Women Leadership Committee

South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) constituted the SAFA Women Leadership Committee in its Board meeting held on May 11, 2018, in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Terms of Reference

1. To conceive, formulate and implement plans, policies and programmes for development of Women Members and encourage girls to opt for CA course as their career.
2. To represent interests of Women Members at Government and industry forums.
3. To interact with various stakeholders in various sectors, self-regulatory organistions and Government on matters relating to growth and development of Women Members.
4. To organise specialized training programmes for Women Members to prepare them for the role of women director in companies.
5. To visualise and enhance opportunities for Women Members who opt to work part time from their homes.
6. To involve Women Members in various activities and particularly the Women Members who are not able to leave their homes.
7. To involve Women Members in research projects in a manner that the work schedules are flexible.
8. To encourage and develop the entrepreneurship skills in Women Members.
9. To acknowledge and honour the accomplishment and contributions by Women Members.
10. Any other matter as decided by the Committee from time to time

Committee Members

Sl.No.	Country		Member Body	Member	Email
1	Pakistan		ICA Pakistan	Ms. Hina Usmani (Chairperson)	hina@usmanico.com
			ICMA Pakistan	Ms. Samia Ashraf Bhatti	samia.khalid03@outlook.com; samia.khalid@ymail.com
2	Sri Lanka		CA Sri Lanka	Ms. Chamila Cooray (Vice Chairperson)	chamilac@gmail.com
			CMA Sri Lanka	Ms. Darshini Watawala	darshiw@gmail.com
3	Bangladesh		ICA Bangladesh	Ms. Maria Howlader	maria.howlader@hmacbd.com
			ICMA Bangladesh	Ms. Akhtar Sanjida Kasem	sanjida.kasem@aqcbd.com
4	India		ICA India
			ICMA India	CMA Parvathy Venkatesh	parvathy.venkatesh@ramanathiyer.com
5	Maldives		ICA Maldives	Ms. Fareeha Shareef	fareeha.shareef@camaldives.org , fareeha.shareef@fjsconsulting.net
6	Nepal		ICA Nepal	RA. Meera Shrestha	mdmmeera@hotmail.com

2.1   SAFA Women Leadership Awards

The SAFA Women Leadership Awards are a tribute to exceptional women within SAFA Member Bodies, aimed at showcasing their remarkable achievements, instilling confidence, and establishing them as role models in the region. This endeavor underscores the South Asian Federation of Accountants’ unwavering dedication to gender diversity. The SAFA Women Leadership Committee is poised to unveil these prestigious awards during the annual SAFA Women’s Day Celebrations on March 15, starting from the year 2024.

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2.2 Meeting of Top Leaders in Accountancy:

The SAFA Women Leadership Committee launched a global initiative to empower and elevate women accountants in leadership positions. In a virtual meeting on October 12, 2023, representatives from 17 global institutions collaborated to address challenges, share best practices, and formulate a strategy to enhance women’s prominence in leadership roles. The meeting generated thought-provoking discussions and resulted in a policy paper based on key takeaways shared by participants.

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Meeting Report

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Policy Note

2.3 SAFA Women Entrepreneurship Program:
The SAFA Women Leadership Committee has launched the ‘SAFA Women Entrepreneurship Program’ to support women of all SAFA member bodies to enhance their technical and entrepreneurial skills. The program’s objective is to train and facilitate the SAFA women accountants to become worthy practitioners by leveraging their innate entrepreneurial capabilities. It seeks to provide them opportunities to become the part of workforce using their technical and professional skills in flexible working environment.

The ‘First SAFA Women Entrepreneurship Program’ conducted online during May and June, 2023

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Event Report

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SAFA Women’s Day Celebrations
SAFA as a supportive body for diversity and inclusion, proudly announces declaration of 15 March as SAFA Women’s Day to be celebrated every year with zeal and enthusiasm for establishing an inclusive culture at the workplace.  This initiative supports the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 5 and will build strong connectivity among SAFA women.

SAFA Women’s Day Celebrations 2023
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan hosted the first SAFA Women’s Day Event 2023 on behalf of SAFA Women Leadership Committee (WLC) on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 online through Zoom and Facebook live. The theme of this event was ‘Building a Sustainable Future Through Diversity and Inclusion’ with hashtag #EmbraceEquity.

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Event Report
Event Pictures

Past SAFA Events