HYDERABAD: The Sindh government distributed 200 free pink electric scooters among female students and working women during a ceremony held at a hotel in Hyderabad.
Senior Minister for Information and Transport & Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon attended the event as the chief guest, and personally handed over the scooters to the selected women.
The ceremony was also attended by MPA Imdad Pitafi, Hyderabad Deputy Mayor Sagheer Qureshi, Sindh Mass Transit Authority Managing Director Salimullah Odho, the Hyderabad deputy inspector general, the Hyderabad deputy commissioner, the Hyderabad senior superintendent of police and other officials.
Speaking at the ceremony, Memon said that the initiative aims to facilitate female students, working women and women associated with business activities by providing them with safe and independent transportation.
He said that the distribution process was conducted without any political, ethnic or linguistic consideration. He said that the initiative reflects the vision of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leadership, particularly PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, to empower women socially and economically.
The minister said the Sindh government has also launched several welfare projects, including the construction of 2.1 million houses with ownership rights for women, the expansion of healthcare facilities, the establishment of autism centres and the introduction of the pink bus service.
He added that the pink scooter scheme has encouraged thousands of women across Sindh to apply for driving licences. He described it as a positive social change.
He clarified that the scooters are strictly for women and cannot be sold for seven years. Moreover, he continued, wearing helmets has been made mandatory for safety purposes.
Other speakers on the occasion, including MPA Saima Agha and former MPA Zahid Bhurgari, termed the initiative an important step towards women empowerment in the province.
Last month, a ceremony to distribute free scooters among the women of Sukkur was held at a local hall by the Sindh Transport & Mass Transit Department, according to a statement issued the Divisional Directorate of Information Sukkur.
Memon, while speaking at the ceremony, said that that day was an important one. The PPP and the Sindh government are serving the people under the leadership of President Asif Ali Zardari, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Faryal Talpur, he added.
He said that if one looks at the history of Pakistan, the PPP has carried out the most significant work for women’s empowerment.
He added that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto worked for women’s empowerment, while Benazir Bhutto, the first female prime minister of the Muslim world, established women’s police stations and the first women’s bank, and initiated the Lady Health Workers programme. When President Zardari came to power, he launched the historic Benazir Income Support Programme.
Memon said that today the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank appreciate this programme. He added that in the past, women in society were often deprived of identity cards, but after the launch of this programme, people began obtaining ID cards for their sisters, daughters and mothers.
He further stated that Chairman Bilawal has initiated one of the largest housing projects in history, under which the Sindh government is building houses for 2.1 million families free of charge.
He said Chairman Bilawal also ensured that women are given ownership rights to these houses. He emphasised that the PPP has done unparalleled work in empowering women.
He added that it is the government’s responsibility to strengthen women, and the government is fulfilling this duty. Memon said that Pakistan’s first EV (electric vehicle) bus was introduced in Sindh by the PPP.
He also claimed that there is no service like the pink bus service in the US, UK, Europe or the Gulf countries, as it employs women as both drivers and conductors. He added that EV scooters are being provided to women free of charge.
The senior minister further said that previously, only 150 women in Sindh had motorbike licences, while now 20,000 women have applied for driving licences.
He said that no other government in Pakistan is providing pink EV scooters free of charge. Along with scooters, the Sindh government is also providing helmets, licences and training free of charge, he added.
He emphasised that there is no donor agency involved in this project, nor is any recommendation required. Any eligible woman with a driving licence and proof of employment can receive a pink scooter. He reiterated that empowering women is the vision of Chairman Bilawal, President Zardari and First Lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari.
