12 May 2004	Wednesday	21 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

ISLAMABAD, May 11: The economic empowerment of women is necessary to enable them to stand on their own feet and ensure their progress in the society, advisor to the prime minister on women development, Nilofar Bakhtiar, said on Monday.

She was speaking as chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of the two-day Second National Beauticians Conference organized by the Pakistan Hairdresser and Beauticians Association (PHABA) at a local hotel.

Ms Bakhtiar said the government was making concerted efforts for the promotion of activities for women in all fields. Among the multitude of problems facing women in Pakistan, the inability of women to be economically independent due to various constraints is particularly unfortunate, she said, adding that the government was committed to tackling this issue.

Lauding the efforts of beauticians in Pakistan, Ms Bakhtiar emphasized the importance of women earning their own income, suggesting that it was one means of entering into the decision- making process dominated by men.

She stressed necessity for education and training in this regard and asked each beautician present at the conference to voluntarily train 10 young girls in the field, passing their skills and knowledge on to them.

She expressed the hope that such an endeavour would enable more young women to stand on their own feet, adding that the Ministry of Women Development, Social Welfare and Special Education would recognize their efforts.

She urged them to think of their work as more than a profession, and rather as a mission to contribute to the development of society, suggesting that collective efforts were needed to ensure that women were awarded due rights.

Ms. Bakhtiar stated that the next beauticians and hairdressers conference would be international in scale, open to Saarc member countries. She emphasized cooperation on issues affecting women in the region and expressed her full support to the PHABA in this venture.