Karachi: Former president Asif Ali Zardari’s daughter and PPP leader Aseefa Bhutto Zardari on Friday stressed on the importance of empowering the youth, particularly women, through technical and vocational training and education, a necessity to create decent economic opportunities for younger generations and for the socio-economic sustainability of the country.
Aseefa stated this while addressing the graduation ceremony of the trainees of Handloom Weaving Training organised by SZABIST ZABTech in collaboration with the SZABIST Foundation at Naudero House, Larkana.
Besides the Chairperson SZABIST Foundation, Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Faryal Talpur (Member SZABIST Foundation Board), Director SZABIST ZABTech Waheeda Mahesar, MNAs, MPAs, and other PPP office-bearers attended the event.
Certificates were awarded to 60 women trainees who had completed four months of handloom weaving training at the SZABIST Foundation. The trainees were given handlooms, and tablet devices loaded with a custom application to launch their online businesses immediately.
Aseefa said that SZABIST Foundation is working to fulfil the promise of former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and of her brother Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. “ZABTech and the SZABIST Foundation look forward to continuing programmes for the betterment of rural women, to empower the youth, particularly women, through technical and vocational training and education. These initiatives are the most reliable interventions to create economic opportunities for the youth, and the long-term socio-economic stability of the country.”
She further added that this is a pilot project and other such projects would be replicated and scaled up by the SZABIST Foundation.
“ZABTech, with the support of the SZABIST Foundation, has transformed the lives of more than 60,000 underprivileged youth of Sindh. Our mission is to ensure that the youth of Pakistan is provided adequate training to fulfill the demand for skilled labour in the job market. It is a moment of great pride to be a part of the SZABIST foundation and to be here amongst my people fulfilling the vision of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto,”she added.
Speaking on the occasion, Faryal Talpur praised the efforts of SZABIST and ZABTech and pointed out that PPP has always been very conscious and focused on women’s empowerment be it in terms of economic empowerment, social empowerment or political empowerment.
“There is a dire need for technical and vocational training for the youth, especially women and girls of Sindh. The youth of Sindh is full of potential and the land of Sindh encompasses many opportunities for them,” she added.
Director SZABIST ZABTech said that technical and vocational training is the only solution for uplifting the country’s economy and taking advantage of our youth bulge.
She mentioned that if Pakistan wants to emulate the success of developed nations, it is imperative to focus on this sector. She concluded her speech by congratulating the trainees on the successful completion of the training and thanking the SZABIST Foundation for the financial support.
