April 27th, 2002 marked the launch of the Karachi chapter of the "Women in Technology" Group. WIT, a taskforce set up by MoST, is spear-headed by women and aims to "promote the use of technology as a means for uplifting Pakistani women's social and financial status by facilitating women's growth as a skilled workforce and mobilize them as a resource in Pakistan's development."

The official launch of WIT's Karachi chapter, a highly anticipated event, was made possible by the untiring efforts of Jehan Ara, CEO - Enabling Technologies. The Aga Khan University Auditorium was jam-packed to capacity as a large number of women, and a few curious men, turned up to find out more about the government-sponsored initiative.

Sindh Minister for Education, Professor Anita Ghulam Ali was the Chief Guest and contrary to expectations, decided to stay on for the entire event as she found the proceedings interesting.

Jehan Ara kicked off the event with a powerful multimedia presentation (produced and delivered off Apple's smashing new Titanium-coated G4 laptop), and highlighted how scores of talented Pakistani women had shattered the myth that women could not pursue careers in Information Technology. "Women in IT are doing a fantastic job and the mistaken belief that technology is not women-friendly is not correct".

Jehan Ara also stated that the success of women in IT was a result of their greater sense of responsibility and attention to detail. In a country with a low literacy rate, a great deal of improvement can be brought about through the effective use of audio/visual, regional web content.

After Jehan Ara's impactful speech, Professor Anita Ghulam Ali spoke succinctly and passionately about the present Government's initiatives aimed at encouraging women to join the field of IT. "We look forward to a change and that change will only come about with women's participation". The Minister for Education went on to say that IT had become a core building block of society but unfortunately not much attention had been paid to the promotion of technology to make the lives of women less hazardous and more productive.

Hopeful that the WIT initiative will go a long way towards reducing gender disparity, the Minister stated that the government would provide every form of help possible to women who are interested in using IT in business or who wished to enhance their skills. "IT is a great tool to empower women", she added at the end, a statement that inspired all the women present.

Tariq Baloch, General Manager of the SME Bank made a strong committment to disburse loans to women who want to start a business, especially in the IT sector. To date, the SME Bank has disbursed Rs. 21 million in loans to 90 women entrepreneurs. Acknowledging that Small and Medium Enterprises are the backbone of a nation's economy, Tariq Baloch assured potential entrepreneurs of full support.

Other speakers at the event included Malahat Rab, Assistant Program Manager of WIT, Marvi Ali of Trakker, Sohaib Umer of TMT Ventures, Dr. Tahera Khan, Assistant Professor of Gender Studies at AKU, and Saima Batool, who runs a Cyber-Cafe in Islamabad.

The last item on the agenda was a fiery panel discussion, in which the floor was opened up to the audience. A number of questions were asked and addressed by members of the panel, which included Jehan Ara, Shahid Ansari, Rabia Garib, Sophia Hasnain, Saima Ahmed, and Sabeen Mahmud.

The WIT website was also launched and "blessed" by Professor Anita Ghulam Ali. The content-rich website is hosted by the Technology Resource Mobilization Unit (TReMU) at http://www.tremu.gov.pk/wit and requires active participation so that it can become a useful resource for women.