing a housing crisis, with the World Bank suggesting two years ago it was short of an estimated 10 million housing units. The shortage is particularly acute in urban areas due to rapid population growth, unregulated expansion and high land and construction prices.
The federal budget, which will be presented to the National Assembly next month, is expected to outline measures to tackle the crisis as the new fiscal year begins in July.
“The government’s foremost priority is to facilitate access to housing through low-cost schemes,” Sharif said during a task force meeting to address the issue.
“Such projects will not only make residential units accessible to the common man but also stimulate economic growth and create employment opportunities,” he continued.
The prime minister instructed the task force to work with the finance ministry and banks to prepare detailed financing proposals for affordable housing, with the aim of making them part of the upcoming budget.
He also emphasized that developing the construction sector was key to sustainable economic growth.
Officials briefed the prime minister on ongoing reforms to the Condominium Act 2025 and Foreclosure Law, saying they were in their final stages and were expected to ease access to housing loans under the new schemes.
Pakistan says India using ‘terrorism’ as foreign policy tool after school bus attack in Balochistan
- New Delhi rejects Pakistan’s allegation, calls it an attempt to deflect responsibility for internal failures
- PM Sharif visits Balochistan after school bus bombing kills three children, leaves eight critically wounded
KARACHI: Pakistan urged the international community on Wednesday to condemn what it called India’s use of “terrorism” as a foreign policy tool, after a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device targeted a school bus in the southwestern Balochistan province, killing at least three children and injuring 39 others, including eight critically.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by landmass and rich in mineral resources, has long faced an insurgency led by separatist groups who accuse Islamabad of exploiting local resources while neglecting the population. The government denies the claims, citing investments in health, education and infrastructure.
In recent months, the insurgency has intensified, with groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) carrying out high-casualty attacks on civilians and security forces, including taking hostages at a passenger train. Pakistan says it has evidence linking India to these attacks, though New Delhi has denied involvement and distanced itself from the Khuzdar school bombing.
However, Islamabad described the attack as a “sequel” to India’s missile and drone strikes earlier this month, accusing New Delhi of deploying militant proxies to destabilize the country, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir visited the region to meet injured children in hospital.
“These terrorist groups — masquerading under ethnic pretenses — are not only being exploited by India as instruments of state policy, but also stand as a stain on the honor and values of the Baloch and Pashtun people, who have long rejected violence and extremism,” said a statement issued by the PM Office after Sharif’s visit to Quetta.
“India’s reliance on such morally indefensible tactics, particularly the deliberate targeting of children, demands urgent attention from the international community,” it added. “The use of terrorism as a tool of foreign policy must be unequivocally condemned and confronted.”
The prime minister and the accompanying delegation was briefed by Balochistan’s Chief Minister Sardar Sarfraz Bugti and local military officials on the attack, which also killed two soldiers and injured 53 people in total.
The official statement said Pakistan’s security forces and law enforcement agencies “will relentlessly pursue all those involved in this barbaric act,” vowing to bring “the architects, abettors and enablers of this crime” to justice.
It added the incident had exposed India’s “cunning role” to the world, revealing how it orchestrated militant violence while simultaneously portraying itself as a victim.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs earlier in the day rejected Pakistan’s allegations, describing them as Islamabad’s attempt to deflect responsibility for its own failings and internal issues.
The latest attack follows a brief military standoff between the two countries earlier this month, which ended in a ceasefire on May 10.
While hostilities along the border have subsided, both sides continue to trade diplomatic barbs, accusing each other of sponsoring terrorism and destabilizing the region.
The attack in Khuzdar, which targeted children en route to an army-run school, was condemned by US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker and UNICEF in separate statements.
It was also reminiscent of one of the deadliest militant attacks in Pakistan’s history when over 130 children were killed in a military school in the northern city of Peshawar in 2014. That attack was claimed by the Pakistani Taliban group.
India expels second Pakistani diplomat amid ongoing tensions
- India declares Pakistani diplomat persona non grata, orders him to leave the country within 24 hours
- India expelled another Pakistani diplomat on May 13, prompting a tit-for-tat response from Islamabad
ISLAMABAD: India has expelled a second Pakistani diplomat within ten days, declaring him persona non grata for activities “not in keeping with his official status,” the external affairs ministry in New Delhi announced on Wednesday.
