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MIRPURKHAS, Nov 15 (APP): In a modest ceremony at village Sohbat Laghari, Union Council Makhan Samoon, Provincial Assembly member and Sindh government spokesperson Sadia Javed reminded the crowd that empowering women was the dream of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, a legacy now being carried forward with “full commitment” by Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. Speaking to community workers on Saturday, Javed handed out loan cheques to women eager to launch small businesses, underscoring the Sindh Rural Support Program (SRSP) as a flagship effort to slash poverty across the province.
The SRSP, rolled out province-wide through the Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO), has earmarked a total of Rs 7 billion for its Community Initiatives Fund, with Rs 1 billion set aside as micro-loans for women entrepreneurs. To date, the scheme has reached roughly 400,000 women, enabling them to start or expand enterprises. CEO Muhammad Dattal Kalhoro highlighted an impressive 99 percent loan recovery rate, a testament, he said, to the “dedication and honesty” of the beneficiaries.
Javed praised the program’s uniqueness: it is wholly owned and led by women, a first in Pakistan, she said, and it has proved critics wrong. “When we first launched this, skeptics claimed it would fail, but it was the women of Sindh—our mothers and sisters—who made it a success,” she declared, adding that the initiative reflects the hard-working spirit of Sindh’s female population.
On this occasion, Mayor Abdul Rauf Ghori hailed the effort as a “revolutionary step” toward social and economic empowerment of vulnerable groups.
Later, Javed toured Brit Women Garments and Sky Garments for men, where District Manager SRSO Syed Shehanshah explained that community-level programs aim to organize, sensitize, and link rural women with broader institutions. The event also drew Regional General Manager Hyderabad Khadim Hussain Shar, Deputy Director Social Welfare Anwar Hussain Khaskheli, and several other officials and media representatives.
The ceremony concluded with a chorus of optimism, as officials pledged to expand the SRSP’s reach and deepen its impact, keeping Benazir Bhutto’s dream of a prosperous, empowered Sindh alive.