ISLAMABAD: The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) to promote social and economic protection for BISP beneficiaries.

Under the terms of the agreement, BISP and UN Women will take on joint ventures related to gender equality, violence against women, economic empowerment and leadership.

The BISP and UN Women will also launch campaigns for the commemoration of key international days on women rights and spread awareness on subjects related to empowerment in the BISP population.

The BISP-UN Women cooperation will leverage community outreach, resources and technical expertise in gender equality to close the gender gap that affects the lifestyle of women.Spealcing on the occasion, BISP Chairperson Marvi Memon said that partnership with UN Women would educate women on their rights, nutrition, mother and child health, sanitation, basic finance and entrepreneurship for informed decision-making.

Director of UN Women Jamshed Kazi said that the partnership with BISP, with millions of beneficiaries across the country, will generate `catalytic multiplier effect` for UN Women`s ongoing initiatives in Pakistan.

`Through the alliance, we firmly believe that we will make significant headway in tackling gender inequality in Pakistan by 2030,` he said.

The ongoing initiatives aim at empowering women economically, tackling genderbased violence at home and in public spaces and teaching resilience to cope with natural disasters and displacement due to political conflicts.

The MoU was signed by Mr Kazi and Director General of BISP Shahid Gul Qureshi.