Vocational training: Another step towards women empowerment

Three-week training for street children, IDPs, violence victims concludes.

ISLAMABAD: Rabia Zaman, 15, has learnt some lessons, which she plans to implement in her after-school routine to become more resourceful.

“Due to financial constraints, girls in my family are discouraged from attending school.  This is why I think it is important to have hands-on skills so we can support ourselves even if we cannot receive proper education beyond a certain point,” said the eighth grader, who attends a community school in Bari Imam.

Zaman and others like her participated in a vocational training programme that concluded at the Nomad Art and Cultural Centre on Saturday.

“Little did I realise the ways you can make and utilise paper. Usually, loads of scrap paper go to waste or are sold for cheap. But here, I’ve learnt how to make paper products, lamps and dye and embellish dupattas. It is a mix of different skills that I’m proud of and I hope to contribute to my family’s earning,” she added.

The 21-day training was geared at women’s economic empowerment and awareness. Participants included acid survivors, community school teachers, street children, internally-displaced persons, women and children from slum areas.

At the training, the participants learnt various hands-on skills such as making handmade paper and products, textiles and organic dyes, printing, embroidery, designing, quality control and marketing their products.

The training was a prelude to the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, an international Human Rights Day campaign, which the centre has been committed to for over the last two decades.

Australian High Commissioner Peter Heyward will inaugurate the campaign, followed by a two-day women’s empowerment and crafts festival setting crafts on November 29.

All proceeds will go to the participants as seed money to work in a holistic manner to create what they have learned, market and also to pass on in their schools and communities as trainers.

“Education and economic empowerment is crucial for equal rights and opportunities, particularly for marginalised women and youth, survivors of violence and those facing similar challenges due to caste, religion, sectarian violence and so forth,” said Nageen Hyat, the centre’s director.

The centre had previously partnered with UN Women to support the campaign and has now joined hands with the Australian High Commission under the Direct Aid Programme to carry the mission forward.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 9^th, 2014.