Islamabad, 10 March 2023 (TDI): In a recent interview Riina Kionka, the Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to Pakistan said that gender equality and just program are the heart of our work.
EU has developed the Gender Action Plan to ensure gender equality in all of its development projects. In Pakistan, 85% of development work fully incorporates the gender lens.
She mentioned that gender inequality is something that is also high in Europe as well but the EU has a strategy to combat it as it is introducing programs that are very much high in terms of gender-just actions.
She added, in Pakistan EU is highly focused on gender programs and working very closely with the commission on the status of women and also with the commission of human rights.
In Pakistan, there is a high need to focus on gender-equal action and we on behalf of the European Union are quite focused on gender-inclusive programs.
In her message on International Women’s Day 2023, Riina Kionka mentioned that women are the heart of our work, especially the initiative we take in Pakistan. We believe that equal representation exists in all areas of work and in leadership roles.
She also mentioned that she was very proud to have a group of very strong and competent working women around her.
She added, that together Pakistan and the EU can work to empower thousands of women around us in Pakistan through skill development, access to resources, and opportunities to grow and excel.
She also shared that the EU is taking massive action for gender equality as it recently sanctioned 9 individuals who were very high in gender unequal action at multiple levels.
Those individuals included two acting Taliban Ministers, Officers of Moscow Police, and an Officer of the Russian Armed Forces. She mentioned EU is very high in promoting gender equality at all levels.
