AI Fashion Show Highlights Women’s Empowerment in Pakistan
Bridging the Digital Divide
On May 7, 2025, an AI fashion show took place in Pakistan. The show joined modern tech with women’s strength. It proved that digital tools help change lives. Women can start small businesses and lift their social and work lives when they use these tools.
The Digital Gender Gap in Pakistan
Pakistan leads in mobile phone use in South Asia. The country has about 196 million subscribers with nearly 80% phone density. Yet, women have fewer phones. They are 38% less likely to own a mobile phone than men. Only about 33% of women use mobile internet. This gap stops them from using many services that can add to their social and work lives.
The limits come from high costs, low school skills, and social rules that keep women from tech use. Fewer chances to learn digital work make it hard for them to join tech use fully. Fixing these limits does not simply add access; it opens new work paths for all.
The Need for Digital Inclusion
Data from the GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report 2024 shows that few tech tools in women’s hands lower their role in work and society. With less access to school, jobs, and finance, many women watch options slip away. Actions are rising at both government and local levels. Groups now push for tech learning, bank support, and new mobile plans aimed at women. These steps help women break old patterns and create new work paths.
The Ba-Ikhtiar Programme’s Impact
A project named Ba-Ikhtiar leads progress. PTCL starts the project with help from groups like the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, National Rural Support Programme, U Microfinance Bank, and Daraz. Ba-Ikhtiar gives women in far and low-service areas smart phones, digital wallets, and guides on online trade and money matters.
Many women, who had no phone before, now run online shops, sell handmade goods directly, and work without middlemen. The project will soon reach areas hit by floods and change training to work better with local needs. This shows that with the right tools, women can work well in the tech scene and win.
Celebrating Female Talent Through Innovation
The AI fashion show came from the work of Ba-Ikhtiar. It gave a stage to women craftswomen. The show mixed old skills with new AI powers. AI models wore clothes made by the women. This act let the artisans share their work with a wide crowd. The event was more than a display of style. It gave the women a way to show their skill without limits in place by distance or cost. With digital help, they take charge in the tech work scene.
A Vision For the Future
Pakistan moves toward digital care for all. Projects like Ba-Ikhtiar point to what can happen when tech meets support. Plans now aim to cover 20 districts, even in areas hit by disasters, to help more than 2,000 women in the next 18 months.
The future plan sees women as active doers in Pakistan’s growing tech work scene. As digital tech grows, every role helps build a fair and secure future for men and women alike. The AI fashion show marks one step in a wider move to join women to the digital world—a step that helps the entire society.
