PTA Launches Digital Gender Inclusion Strategy

APP

Islamabad: The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT), in collaboration with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), has officially launched the Digital Gender Inclusion Strategy with the aim of significantly reducing the digital gender divide within the next three years.

The inaugural meeting of the Steering Committee was chaired by Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Minister of State for IT & Telecommunication, and convened by Major General (Retd) Hafeez Ur Rehman, Chairman of PTA, according to a news release issued on Friday.

During the meeting, Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja reiterated the government’s commitment to advancing Pakistan’s Digital Gender Inclusion Strategy. She emphasized the need for a unified approach to address the digital gender gap effectively.

Chairman PTA Maj Gen (Retd) Hafeez Ur Rehman highlighted PTA’s role in coordinating efforts and ensuring the effective implementation of the strategy through collaboration with key stakeholders and thematic working groups.

A key decision made during the meeting was to hold steering committee reviews every 3-4 months to assess the progress of the working groups. The PTA will serve as the Secretariat for these reviews. 

The committee will oversee the implementation of the strategy, focusing on thematic areas such as access, affordability, digital literacy, inclusion, safety, security, data, and research.

The steering committee includes representatives from various government organizations, the private sector, and academia. Notable members include:

• Raheela Hameed Khan Durrani, Minister for Colleges, Higher & Technical Education Balochistan
• Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani, Secretary, Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training
• Dr Naeem Uz Zafar, Chief Statistician, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
• Aisha Humera Chaudhry, Secretary of the Ministry of IT & T
• Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC
• Dr Babar Majid Bhatti, CEO National IT Board
• Aamir Ibrahim, CEO Jazz
• Gulalai Khan, Lahore University of Management Sciences

A Technical Advisory Group will assist the Steering Committee in its duties. This group includes:

• Kar Hung Antony Tam, Country Director, UNESCO
• Julian Gorman and Lara Dewar, GSMA
• Waqas Hassan, Global Digital Inclusion Partnership
• Sadaf Khan, APC
• Zara Higgs, TikTok

The working group heads, including Amer Shahzad (DG PTA), Ms. Rabiya Javeri Agha (Chairperson, NCHR), and Mr. Muhammad Ismail (Chief, NCSW), were also present at the meeting.

Multi-sectoral collaboration is deemed essential for closing the digital gender gap and enhancing women’s roles in Pakistan’s digital transformation.