THE government has recently increased the budget to over Rs700 billion to help 10 million families. There are many who believe we are taking the wrong approach. From what I see, these cash handouts under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) are actually hurting our dignity and the national economy. Every time I see women standing in long, tiring queues for a small stipend, it saddens me. This system does not empower them; it makes them dependent. Plus, we often hear reports of corruption where officials or middlemen steal a cut of this money. Instead of giving fish every few months, why are we not teaching these women how to fish?

We should look at Bangladesh as an example. There, millions of women work in garment factories. They are not waiting for a handout; they are earning a respect-able living and helping their country export clothes worth billions of dollars. In Pakistan, only about 24 per cent of women are part of the workforce.

If we use the amount being spent on doleouts to set up factories and training centres, our women could work with pride. It is time we stopped treating our citizens as charity cases, and started treating them as the backbone of the national economy.

Noor Ul Islam
Lahore

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2026