KARACHI, 26 August 2003 — Pakistan is promoting information technology (IT) as a cure for many of its economic ills. Information technology is not only supposed to help Pakistani businesses become more effective and efficient, but IT has also been hailed as a major driver for the Pakistani economy.
Two years ago, when the first ITCN Asia Conference was held in Karachi, it was disturbing to note that very few women were prominent in the event. At ITCN Asia 2003 it was depressing to see that not much had changed. No woman was deemed worthy enough to be a guest or speaker in the inaugural session. In fact, throughout the entire conference no woman was invited to be the chair or co-chair of any session and of 25 speakers at the conference, only two were women.
Women can achieve stunning success in the field of IT — just ask Carly Fiorina. So it can’t be that Pakistani women aren’t intelligent enough or talented enough to rise to the top of Pakistan’s IT industry. The paternalistic nature of Pakistani society, however, may be to blame.
“What do you mean that women have been marginalized at this conference?” asked Awais Ahmed Khan Laghari, Pakistan’s minister for IT and telecom. “There are many women involved in ITCN Asia.”
When Arab News pointed out to the minister that women were involved in the ITCN Asia event almost exclusively as organizers and delegates, Laghari replied that he hadn’t noticed the disparity. He went on to defend the Pakistani government’s policies in regards to women.
“Thirty-three percent of the seats in Parliament have been given to women for the first time,” Leghari commented. “The amount of participation by women in professional fields in Pakistan is increasing by the day. In rural areas the government is working to strengthen the education focus for women and to make them more independent. We even have a Government Task Force for Women in Technology. We’d like women to participate more, but it is my experience that in most instances it is the women themselves who are holding back.”
“Leghari may be correct. Women may be holding back because they feel that there is not enough incentive for them to participate in government initiatives,” said Rabia Garib, editor-in-chief, NetXpress. “Pakistani women don’t realize that they can be a force for change. Governments in Pakistan have been very political boys clubs. What about the lack of female participation at the highest levels of the Pakistani IT industry? I wish I could say that there are not enough qualified women out there. That’s not true.”
NetXpress is not only an IT magazine. It is also a registered design and publishing house of which Garib is part owner. NetXpress started in January 2000 and it is one of the few IT publications to have survived Pakistan’s economic difficulties.
“Traditionally Pakistani women have been pressured into believing it is not productive to use their skills for anything outside the home,” said Garib. “There is a stigma attached to businesswomen. They are somehow considered to be less moral.”
According to Garib, another difficulty facing Pakistani women in IT is that there are so few of them that networking cannot be used as a problem solving strategy.
“I often feel completely alone. There is no one to call,” Garib said quietly. “Change is happening but it is extremely slow. There are a few high level women in each field now, but most are very isolated.”
Garib is committed to bringing more women into the IT industry. NetXpress and its associated publications try to hire women first for all staff positions. Garib even personally goes to some families to convince them to allow their daughters to work, explaining how work experience can add value to their daughters’ lives. She also emphasized the importance of businesswomen coming forward to publicize their gains, in order to inspire girls to succeed.
“We lack female role models in the business community in Pakistan,” said Garib. “Young teens who are 13 or 14 years old believe they can do anything. They have amazing ideas and there’s a twinkle in their eyes. Then when those same girls get to university, they have nothing to emulate. A ceiling has been put on their personal growth and all they look forward to is marriage.”
“Marriage is an excellent goal and it’s one of my goals for the future,” Garib continued, “but my vision has changed. My company supports a dozen people, so now my future comes after my company’s future. That is how it has to be if Pakistan’s economy is to strengthen. The talents of the entire workforce, both men and women, have to be put to the best use for the good of our nation.”
Salma Abbasi, chairman, e-World Wide Group, concurred with Garib’s assessment. A former senior vice president at Lucent Technologies and a graduate of both London University and San Jose University, in December 2002, Abbasi sponsored the First Women’s Leadership Forum in Karachi. She was one of the two women invited to speak at ITCN Asia.
“The IT industry is still a man’s world in Pakistan,” said Abbasi.
“That must change. I tell people that IT can be an enormous enabler for society — all society. I advise all young women to concentrate on education. Money or social status may come and go but no one can take an education away. While young women are concentrating on their education, the Pakistani government must work on cross development between its ministries and incorporating the latest technologies to reach out to the greatest number of citizens.”
Abbasi gave an example of why cross development is needed. She highlighted the fact that too many government programs targeting poverty elimination, give women just one skill and then expect them to succeed. Unfortunately most don’t.
“First, get community IT facilities up and functioning and teach women how to use a computer,” said Abbasi. “Then help them to create a business development plan and provide them with access to micro funding. Next, assist the women in creating a web page and show them how to get a financial management application running. Push the women through to market delivery. Take some of the most talented and have them work as trainers for other women. Let donor organizations sponsor portions of the programs directly. Use IT solutions to clearly quantify the programs’ gains and show measurable returns. This is the only way to reduce poverty — by working together and making IT an enabler for the economic development of Pakistan.”
The future for women in IT in Pakistan is not all gloomy. Just ask Isbah, Afsah and Afrah Shafquat, widely acknowledge by the Pakistani media to be three of Pakistan’s youngest and most brightly shining IT stars.
Despite the attention they have received, in many ways the three remain typical teens. Their favorite things are cartoons, pizza, ice cream and their mobile phones. Isbah, the eldest, is quiet and more reserved than her sisters. Already a Microsoft Certified C# Programmer, she is in college, training for a career in Software Development. Afsah, in 10th grade, has been called the “Princess of Operation Badar.” She recently passed her fifth major international certification, becoming the world’s youngest IBM Certified J2EE Developer. Afsah would like to study genetic engineering. The youngest of the three, Afrah, in Grade 8, has a delightful sense of humor. She recently became the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified VB.NET programmer. Afrah plans to follow in her father, Dr. Shafquat Mahmood’s footsteps, and become a physician.
Their father and their lovely mother, Akhter Jehan, are hard pressed to keep up with these three intelligent whirlwinds. Jehan is studying computer graphics as a compliment to her daughters’ programming and development skills. Dr. Shafquat admitted that the difficult economy meant that the family’s resources were totally focused on meeting his daughters’ goals, but he would have never considered anything else. And the teens are excitedly looking towards the future.
“Now that I am in college, people don’t think my computer studies are so strange,” said Isbah. “I am still a little ahead but I see students my age starting to get certifications. I can’t wait to work on my first real project.”
“Most of my school mates still don’t understand what I am studying,” said Afrah. “Thanks to all the publicity about our achievements at least they believe me now. Before some students thought I was just telling stories.”
“The students in my class are far enough advanced to understand what I am doing. Most of them don’t want to give up their free time to study programming though,” explained Afsah. “We study programming and developing skills at Operation Badar every Sunday.
It’s part of our life. We don’t feel like we’re giving up anything.”
The sisters are proud that their achievements help to boost Pakistan’s image. Their parents are concerned though because no university has committed to helping provide an advanced education for the three. It will be financial struggle for Dr. Shafquat if his daughters are not awarded scholarships, but he has not let his worries diminish Isbah, Afsah and Afrah’s dreams.
The teens said that they are happy to see that other girls have registered to take computer studies through the Operation Badar program, which has now opened in Lahore as well as Karachi. They believe that having computer skills allows a woman to work from home and have a career always.
“It is pathetic that people think we only want marriage and children,” said Afsah. “Families make many restrictions on women in Pakistan, socially and otherwise. Women need to be encouraged to contribute their talents and their intelligence to all aspects of modern life. I am grateful to my parents that I was encouraged to make the most of myself. I wish it could be that way for every girl.”
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