ISLAMABAD, March 27: Senate Standing Committee on Women Development has called for creation of conditions to promote and facilitate greater empowerment of women through better education and employment opportunities with a view to bringing them into the mainstream.

The committee, which visited the Islamabad College for Girls, F-6/2, here on Thursday, also urged the government to take further steps for enabling the women, which form more than half of the country’s population, play their due role in the society.

“The current educational, social and economic backwardness of women constitute a major bottleneck, which is hampering their progress and development in all walks of life,” observed the committee members.

The plight of women in the country presents a sad spectacle especially in the rural areas and therefore it is imperative that ways and means be adopted to improve their lot.

The committee also called upon people to help improve the lot of women by bringing about a change in the traditional modes of thinking. The existing mindset and stereotypes about women must change. These should be replaced with more progressive and enlightened ideas.

Our women strata are endowed with immense potential and there is only a need to channelise that potential, said the committee members.

“This is high time to translate rhetoric into reality to promote the cause of women in the society”. The committee recommended that more schemes be launched to overcome the social and economic backwardness of women. In this connection it emphasised the need for opening up new avenues for promoting literacy and education among women.

The lady teachers urged the committee members to take up the cause of working women in the country more strongly and strive for better transport facilities and setting up of day care centres to facilitate working women.