Research has shown that women’s active participation in the economy is important for overall economic growth and for women’s economic empowerment. According to Naila Kabeer, Professor of Gender and Development at the London School of Economics and Political Science, “The evidence that gender equality, particularly in education and employment, contributes to economic growth is far more consistent and robust than the relationship that economic growth contributes to gender equality in terms of health, well-being and rights.”
Such evidence reinforces the Aga Khan Foundation’s (AKF) longstanding commitment to improving gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. The women-only markets introduced and supported by the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), AKF’s local implementing partner in Pakistan, represent a particularly promising model for promoting women’s active participation in the economy while contributing to their empowerment.
