The development centered on women became one of the main paths of Sakeena Masood Itoo’s governance, not only as an expression of the social life of her constituency generally, but also as a perception of welfare as the key to dignity and not a form of relief. With conflict, economic discontinuity and gender inclination, access to state support among women in a region where these issues interbreed has been unequal in the past. Her initiatives were thus focused on access and inclusion-where emphasis was put on mechanisms of enabling women to join, stay, and substantially enrich them with welfare and development systems.
One of the major parts of this approach was the connection of women to self-help groups (SHGs). SHGs were more than micro-economic units; they were social spaces whereby the women could strategize (in groups) the various institutions that seemed shrouded or threatening. The administration favoured the formation of SHG and integration with the available welfare programs in order to diminish individual vulnerability and improve group capability. Involvement into SHGs helped women to exchange information, resources and become confident about their ability to interact with banks, local officials as well as service providers.
Notably, the focus on SHGs was not just restricted in income generation. Although the increase in the modest financial activity was visible, the more profound effect was the social participation. To a number of women, SHGs were their initial deep involvement with an establishment of any form, whether formal or semi-formal, other than the family home. This regular meetings made presence in the society a normal practice as it created peer support which slowly built up the social networks of women. In this regard, SHGs served as a point of entry into the realm of civil life which strengthens the notion that development was relationship-oriented as well as economic.
The second pillar of development that catered to the women was ensuring that pensions, widow support and aids schemes became accessible. Women especially widows and old women who live in conflict affected zones tend to compound their vulnerability. Right on paper, but they are still blocks on the path because of paperwork loopholes, Inability to move around, bureaucracy, and red tape often come into play. The solution of these obstacles needed specific administrative response and not new policy development.

Attempts to make documentation easier, eligible, and application processes simple. Camps and outreach activities assisted women in filling forms, obtaining means of identity and learning eligibility requirements. Such interventions can be procedural in appearance, but of great connotations to autonomy. The financial support, but also the recognition by the state, which created access to a pension scheme or assistance scheme, helped improve the visibility of women as citizens who could claim their rights through any means.
The widow support was especially important. Other than economic support, it tackled social isolation that in most cases goes hand in hand with widowhood. The impact of requiring large-scale benefits allowed being less reliant on informal networks, as well as the reduced susceptibility to exploitation. Although the financial resources were small, stability to some degree was ensured by the predictability of the financial assistance. To most beneficiaries, this predictability had the effect of increasing confidence in domestic choices and awareness of community engagement.
The third element of the women-based development was to enhance infrastructure of safety and dignity in the governmental institutions. This also entailed the consideration of simple but transforming amenities like functional toilets, waiting zones, and locations where women could feel comfortable in schools, health facilities as well as administrative offices. This kind of infrastructure is often disregarded when it comes to development discussion, but in its lack, it often impacts on women accessing public services disproportionately. Closing these gaps indicated realization of the concept that inclusion is influenced by environment but not policy alone.
Enhancing safety and dignity infrastructure was symbolic in addition to a practical value. It made it known that the availability of women in the open world was expected and welcome. Where women cannot move freely due to the security threat or even societal stigma, the presence of supportive infrastructure may dictate women access to the services at all. Incremental advances, in this way, helped to broaden the scope of spaces occupied by women that women can be safely and confident in.
Taken together, these efforts had the effect of making women more visible and empowered in the welfare systems to overcome economic measures that were low in some areas. This is a significant difference. Although most income gains were sometimes incremental, the growth of agency in terms of confidence, familiarity of institutions and social participation was a substantive change. The interaction of women with the state had become more normalized and not so transacted by the male members or intermediaries.
Nevertheless, difficulties were still present. The transformative potential of welfare-linked initiatives was constrained by structural disparities, constrained market prospects and a larger range of economic limitations. The growth of females during this stage was thus most geared towards fundamental and not ultimate. It established a preparation ground of participation and recognition and this formed conditions under which more substantive empowerment would come later. In its focus on access and inclusion, the strategy focused on sustainability and not on spectacle and making women development a part of the daily governance system as opposed to a special category.

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