Islamabad: The founder president of the Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI), Samina Fazil, said the federal budget for 2026-27 missed an opportunity to strengthen women’s economic participation by underinvesting in skills development, entrepreneurship support, and access to finance.
She said women account for nearly half of Pakistan’s population but continue to face barriers in education, technology, financial services, and markets. Sustainable growth, she added, requires prioritising women as an economic force. While acknowledging social protection programmes for vulnerable households, she said long-term progress depends on greater investment in education, vocational training, and employment opportunities for women.
The federal government has allocated Rs58 billion for education compared to Rs838 billion for the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), reflecting a wide gap between social protection spending and education investment. She said the budget also does not appear to include a dedicated federal skills development programme for women entrepreneurs or women-led businesses, with most initiatives grouped under general youth programmes rather than gender-specific interventions.
