Gender Equality Pakistan Project #27354

Support Empowerment for Women in Pakistan

by Primary Education Project / Diocese of Hyderabad

Project Report | May 23, 2018
Story of Sangeeta

By Abran Michael | PEP Data Coordinator

Sangeeta

Sangeeta was one of the PEP students when she was in Rano Bheel Elementary School, Mirpurkhas. After finishing elementary school in her village, she joined a high school in the city and finished high school.

Sangeeta as a child has been a very bright student and supporting girls' education was always her passion.

Since Sangeeta is widely aware of the reasons why it is difficult for most girls in rural villages to join a school, she has compassion for them and wants their parents to understand the importance of education by modeling herself to them. And she herself came from a family where girls did not go to a school, but Sangeeta believes she can make a difference by persuading rural villagers to see the result of investing in children.

Sangeeta's motivation to join PEP as a Women's Empowerment Programme Area Officer led her to become a role model for many women in rural Sindh. She visits 16 women empowerment groups in the villages, conducting meetings with them, and having conversations that involve listening to issues of poverty, child labor, early marriage, and finding solutions together for a positive outcome. In a country like Pakistan which is often considered as the male dominating society, we still see many male figures who support their wives and daughter to achieve their dreams.

Sangeeta has taken a long journey from going to school, to begin to work in her own community.
Her example has always been a model for all the villagers and children who used to see her going to a PEP school, and from there continuing her studies in high school. Although her parents came from a background where education was not important, her father however when faced the difficulties of sustaining his family realized that education was the only way to survive.

That's when Sangeeta's father educated both of his daughters in PEP schools and himself is currently working with PEP as a Village LEAP Area Coordinator since 2002. Even Sangeeta's mother studies in a Female Adult Literacy (FAL) Center started by PEP in 2016.

When Sangeeta was asked how she pictures her future, her reply was that she sees herself working side by side with her father because the cause that her father works for is close to her heart.

Sangeeta believes education is the reason why she is able to do so much in life, and she only wants to give back by educating her community.

The example of Sangeeta father is very powerful for PEP school as she travels with him from village to village on a bike at the temperature of 46⁰ centigrade.

Sangeeta during field visit of donor.

Sangeeta theater performance

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Feb 23, 2018
Marvi has something to share from her journey with the Women's Programme at PEP

By Hannah Valentine | PEP Consultant

Marvi from rural Sindh

I have always loved going to school in my village. Even though there were girls who dropped out of the school, I was the only one left. I thought maybe one day my parents will take me out of the school as well, but I made it through college.

Now I am working as a WEP (Women's Empowerment Programme) Area Coordinator and have completed all WEG training at PEP. At the beginning of my work, there were a lot of challenges that came my way, such as, low interest and participation of women in the village. It seemed as my every effort to draw them towards learning things in the Women's Empowerment Programme did not work.

I believe that lowered my confidence and I was discouraged at my failed efforts.

But in one of the Women's Empowerment Training, I had the opportunity to listen to women who already worked with the rural women and they had some real testimonies. One of them said it doesn't matter how many women are learning, what matters is that even if one woman's life is changed because of the Women's Empowerment Programme, that is your biggest achievement. From then on I put my focus towards working with individual women with whom the level of my confidence grew and I gained few followers!

As I formed a Women's Empowerment Group of my own I started teaching. And by teaching CLTS (Health & Sanitation), DRR (Disaster Risk Reduction), Saving, Cleanliness and girls education I have noticed a significant change in my village like more girls started to study, women are keeping their homes clean, sending their children school daily. Women are also doing saving not only money but also for the necessary thing of daily use such as light, food, time and etc. One amazing thing I would like to share is the use of washroom is also increased and new washrooms are being built.

Along with this great contribution that I am able to make with the help of Women's Empowerment Programme, I would love to continue my education and I want to go to university. My aim is to complete masters in Physics and I hope to become a lecturer one day.

To know more how Women's Empowerment Programme works please click here!

How WEP project works

Self initated trainings

Some of our WEP group member in a training

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Sep 7, 2017
Taking Stand To End Early Marriage

By Hannah Valentine | Public Relations Officer

When I was first told that I had to do a theater presentation on early marriage, I felt a need that this was important for me to do. I am 18 years old and I will be getting married soon. In my culture early marriage is the norm. And following this specific norm means doing the best thing for family.

But is it the really best thing for me?

What will happen if I get married at 18, and without knowing who my husband is?

I don't have any guarantee of how I might be treated. My in laws might ask me to leave my job, my studies. I might never see the result of the hard work we did for the women through Female Adult Literacy (FAL) education. I will have to adjust myself according to the ways of my husband, and in laws. This will take me further away from who I really am, and my identity. Therefore, I will lose a lot.

This is the story of many girls in rural and urban culture as well as around the world, who don't have a choice, and are sold through marriage, when they could be playing, reading, dancing, and teaching.

So, on my part, what is the best that I can do?

If through the women's theater, I can raise awareness about the consequences of early marriage, the next generation of girls will know. Girls like me who can't stand up to the norms of culture in this age can in future take stand for their daughters.

And the women in Women's Empowerment Programme have gathered together from all areas, of all ages, uniting together in one song, "Marriage is not for girls, let them shine."

The Women's Empowerment Groups are on the frontlines to open the eyes of the community to the fate of early marriage. Through their theater they have projected that page of a girl's life, who after marriage loses her rightful freedom, and most of all, her childhood.

Early marriage can cost a girl her whole life. Watch theater here!

The Impact Of The Theater When Presented:

There was a huge impact of the theater on the audience that was watching the WEG Group performing. The audience included the women from Adult Literacy Training as well as the PEP office staff. The women in the audience could relate to the story, as most of them had personally experienced the adverse impact of early marriage.

The comments that were shared after watching the theater were tugging at the heart, and many tears were shed watching the women's theater.

The women's theater made a press release in four different local newspapers, and the video of the theater was widely watched on Facebook.

Finally, the theater that was performed by the women in the Women's Empowerment Programme had given performance/ acted for the very first time. After these women were given special technical theater guidance from Community World Service, they were more confident, and empowered to perform in front of their own community.

Sabra, who was one of the actors of the women's theater commented, " While the male dominant or patriarchal society teaches us to not to express what we have in heart, here we are taking a stand to break out of that mindset, and we hope to do the same for others." Watch theater here!

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