FAO Pakistan commemorated the International Women's Day 2023 (IWD) with great zeal, focusing on the theme of "DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality."
Employing both conventional and modern communication techniques, such as panel discussions, social media campaigns, and radio programs, FAO accentuated the importance of facilitating women's access to technology and innovation. Furthermore, they highlighted how well-designed and adequately supported technology can prove advantageous for women with zero or low literacy levels.

Florence Rolle, FAO Representative in Pakistan, emphasized the crucial role of ensuring access to digital technologies and tools for women and girls in agriculture during a panel discussion organized in Islamabad by the International Water Management Institute. Senator Sania Nishtar, Founder Ehsaas Program, Dr. Riffat Sardar, Chairperson, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Commission on the Status of Women and Sofia Hasnain, founder & CEO of Linked Things were among other featured guests at the panel discussion. Altogether, these four dynamic women shared their experience and work in fighting gender inequality and in promoting tailored made technologies for women.   

During the panel discussion, Florence offered her perspective with the audience on the increasing number of girls enrolling in agricultural universities, which is a positive sign for the future of women in the sector and in leadership positions. However, as reported by GSMA in its 2021 report, there is a significant digital gap in Pakistan. Only 50% of women in Pakistan own a mobile phone in contrast to 81% of men. This implies that there are 22 million fewer women than men who own a mobile phone. Additionally, women in Pakistan are 49% less likely than men to utilize mobile internet, resulting in 12 million fewer women than men who use mobile internet. This divide is even more pronounced in rural areas. As a result, many rural women, especially those involved in agriculture, are unable to access digital services such as weather and hazard updates, market information, and good agricultural practices. To empower women and girls in agriculture, providing them with the necessary tools will support them in succeeding in an increasingly challenging environment.  

Further to IWD celebrations, FAO organized a panel discussion on the role of women in agriculture at an international conference on "Biodiversity of Arid Zones", featuring Prof. Dr. Ghazala H Rizwani, Director, Hamdard University Karachi, Dr. Shabana Sartaj, Associate Professor, English Literature, SAU, Tando Jam, and Dr. Reema Vistro, Lecturer Agronomy, SAU, Umerkot. The workshop was organized at the sub-campus of Sindh Agriculture University (SAU), Umer Kot.The importance of promoting gender equality in agriculture for sustainable development was highlighted, and FAO's project interventions were praised for helping women learn new, innovative, and climate-smart agriculture practices while providing them with a platform to voice their ideas. Women farmers from FAO project areas shared their experiences and views on how Women Farm Field Schools in different districts of FAO’s interventions are empowering them at the household and community levels.

FAO also celebrated International Women's Day 2023 in Quetta under the European Union funded and International Trade Centre (ITC) implemented project: Growth for Rural Advancement and Sustainable Progress (GRASP) Project, collaborating with the Women Development Department of the Government of Balochistan, UNWomen, UNFPA, and UNDP. The event brought together stakeholders to discuss how digital technology can accelerate progress towards gender equality. FAO, through its project interventions, has conducted several trainings on digital literacy and provided tablets (notepads) to men and women farmers in Balochistan. This enables them to stay better informed about markets to sell their produce, prevailing market prices, and quantity demanded in the market, empowering them to make informed decisions to sell their produce at the right price and at the right time.

Ms. Robina Wahaj, Senior Water and Land Officer, FAO also participated in a live radio program at Planet 87.6, a FM channel at Radio Pakistan and advocated for the importance of digital agriculture to uplift women in agriculture.