Villagers in Thatta attend gender equality workshop
Rural women in suburbs of Hyderabad. Photo: Express
The Sindh Community Foundation, under the SURMI project of Pathfinder International, conducted a two-day workshop on the gender transformation approach. Thirty-two men and women from different villages of Thatta district participated in the training.
The training was aimed to sensitise communities towards gender equality. Sumera Ashfaq of Pathfinder International imparted the lecturer and pictorial presentation on the gender norms, stereotypes, and their impact on the lives of women and men and positive behaviour toward women and girls to give equal opportunities to seek better health and social services.
The training concluded with a certification ceremony attended by MB Khaskheli from Pathfinder International, Humera Ali, Irshad Junejo, and Niaz Muhammad from SCF, Qazi Nadeem Sarwar District Population Welfare Officer, Yasir Hussain Assistant Population Welfare Officer of Population Welfare Department.
Speakers believed that gender-equitable communities ensure that all people have better and equal opportunities for health and social services outcomes. They emphasised that the gender transformative approach addresses root causes to achieve lasting change. Gender transformative approaches thus aim to address the structural and social root causes of gender inequality and promote more equitable outcomes for children in all their diversity.
They said that change in existing gender practices was the need of the times. Speakers further added the gender transformative approach needs to be applied in health, family planning, disaster preparedness, and ending gender-based violence, developing climate resilience among the communities equally. They emphasised that the gender transformation approach needs to be reflected in policies and program design at the intersection of policy and local planning levels; this will help to improve the country's gender index.
The participants said the workshop helped shift toward positive gender practices based on the values of equality in the household and societal levels.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 7th, 2024.