KARACHI, June 24: Naib Nazim Nasreen Jalil has said that women if properly trained and educated could play an enormous role in the socio-economic uplift of the country.

In a meeting with the women entrepreneurs’ sub-committee of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry at its office on Saturday, Nasreen Jalil said that Pakistan was a male-dominated society and long, sustained and grassroots efforts were needed to change the perception of the common people. She said: “Karachi is the city of the most liberal and progressive people and the present city government is trying to promote progressiveness and liberalism.”

She said that women would be given more scholarships for higher education and asked the KCCI to help city government in this regard. “We should work together to change the common perception of the society that a female should not be educated. We collectively have to develop a culture where females should have the right to speak about their interests and needs,” she said.

The naib nazim said that the city government had allocated Rs10 billion for provision of education. She said that 36 model schools for boys and girls would be established in the current fiscal year 2006-2007, which would provide modern education facilities to the children belonging to low-income families. She said these model schools would be set up in the less developed areas of the city.

She said that for the first time in history of Pakistan women were given 33 per cent representation in the local government, which would bring great change in the society and strengthen socio-economic role of women in Pakistan. She further said that the Sindh government had allocated land for setting up an industrial zone for women in Karachi.

She applauded the efforts of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry for making the women entrepreneurs sub-committee and assured her full cooperation to the committee.

KCCI senior vice-president Abdul Majeed Memon said that the importance of women entrepreneurs was well-recognized in expanding local and external trade all over the world. He said that there was a dire need to empower women entrepreneurs in Pakistan and encourage them to come forward to join the mainstream of economic activities.—PPI