Vocational Training for 5,000 Women in Pakistan

In my recent visit to Pakistan I witnessed first hand the impacts of our program on young women. The girls that are receiving education and vocational training through our program are not being forced into early marriages.  We have prevented over 108 early marriages alone this year! The parents acknowledge that the girls can be an asset to the family and help with household costs, which means they are not as likely to marry them off. 

We did notice there is a gap of 50 girls who have received up to grade 5 education, but were not given the opportunity to continue their education. We would like to include them in this project in order to provide them with vocational skills and business training so they can begin to provide income for themselves, decrease their dependence and not be forced into early marriage. We will hopefully begin these trainings in January 2018.

When young girls are married while they are still children (under the age of 18) the result is that they are denied fundamental human rights. Child marriage compromises their development and often results in early pregnancy and social isolation, with little education and poor vocational training reinforcing the gendered nature of poverty. Required to perform heavy amounts of domestic work, under pressure to demonstrate fertility, married girls and child mothers face constrained decision-making and reduced life choices. Both boys and girls are affected by child marriage but the issue impacts girls in far larger numbers, with more intensity—and is wide ranging.^*

The Safer World Foundation continues to match every donation made to this project by 50%. Please share this opportunity with friends and family you think might be interested in supporting underserved young women in Pakistan so that they may receive the hand up they need to chose peace and prosperity over violence and despair.