Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has announced laptops for students who held top positions, along with five buses for Kinnaird College for Women. She made the announcement while pledging to widen educational and employment options for women across the province.
Addressing the college’s 89th convocation, she offered congratulations to graduates, their parents and faculty. She called each girl at the ceremony “a complete story of success”, and said her government was determined that every child could get an education, regardless of family finances.
Women urged to push past social expectations
Nawaz urged women to pursue their ambitions despite the expectations placed on them by society. She argued that women often face closer scrutiny than men when they seek professional success.
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“When a boy works hard, people say he wants to get ahead. When a girl works hard, they say she is only concerned about herself,” she said.
She told women to remain determined and prove their abilities through hard work. Balancing job responsibilities with household duties, she added, should not deter anyone from building a career. She also said providing a safe and supportive environment was the government’s responsibility, and that she had spent the past three years trying to make Punjab more women-friendly.
Safety measures and equal access to state schemes
Nawaz pointed to security measures on public transport, including CCTV cameras and panic buttons on electric buses. She said these were designed to allow a rapid response to harassment. She asked female students to report incidents and called on parents to listen to their daughters’ concerns.
She also cited progress towards equal opportunity in government schemes. She contrasted an earlier allocation of 70 percent of opportunities for boys and 30 percent for girls with the current policy of equal access.
Merit-based appointments and support for students
Nawaz said 22 universities had no vice-chancellors when she took office, and that appointments had since been made on merit. She said she had personally conducted the interviews to ensure recommendations did not influence selection.
She urged students not to see themselves as inferior to anyone and encouraged them to use education to improve their prospects. Challenges, she said, were an inevitable part of life and should be met with courage and perseverance. Recalling her own experience, she said she had been warned that governing Punjab would be difficult because of the province’s size and the challenges of managing the police and bureaucracy. Hard work, she said, could enable women to rise to positions such as chief minister, minister, commissioner and deputy commissioner.
The provincial government would continue providing resources to help students become financially independent, she said. She also highlighted plans to help women access electric bikes through easy instalments. In closing, she expressed pride in the achievements of Punjab’s daughters, urged parents to encourage their children to pursue their ambitions without fear, and led students in applauding their parents.
