Call to create equal opportunities for women

2026-03-07 - 21:03

The latest World Economic Forum data shows that a girl born today will have to wait 123 years – way beyond her expected life span–to see gender equality achieved globally. Compared to men, women and girls are less likely to go to school or have a job. Women with disabilities face even greater barriers to participating equally in society. While the gender gap spans multiple indicators, including access to health and education, one of the most powerful drivers of long-term change is economic empowerment. Without much-needed investment to expand women’s access to decent work, skills, and financial independence, progress across other indicators will remain slow. While talking to Pakistan Observer on the eve of International Women’s Day, Director Sightsavers for Pakistan and Middle East, Munazza Gillani said “We don’t need to accept 123-year wait or longer for equality. Disability-inclusive investments in women’s livelihoods can compress over a century of waiting into transformative change right away.” She said a number of studies, research projects worldwide have proven that when women, especially women with disabilities, gain economic power, families and communities grow stronger and economies expand. Investing in women, especially those with disabilities, is an undervalued investment opportunity which even the World Bank acknowledges could add up to US$21 trillion to the global GDP,” she said. In Pakistan, Fizza Hussain, the country’s first visually-impaired chef and co-founder of Khaas Foodz Kitchen, is one of many examples of what disability-inclusive investment can achieve. Losing her sight at the age of 18, she refused to accept the stigma society would try to place on her and has since helped develop Pakistan’s first accessible culinary training model for visually impaired individuals. Through her leadership, more than 1000 trainees have received professional culinary and life skills training. Fizza is also the creative mind behind Dining in the Dark Pakistan, an immersive dining event fully led by visually impaired chefs and service staff. Fizza and her start-up, Khaas Foodz Kitchen, were supported by Sightsavers’ Futuremakers Innovation Challenge (ICF) as a part of the organisation’s disability-inclusive entrepreneurship programme, which provides entrepreneurship toolkits and support to participants. The backing Fizza received through the ICF programme allowed her to scale her business and expand her impact.