Socioeconomic development: Exhibition for women, by women

Exhibition includes stalls of products prepared by Women Development Centre students.

ISLAMABAD: Faiza Bano is an artist in the making.

She was among the participants of the annual exhibition organised by the Women Welfare and Development Centre on Thursday. Bano was exhibiting three glass paintings, including a calligraphy piece and mosaic borders.

She came to the centre two months ago and is already pursuing her passion. “I’ve always been interested in learning the arts and I came here to do just that. With the skills and techniques acquired here, I want to undertake it as a fulltime career.”

The exhibition included stalls of products prepared by female students at the centre, which imparts skills-development trainings in various fields such as dress and textile designing, embroidery, beauty parlour, flower arrangements to empower girls and women by providing them income-generating opportunities in different fields.

Other stalls included handicrafts such as candles, home accessories, clothing, frames and wall-hangings and beauty products. Some of the alumni of the three-month courses shared their success stories while students and teachers were awarded for their hard work and commitment to the cause at the main ceremony.

Ismat Khalid Afridi, the centre’s deputy director, appreciated the women who were making strides in their respective fields. She also paid tribute to the late Tahira Qazi, former principal of the Army Public School Peshawar.

“Along with education, skills development is extremely important for women to move forward and make a name for themselves,” said Afridi, who belongs to a tribal area and understands the pressures and restrictions of tribal women.

Under the present government, she said, the centre has been able to create 14 vacancies and they want to introduce more classes but face shortage of staff, which the centre is catering to by utilising the services of volunteers.

Additional Secretary Khalid Hanif was the chief guest on the occasion. He paid tribute to the women who are playing a significant role in the socio-economic progress and who are well-equipped to support their families. He added that it was an honour to have women’s representation in the Parliament as well. “Women are a valuable asset for the development of the country and the nation and so they should be given equal opportunities in education and other fields to hone their skills and capabilities and enable them a bright and prosperous future,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 3^rd, 2015.