BankIslami, Pakistan’s leading Islamic bank, has received an Inclusion Award for its significant contribution towards Financial Inclusion in the BINAE Inclusion Awards 2022 held on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
The ceremony was organized by the BINAE Education Foundation as part of a full-day event for the Sindh Culture Family Festival held at Maritime Museum in Karachi. The award was presented to BankIslami as an acknowledgement and appreciation of its significant contribution for the cause of Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) with the aim to empower and assimilate them in the mainstream social and economic activities.
Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Kashif Nisar, Head of Products & Shariah Structuring, BankIslami said “BankIslami is proud to be at the forefront when it comes to creating an inclusive society for people with disabilities through several unique endeavors under its ‘Sarbuland’ initiative – a reflection of the bank’s goal to uplift this often-neglected segment of the society. Being one of the leading Islamic banks in the country, the bank believes in walking the talk in espousing its slogan of ‘Saving the Humanity from Riba’ and playing its part in making the society more inclusive and accessible”.
While the bank has taken several initiatives in this regard, it is worth mentioning that BankIslami is the first and the only bank in Pakistan to publish and make available Islamic banking booklets in Braille format (in both English and Urdu languages). The bank has also conducted Islamic banking awareness seminars for people with visual impairment wherein Braille format booklets were distributed.
Moreover, BankIslami is also the first bank to have conducted Islamic banking awareness seminars in sign language at renowned institutions. The bank also introduced a unique video series in sign language covering basic concepts of Islamic banking as well as different products and services available for persons with disabilities. Furthermore, the bank has established model branches in major cities of the country designed specifically to cater to the needs of persons with disabilities.
As an equal opportunity employer, BankIslami has hired persons with disabilities hailing from different educational institutions and who now serve in various departments. Similarly, in order to ensure a smooth onboarding process for persons with disabilities, the bank arranges sign language classes for its staff and also initiated a series of sensitization training programs to educate them about the needs of their colleagues with disabilities.