Hyderabad:A grand ceremony for the distribution of free pink scooties among female students and working women was held in Hyderabad at a local hotel under the auspices of the Sindh Government, in which a total of 200 women were provided with free pink electric scooties. Senior Provincial Minister for Information, Transport, and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon attended the event as the chief guest and personally distributed the scooties among the women. The ceremony was also attended by Member of Provincial Assembly Imdad Pitafi, Deputy Mayor Sagheer Qureshi, MD SMTA Salimullah Odho, DIG Hyderabad, the Deputy Commissioner and SSP Hyderabad, and other senior officials.
Speaking on the occasion, Senior Minister of Sindh and Provincial Minister for Information, Transport, and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon said that the Sindh Government is providing free pink scooties to women in Hyderabad, and this facility is especially for female students, working women, and women associated with business activities. He said that no political affiliation, party, or linguistic identity is being considered in the distribution of these scooties, nor is anyone being asked to vote, as voting is a fundamental democratic right of every citizen. He added that Pakistan, and especially Sindh, is among the few regions where women are being provided with such free electric scooty facilities.
Sharjeel Inam Memon further said that, in line with the vision of the leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party, especially Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, major public welfare projects are underway, including the construction of 2.1 million houses and the transfer of their ownership to women. He said that the Sindh Government is also making significant progress in the health sector, where modern and expensive facilities such as CyberKnife are being provided to the public free of cost, which are available in only a few countries and selected hospitals worldwide. He added that more than ten autism centers have been established in Sindh, and the federal government has also sought assistance from Sindh in this regard.
He said that the Sindh Government has invested more than one billion dollars to make Thar coal usable, and according to experts, coal remains one of the most effective and cheapest sources of electricity generation. He added that major projects such as Shahrah-e-Bhutto have been completed under public-private partnership, which have received national and international appreciation.
Sharjeel Inam Memon further stated that the Sindh Government has taken several steps to empower women, including financial assistance through the Benazir Income Support Programme, transferring property ownership to women, and launching the Pink Bus service. He said that when the Pink Scooty scheme was launched, the number of women holding driving licenses in Sindh was negligible; however, today thousands of women are applying for driving licenses, which reflects a positive social change.
He clarified that these scooties are strictly for women’s use only, and if any man is found riding them, strict legal action will be taken. He added that it will be mandatory for women to wear helmets for safe driving, and these scooties cannot be sold for a period of seven years. He said that the main objective of the government is to empower, protect, and make women independent so that they can play an active role in society and the economy.
At the end of the event, other speakers, including MPA Imdad Pitafi, MPA Saima Agha, former MPA Zahid Bhargari, Deputy Mayor Sagheer Qureshi, and Wasim Rajput, also addressed the gathering and termed this initiative of the Sindh Government an important step towards the socio-economic empowerment of women.