MULTAN, Sept 12th: Begum Sarwat Zahra Chairperson of Entrepreneur Committee of Multan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI) has said that MCCI was engaged in multiple activities to facilitate social harmony, and to promote an exchange of views and greater interaction amongst women entrepreneurs to increase their business skill.She was addressing a meeting of women entrepreneurs in Multan chamber. She said that Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry is more organized and is preparing to arrange some concrete activities for the women entrepreneurs. She said that MCCI was doing its part to promote women entrepreneurship in the region and facilitating them with the help of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP)and other departments.It is more organized and is preparing to arrange some concrete activities for the women entrepreneurs. “Government cannot offer jobs to each citizen so especially women should start thinking on starting their own business,” she emphasised.She describes the strong “inside/outside” dichotomy in Pakistan,where women are restricted to the “inside” space of home and household, embodied in the tradition of veiling. This restricts women's access to education, employment, training opportunities and social services. She discussed the projects of Women incubation Centre, Rehabilitation and promotion of women skill and handicrafts, easy access of women entrepreneurs to financial institutions and ensuring soft loans to them, Participation of Women entrepreneurs in International exhibitions and festivals. She also discussed other issued confronted by the women.She also highlights another important aspect by stating that the social disapproval of women working outside the home translates into the invisibility of women in the labour force. Although they participate actively in the family and farm affairs, their unpaid work is perceived as a social duty rather than an economic contribution.She said "Women entrepreneurs in Pakistan have been provided facilities and they are playing their role in the national development. Women entrepreneurs can also lead Pakistan to new economic heights," she added.She stressed the need for “Enhancing Women Economic Empowerment through Skills Development and Capacity Building in South Punjab which a neglected area” She said that women were half of total population and bringing them into the mainstream of business activities was vital for sustainable economic growth of the country. Sarwat Zahra said MCCI has already taken many initiatives for women entrepreneurs and assured that MCCI would continue to work for the economic empowerment of women so that they could play effective role in the development of the country. Khurram Javed Secretary General of MCCI said that Multan Chamber would organize training programs for capacity building of women and equipping them with the required skills in the fields of marketing and quality control geared towards product improvement. MCCI would help women entrepreneurs in establishing and expanding business ventures and integrating them into the mainstream of business field.The meeting was attended by Khadija Shaheen ,Saadia Shah, Nausheen Afzal, Musarrat ,Nadia ,Iffat Batool, Muqaddas, Shaista Batool,Aisha Rafi, Tehreem Rizwan, Fatima Tariq, Aisha Mushtaq, Kausar and Shah-Jahan.
