ISLAMABAD: The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), UN Women and the World Food Programme (WFP) have signed a Joint Statement of Collaboration to strengthen gender-responsive social protection and promote women’s economic empowerment across Pakistan.
The partnership aims to build on BISP’s extensive outreach to more than 10 million women receiving quarterly assistance under the Benazir Kafaalat Programme, with a focus on helping beneficiaries move beyond cash assistance towards greater economic independence, access to services and decision-making.
Under the collaboration, the three institutions will work to ensure that women are treated not only as recipients of social protection but also as rights-holders, decision-makers and economic actors.
Focus on Safe and Accessible Services
BISP Chairperson Senator Rubina Khalid said the programme was committed to advancing gender-responsive social protection while making its services more inclusive and accessible, including for persons with disabilities.
She said the collaboration with UN Women and WFP would help make social protection services safer and more responsive to the needs of women and vulnerable communities.
The partnership will strengthen awareness of rights and entitlements, counselling services, maternal and child health support and the quality of services provided at Benazir Nashonuma centres.
It will also focus on skills development, livelihoods, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion and digital inclusion to create greater opportunities for women to achieve economic self-reliance.
Gender Assessments of Nashonuma Centres
As part of the initiative, the three organizations will establish a Gender-Responsive Social Protection Working Group to improve joint planning, coordination and accountability.
Gender assessments will also be conducted at up to 12 Benazir Nashonuma facilitation centres across all four provinces. The assessments will examine issues including dignity, privacy, safety, accessibility and the quality of services.
A Gender-Responsive Centre Framework and Checklist will subsequently support the piloting and potential expansion of improved service standards.
The partnership will also assess the needs of female Nashonuma frontline staff, particularly in relation to workplace safety, protection from harassment, mobility, workload and career progression.
Expanding Economic Opportunities for Women
The collaboration will seek to connect women beneficiaries with opportunities in skills development, livelihoods, entrepreneurship and financial and digital services.
The partners will also promote greater awareness among women of their rights, entitlements and available public services while engaging men and families to encourage shared care responsibilities, maternal nutrition and women’s participation in household decision-making.
UN Women Pakistan Country Representative Jamshed M. Kazi said social protection could become a powerful tool for advancing gender equality when systems were designed with women rather than simply for them.
WFP Representative and Country Director in Pakistan Anita Hirsch highlighted the close relationship between nutrition, women’s health, well-being and their ability to make decisions for themselves and their families.
She said the collaboration would build on the existing BISP-WFP Benazir Nashonuma platform by strengthening gender-responsive services and addressing barriers faced by women when accessing support.
Strengthening BISP’s Gender Strategy
The partnership will also provide technical support to finalize BISP’s Gender Strategy and document the programme’s impact on women’s lives.
The three institutions will further work on joint advocacy and resource mobilization for women’s skills development and empowerment programmes.
The initiative supports Pakistan’s commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 1 on ending poverty, SDG 2 on zero hunger and SDG 5 on gender equality, as well as the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Pakistan.
