The Sindh transport department and Sindh Mass Transit Authority distributed 300 pink electric scooters on the occasion of International Women’s Day on Sunday.
The distribution ceremony was held at a local hotel in Karachi. Addressing the ceremony, Sindh Senior Minister for Information and Transport Sharjeel Inam Memon extended greetings to all the women on International Women’s Day, saying that without women, we would not exist. He added that International Women’s Day was not only a day for women but also for everyone who had given birth to a woman.
He said that women were neglected in our society for a long time, but Benazir Bhutto created a new history by empowering women. According to Memon, under the leadership of Benazir, women proved that they had the full potential to run the country.
He said that today the clouds of war were hovering over the world, and in such a situation, the historic achievement of making Pakistan a nuclear power belonged to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, while the credit for giving Pakistan missile technology went to his daughter Benazir.
He said historic steps taken by the PPP for the development and empowerment of women would always be remembered in the history of Pakistan.
He said the Women Bank, the first police station for women, and the Lady Health Workers Programme were also introduced by the PPP. The biggest social welfare project in the history of Pakistan was the Benazir Income Support Programme, which was recognised at the international level and was started during the tenure of President Asif Ali Zardari, Memon added.
The information minister said that after the floods, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari announced the construction of 2.1 million houses, of which 800,000 houses had been built, and the ownership rights of these houses had been given to women.
He said that there were opportunities and quotas for women in Sindh. He explained that PPP leaders such as Faryal Talpur, Aseefa Bhutto Zardari and Shazia Marri had contested the general elections and won.
Memon said the Sindh government had established the Girls Cadet College and it was the government’s responsibility to introduce various welfare programmes for the women.
He said the Sindh government also started the Pink Bus Service for women, in which women drivers had also been employed, making it a unique facility rarely seen in the world.
He said the Sindh government was starting a programme to provide five million electric scooters to women, and no recommendation or slip would be required for acquiring the two-wheeler. A permanent driving licence and proof of education or employment would be required to get an electric scooter, he said, adding that women were also being provided free driving training.
He explained that free electric scooters were being given to women so that they could get rid of petrol expenses and travel difficulties.
He said there was continuous propaganda against the Sindh government, but the provincial government had carried out such historic initiatives that no one had done before. He added that generating electricity for the whole of Pakistan by extracting coal from Tharparkar was a great achievement, and even the drivers of the dumpers extracting coal were women.
The government wanted to make the women self-sufficient and bring about a positive change in society, he said.
The ceremony was attended by Sindh ministers Shaheena Sher Ali, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and Saeed Ghani, MPA Qasim Siraj Soomro, Karachi Deputy Mayor Salman Murad, Transport Secretary Asad Zamin, Nafisa Shah, Sharmila Farooqui, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, and Sindh Mass Transit Authority Managing Director Kanwal Nizam Bhutto among others.
