Global Women’s Breakfast: Importance of female role in society emphasized

KARACHI:  Women scientists have underlined the importance of the female role in the development of society, saying that working women have proved all over the world that there is no difference between men and women in terms of their working capacity and excellence.

The women scholars at all stages of their careers on Wednesday morning made these views while speaking at the Golden Jubilee Hall of International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi (UoK).

 They werwe assembled to celebrate the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) 2020 Global Women’s Breakfast (GWB2020) at the ICCBS.”

The global program was held as a part of the IUPAC 2020 Global Women’s Breakfast (GWB2020) with the theme of building bonds to create future leaders.

The panelists who shared their views on the occasion were included, Prof. Dr. Bina Siddiqui, the chairman of Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), Pakistan Chapter, Dr. Shahnaz Perven, Director of Planning & Development at PCSIR Laboratories Complex, Karachi, all-female faculty members of the ICCBS.

Prof. Bina Siddiqui, who is also a senior professor at the ICCBS, pointed out that the theme for GWB2020 was building bonds to create future leaders with a focus on leadership development.

 She mentioned that Pakistani women-owned great leadership skills, adding that she was heading the OWSD Pakistan chapter.

Introducing OWSD to young scholars, she said, “OWSD provides research training and networking opportunities for women scientists throughout the developing world at different stages in their careers.”

She said that this was the time for the women in Pakistan to join hands and work for the development and advancement of science in Pakistan.

Dr. Shahnaz Perveen said that the overall purpose of GWB2020 was to establish an on-going virtual network where women in the chemical and related sciences can connect with each other in a meaningful way to support their professional aspirations.

Prof. Khalid M. Khan highlighted the importance of the international event as this Global Women’s Breakfast was held on the same day in many countries all over the world.

Dr. Hina Siddqui, organizer of the “GWB2020 at the ICCBS” told the participants, “Director ICCBS Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary strongly supports the idea of women empowerment, and strive to produce an environment that is conducive to women scholars at the international center.”

The other female faculty of the ICCBS said that this event was organized to address the challenges women in chemistry faced.

They showed great concerns over social compulsions that restricted Pakistani women to work freely for the development of the country, adding that women were required to be gathered at one platform to break the tradition that locked up women at their houses.       

The female scientists said that the Global Women’s Breakfast intended to assist women chemists to expand their network of contacts, both locally and internationally.

More than 300 female scholars attended the global breakfast. The event was also associated with the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, established in 2015 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to empower women in science and technology.