To commemorate international women day (IWD), Aawaz II Programme organized a provincial consultation titled “Digital Inclusion and Safety of Women” at a local hotel in Lahore, today by Peace & Justice Network. The consultation was designed to highlight the importance of digital inclusion and how technological based interventions can be opted to ensure the protection of women.

Representatives from Punjab Information Technology Board, Women Development Department, Punjab Commission on the Status of Women, Punjab Safe City Authority and various civil society organizations participated in the consultation while the panelists included renowned academics, policy analyst, advocates, persons with disabilities/transgender and digital rights campaigners.

After the welcome note by Mr. Raza Ali Director Peace & Justice Network, Chairperson, Aawaz II Provincial Forum Madam Khawar Mumtaz, in her opening remarks, highlighted the importance of digitalization and shared that due to the gender stereotypes, women are denied access to education and digital tools. These tools in this changing world are gateways to women empowerment and limiting access to these tools amounts to discrimination therefore parallel to digital literacy we have to focus on behavioral change aspect to challenge gender stereotypes. Further, there is a need to consolidate the women helplines, multiple helplines are good but consolidated one will be even more beneficial.

Ms. Nada Azhar Secretary, Punjab Commission on the Status of Women, in her presentation shared how PCSW making women life easy by providing them online services through its helpline. She further added that enhanced accessibility of women to digital tools can address gender-based violence and online redressal mechanisms will be much more effective if we managed to shrink the gender gap in accessing and owning the digital tools in the country.

While speaking on the occasion, Ms. Roshatay Janat, a Policy Analyst at the Punjab Information Technology Board, said that government is fully cognizant of the importance of digitalization and PITB has initiated many E program specifically for women in Punjab.

Ms. Baela Raza Jamil while speaking on the occasion, apprised the participants of the digital literacy training that her organization Idara-e-Taleem-o- Aagahi imparted to Aawaz II Change Agents during the course of Aawaz II programme. She concluded by saying that there is a need to include the excluded so that all can get benefit by employing the digital skills on equal basis.

Ms. Sumaira Samad, Secretary, Women Development Department, in her closing remarks shared that literacy and access to technology are interlinked. In terms of access to digital instruments like cell phones and laptops, some women lag behind men. For example, in low-income families, men are more likely to have these gadgets than women. There is a need to include the marginalized especially PWD women and trans in all digital literacy programs. She further said that Inter-agency coordination is crucial since all stakeholders involved need to be on the same page to function humanely and in a just manner.

Others who spoke includes Ms. Rafat Yasmin, Ms. Sana Khurshid, Ms. Anoosha Shaigan, Ms. Faiza Farooq, Advocate, Ms. Fakhra Irshad, Ms. Sonia Naz and Ms. Mary James Gill.

At the closure of the consultation session, Mr. Arshad Mahmood, the Head of Programme Delivery, underscored the significance of establishing a secure virtual environment for women and girls in observance of International Women's Day 2023. He advocated for the creation of an online space that is devoid of cyber harassment and gender-based violence, emphasizing the urgent need for a safer digital space for women, girls, women with disabilities, transwomen, women from religious minorities and other vulnerable groups.

Aawaz II aims to change behaviours and increase citizen-state engagement to promote a transformational change towards harmful practices of child marriage, gender-based violence, exclusion, exploitation and intolerance. The programme has reached over 30 million individuals with its interventions and communication campaigns on behaviour change.

Aawaz II programme of British Council is being implemented in selected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab with support from Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).