Women playing exemplary role: Bilawal Bhutto

Liaquat Ali

Peshawar: Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addressing a women workers’ convention in Peshawar said that he is pleased to see that the women organisation of the Party participated in this series of conventions all over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This is why, he had directed the President of the PPP KP Women organisation to hold a convention as they played an exemplary role. Chairman Bilawal said that the PPP will surely be victorious if its workers continue to work hard in the same manner.

Chairman Bilawal said that the women of the PPP have played a leading role in the Party and the country’s progress. Begun Nusrat Bhutto laid the foundation of the PPP women’s wing, and this not only helped the Party survive but triumph. The women of the Party have always played a key role, even when facing the most dictatorial and barbaric regimes. This led to Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto being the first woman prime minister of the Islamic world. This is a result of the struggles of the women of the Party. Chairman Bilawal said that a woman judge was a part of the bench of the Supreme Court yesterday when he went to attend the hearing of the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Presidential Reference. It is as a result of the struggle of the women of the PPP that we have seen this day as a country, Chairman Bilawal said. Our ideology is that women are given equal opportunities, be it in the economy or the politics. Women constitute 50% of the country’s population and the economy cannot run until this faction of the society does not contribute. The economy of the country cannot progress until women are provided with the opportunity to prosper.

Chairman Bilawal said that as the 2024 elections near us, the PPP’s message to the women of the country should include the vision of the Party. He said that the manifesto of the Party would make it apparent to the women that it is the sole political party in the country that can accurately represent them. We wish to see women in every economic domain, Chairman Bilawal said. “My mother is no longer in this world, but I would like to serve the women of this country just as a son would”, Chairman Bilawal said. The BISP was a revolutionary initiative and we wish to expand it after coming to power. Not only do we plan on expanding the BISP, but complete the incomplete mission of the Party and introduce new projects. We wish for the poor women of the country to be empowered economically. The ‘Peoples Poverty Alleviation” project was introduced in Sindh, through which we are providing women with interest-free loans to kickstart their businesses. This is one of our most successful programmes. We wish to introduce this in the entire country. The return rate for our programme in Sindh is 99% which indicates that not only is our programme successful, but the business run by women too are successful. In the cases that we do not receive the loans, it is only due to unfortunate circumstances.

Chairman Bilawal said that it is a part of our manifesto and the “Roti, Kapra Aur Makaan” ideology of Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Therefore, we wish to build two million permanent homes for the poor people of the country and give the ownership to women, as we are doing in Sindh. We wish to do the same for all those living in temporary housing throughout the country. We wish to support our youngsters as well as the new mothers. If a child receives high-quality meals and essential nutrients along with the mother in the first thousand days, then life expectancy can be increased. We would like to financially support new mothers for the first thousand days after child birth, and they would need to come to our clinics and get their health check-up so that their future is secure and the fundamental needs are met. Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto gave us the concept of Lady Health Workers and we need to look after them, as they are our asset. When this initiative was introduced, our politicians as well as international financial institutions would criticise this project. However when the project was successful, the world accepted this as one of the most successful projects which then inspired Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka to follow suit. Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto introduced the first female banks, and we plan on opening them in every district of every province to excludes provide loans to women as a means of empowering them. When we talk of providing educational facilities and employment to the youngsters, we are talking about brothers as well as our sisters. The treatment of women in Afghanistan is unfortunate and certain elements in Pakistan are of the same regressive view. “It is my message to them that as long as I am alive, hindering obstacles in the path of women attaining education would not be possible in Pakistan at least”, Chairman Bilawal said.

Chairman Bilawal said that after coming to power, he will talk to educational institutions such as Oxford and Harvard to initiate online courses for his sisters in Pakistan and Afghanistan to attain education through utilising modern technology, despite the obstacles faced by using religion as a weapon. We want these facilities for our Afghan sisters as well, and we are willing to talk to the Afghan government as well. We will provide education to our Pakhtun sisters, who already have a lot of potential.

Chairman Bilawal said that in this era of propaganda, media and social media, especially when the traditional politics of hate and division is at its peak, projects dedicated to the welfare of the people are not given due attention. He directed the women workers to go door to door and take the manifesto of the PPP along, so that the common women can be apprised of their rights and the fate of the country can be changed. Chairman Bilawal paid tribute to the women workers of the Party and said that their continued struggle will surely yield positive results.