Provincial CSW Consultation, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa “Women in the Era of Digitalization”

The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), in collaboration with the UNFPA, UNDP, UN Women, and Jazz hosted a consultative session on creating a ‘Gender Digital Divide in Pakistan’ report in Peshawar on February 16, 2023. It was the 2^nd consultative session which is planned to be held in all provinces of Pakistan. The report will be presented at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

The conference was attended by people from all major arenas like the political sphere, media, civil society, and research.

Nilofar Bakhtiar, Chairperson of NCSW, in her opening address stated that the digital divide has further deteriorated the gender disparity in the country. “The policymakers, leaders and relevant stakeholders, need to understand the importance of having women at the forefront viz a viz technology.”

Ali Irfan, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Jazz gave a detailed overview of the aggressive efforts of Jazz Pakistan in the use of digital technology for the empowerment of women. Mr. Rashid Aman, Provincial Chief SMEDA KP gave a comprehensive and very encouraging overview of the extensive work of SMEDA for the inclusion of women in the era of digital technologies.

The honorable chief guest at the consultation Dr. Sahibzada Ali Mahmud Sahib, Managing Director of KP Information Technology Board (KPITB) also gave a very comprehensive and informative update on the efforts and initiatives of the PKITB. His presentation gave a very exhaustive and reassuring picture of the efforts of the KP government and an excellent example of the correct appointment of the impact of the writing persons at the right place.

Mubashir Akram, writing the official report, gave a presentation on Women in the Era of Digitalization to set the context for group discussions.

The participants then assembled into the working four working major themes were discussed and the final outcome was then presented by respective groups.

The closing session ended with the participation from PCSW KP and, Secretary Women