LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif said on Thursday that the protection of every woman, including those in villages, was her “red line”, and that she wanted rural women to become decision-makers and economic powerhouses rather than remain farm hands.
In a message marking the International Day of Rural Women, she said women in the countryside kept Punjab’s fields flourishing, held households together and strengthened the economy. “Building a strong, self-reliant and prosperous Punjab is impossible without their role,” she said.
Her words match what the data show. Nearly two-thirds of working women in Pakistan are employed in agriculture and about half are unpaid family workers, according to an analysis of the latest Labour Force Survey. Only about 22 percent of working-age women take part in the labour force, well below Bangladesh at around 40 percent.
The chief minister said rural women were benefiting from the Kisan Card, Livestock Card and Himmat Card schemes, interest-free business loans, and laptops and scholarships for girls. Basic health units across the province were being upgraded, livestock was being given out to support self-employment, and a skills programme for rural women was being launched.
She also cited a virtual police station set up to protect the rights of women from all segments of society.
The message did not say how many women hold Kisan or Livestock cards, which are issued largely to registered landholders and herd owners, groups in which women are under-represented. Figures broken down by gender would show whether the schemes are reaching the women who do much of the work in the fields.
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