BISP to address women’s vulnerability, empower them; Shazia Marri

ISLAMABAD:  Shazia Marri, Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety and Chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), stated on Tuesday that the government of Pakistan is working to address the vulnerability of women by empowering them through income support to the poorest of the poor families through BISP. This she stated during a meeting with Dr. Luay Shabaneh, a representative of the United Nations Population Fund-UNFPA, which was held here. Mr. Ghufran Memon, Secretary Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, and Mr. Yusuf Khan, Secretary BISP, also attended the meeting. Ms. Marri informed the UNFPA Representative on the BISP’s initiatives, stating that the program began in 2008 and is now providing an annual Rs. 28000/- financial support on a quarterly basis.

She said that the government has decided to increase this amount of income support by 25%, that is, now quarterly installment will be Rs. 9000.

Dr. Luay Shabaneh appreciated Ms. Shazia Marri for her commitment towards marginalized and underprivileged segments of the society, especially women through providing them a comprehensive social protection net.

He acknowledged that the vision and interests of BISP are closely associated with UNFPA and hoped to build a strategic partnership under the leadership of Chairperson BISP.

He highlighted many goals of UNFPA which include ending preventable maternal deaths, ending the unmet needs for family planning and ending gender-based violence and harmful practices.

He highlighted efforts of gender equality and said that UNFPA would be happy to work with BISP to achieve these goals.

At the end of the meeting, Chairperson BISP and UNFPA representative agreed to find ways work together towards achieving the shared objective of poverty alleviation and extending to fabric of social safety.