The move comes amid heightened tensions between the two countries following a military standoff earlier this month. Despite a ceasefire agreement reached on May 10, diplomatic relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors remain strained.
“The Government of India has declared a Pakistani official, working at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, persona non grata for indulging in activities not in keeping with his official status in India,” the Indian ministry said in its statement.
“The official has been asked to leave India within 24 hours,” it added.
This is the second such expulsion in recent weeks. On May 13, India expelled a Pakistani diplomat on similar grounds. In response, Pakistan declared an Indian High Commission staffer in Islamabad persona non grata.
The Indian ministry also summoned the Charge d’Affaires of the Pakistan High Commission to issue a demarche, emphasizing that Pakistani diplomats must not “misuse their privileges and status in any manner.”
As of now, Pakistan’s foreign office has not responded to the latest development.
Pakistan’s health minister assures Palestinian counterpart of medical support
- Syed Mustafa Kamal meets Dr. Maged Abu Ramadan at the World Health Assembly in Switzerland
- Israel has repeatedly targeted hospitals and health workers in Gaza, causing international concern
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s health minister Syed Mustafa Kamal informed his Palestinian counterpart that a framework has been developed to provide medical assistance to the people of Gaza, according to an official statement on Wednesday, during a meeting on the sidelines of the 78th World Health Assembly in Switzerland.
Kamal’s meeting with the Palestinian health minister, Dr. Maged Awni Muhammad Abu Ramadan, took place at a time when Israeli forces have repeatedly targeted hospitals and health facilities in Gaza, crippling the enclave’s health care system.
Israeli attacks have also led to international concern over violations of humanitarian norms in the war-torn Palestinian territory.
“We stand with our Palestinian brothers and will provide all possible medical support to heal their wounds,” the health ministry quoted Kamal as saying.
He strongly condemned Israel’s targeting of hospitals and health care workers, urging the international community to take concrete action to end the atrocities against Palestinians, including women and children.
“The brutality and oppression must stop,” he was quoted as saying. “The world must hold Israel accountable.”
Earlier this week, Pakistan condemned Israel’s targeting of hospitals in Gaza and described its announcement of taking control of the entire Palestinian territory as a “grave threat” to regional peace.
The remarks by the Pakistani foreign office came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared his government wanted to take control of the Gaza Strip.
Pakistani military blames ‘Indian-sponsored’ militants for children’s death in northwest this week
- Protests broke out in North Waziristan after a suspected drone strike reportedly led to the killings of four children
- The military says initial investigations have revealed the incident was carried out by ‘Fitna Al Khwarij’ militants
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military on Wednesday denied responsibility for the death of four children in North Waziristan earlier this week, attributing the incident to a proscribed militant network which it said was operating on “the behest of their Indian masters.”
The incident occurred on May 19 in the Hurmuz village of Mir Ali tehsil, where a suspected drone strike reportedly led to the death of four children from the same family and injuries to five others, including a woman.
The tragedy sparked protests in the area, with locals staging a sit-in and refusing to bury the deceased until authorities provided clarity on the incident and ensured accountability for the loss of innocent lives.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, dismissed allegations implicating Pakistan’s security forces in the strike, labeling the accusations as “entirely baseless” and part of a “coordinated disinformation campaign” aimed at discrediting the military’s counterterrorism efforts.
“Initial findings have established that this heinous act has been orchestrated and executed by Indian-sponsored Fitna Al Khwarij,” the statement said, using a term commonly employed by Pakistani authorities to describe extremist factions like the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The term “khwarij” is rooted in early Islamic history and refers to an extremist sect that declared other Muslims apostates.
“It is evident that these elements — acting at the behest of their Indian Masters — continue to exploit civilian areas and vulnerable populations as shields to conduct their reprehensible acts of terrorism,” the statement added. “Such tactics aims to unsuccessfully sow discord between the local population and the security forces, who together remain resolute to uproot the menace of terrorism.”
The military also reaffirmed its commitment to bringing the perpetrators to justice, emphasizing its ongoing efforts to combat militant violence in the region.
