SUKKUR: The administration of Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET) is striving to empower women, and in this regard the university has recently founded the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) to institutionalize the efforts.
This was stated by Prof. Dr. Mohammad Aslam Uqaili, Vice Chancellor of Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, at the ceremony of inauguration of the Women Resource Centre (WRC). The WRC has been established under the auspices of the Women Society of Engineers. He said that the US-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water (USPCAS-W) was the driving force behind the establishment of this centre.
The centre has been established with the generous support of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and it is technically assisted by the University of Utah, USA. Prof. Uqaili, nevertheless, regretted that many women who studied medicine preferred to be housewives instead of working as doctors for the benefit of the community which bore the expenses of such education through their taxes. He said that the WRC would help in implementing the gender equality policy of the MUET as well as in transforming policy principles into action plans. Uzma Imran, assistant professor at the USPCAS-W, briefed the audience on the objectives and functions of WRC, saying that the WRC aimed at serving as a central facility to promote gender equality and diversity in all the activities at the MUET. The WRC would take affirmative action to promote a woman-friendly culture at the university and would also promote research in gender-related issues. She further said that the WRC would assist girl students in getting scholarships as well as training and internship opportunities. Dr Bakhshal Khan Lashari, while presenting the vote of thanks, said that a visit to the University of Utah inspired the MUET management to make efforts for women empowerment on the campus and outside of it by adopting the gender equality policy. He thanked Prof. Dr. Mohammad Aslam Chaudhry, Chief of Party, USPCAS-W, University of Utah, and Shabnam Baloch for their efforts on the part of the University of Utah for the establishment of this resource centre. Prof. Dr. Khadija Qureshi, President of WSE, presented the welcome address.
