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Success Story
A USAID program helps
break the stigma of
female entrepreneurship
in Pakistan
Changing Tides
Photo: USAID
With her two daughters looking on, Amna
Ahmed jars tangy pickles.
“It is his faith in me that lets
me take center stage,” said
Amna Ahmed of her husband
and business partner. “We
have worked together
to make this business a
success.”
Ifi khtar Ahmed is the marketing manager of I.A. Khan Enterprises, a homebased
business that produces local delicacies like tangy pickles and sohan
halwa, a popular dessert, in Multan, a central Punjabi city of four million.
And while Ahmed’s position as a manager would be considered normal by
even the most traditional in Pakistan, what makes his role unusual is that
the company’s managing director is his wife, Amna.
In this socially conservative country, few women venture into the
mainstream workforce and contribute to the country’s economic growth.
Most Pakistani husbands will not entertain the idea of ceding authority to
make decisions, business or otherwise, to their wives. Ahmed is among
an emerging number of men who recognize the potential of women to
contribute to generating household income and improving the country’s
economy.
“It is his faith in me that lets me take center stage,” Amna said. “We have
worked together to make this business a success.” Indeed, the enterprise
has grown from modest beginnings to one of Multan’s leading producers of
local delicacies, which they exhibit at national trade fairs and expositions.
USAID encourages husbands to support their wives in producing and
marketing products – often ones made in family settings for generations
– as these enterprises represent a huge untapped economic resource in
Pakistan. One program developed in partnership with the Multan-based
South Punjab Women Chambers of Commerce and Industry created
a Spousal Appreciation Program, a unique social forum that directly
challenges conservative notions of women’s confinement to the household.
The program acknowledges that women in Pakistan have the capability
to run successful enterprises but require the encouragement and support
of their male family members. The project publicly appreciates positive
examples of supportive husbands to help inspire more men to encourage
their wives to become entrepreneurs.
At one such recent event in Multan, the Ahmeds were among 10 couples
lauded for being role models for female-run entrepreneurship within the
business community. The program has received extensive media coverage
and is setting precedents that promise to diminish the stigma associated
with women-led businesses.
“This initiative is inspiring other men to follow our example,” Ahmed said at
the event.
The theme of gender-inclusiveness and equality cuts across all USAID
programs. The Spousal Appreciation Program is just one among a host of
initiatives across Pakistan that will cultivate an enabling environment for
women, and encourage them to become an active part of the country’s
economic mainstream.
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