Women Empowerment Centre to be certified

Islamabad: As part of major reforms brought under Ehsaas, the training courses offered by Women Empowerment Centre (WEC) will be certified by National Technology Board by the end of this year.

The plan was shared by SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar when she made a visit to Ehsaas WEC in Burma Town. The WEC operates under the supervision of Pakistan Baitul Mal that is one of the four main executing agencies of Ehsaas.

This certification will significantly enhance the credibility and acceptance of the women’s livelihoods skills in local economy. Every year, as many as 250 girls are graduated from each WEC to start their business or a job.

Further, to make WEC graduates self-reliant, PBM and PPAF is exploiting synergies to link trained women with interest-free loans. The size of loans ranges from Rs25,000 to Rs100,000 depending upon the viability of each business.

In her visit to the centre, Dr. Nishtar met with girls and women who were enrolled in complementary skills training courses- computer literacy, beautician, dress designing and making, and hand and machine embroidery etc. She listened to suggestions and concerns of the girls. During the visit, the SAPM was joined by Secretary Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division and Managing Director Pakistan Baitul Mal. At the centre, a low-income group of girls and women are trained in two shifts, bi-annually. Local skills are also being imparted in the WEC.

Under the umbrella of Ehsaas, strengthening and expansion of WECs is one of the tangible measures being taken for the socio-economic empowerment of women. Under the supervision of Pakistan Baitul Mal, the disadvantaged women are empowered through skills development in the fields of livelihoods, education, economy, and self-reliance at 157 WECs nationwide.

“Ensuring equality, training women, and providing access to opportunities to deserving women is the core thinking behind WECs. It is heartening to see that WEC’s skills training courses enable the young girls to start their own businesses and earn livelihoods for their families”, said Dr. Nishtar. Further, she appreciated that the WECs are significantly contributing to reducing women’s dependence on government-led social safety nets and to bring them into the mainstream of economic development and financial inclusion.