July 20, 2021 – Beijing: Dr. Sania Nishtar was invited to speak at Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) Forum on, ‘Women’s Education and Poverty Reduction’ held in Beijing. In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of SCO, the Forum was hosted by All China Women’s Federation in cooperation with the Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation Commission of the SCO and SCO Secretariat in Beijing. In her speech, Dr. Sania remarked, “Progress is simply not possible without women. This principle sits at the core of Ehsaas. We therefore have Ehsaas 50%+ benefits for women and girls’ policy, which means that in each of Ehsaas’ programs more than 50% of the benefits are dedicated for women and girls.” She further added, “Ehsaas also has a new policy to incentivize girls’ education, which is evidenced in a recent decision to grant a higher stipend for girls in our education conditional cash transfer program.” Other speakers were– Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, First Lady of Uzbekistan, Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan, First Lady of Afghanistan, Vice President of Iran, USG of the UN & Executive Director of UN Women, Secretary-General of SCO, President of the Congress of Women of Kyrgyz Republic, and President of Mongolian Women’s Federation.