Speakers at a workshop on 'gender empowerment and home life improvement' underscored the need for changing the mindset that created hurdles in bringing the women in mainstream of the society. The workshop was organised by the Institute of Agriculture Extension and Rural Development in association with the UAF Community College on Saturday morning.
UAF's vice-chancellor Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan urged the organisers to extend their scope of work and launch an impact assessment of the participating families. He said that Aurat Foundation was undertaking a variety of programmes such as skill development projects, participatory social development and Gender Equity programs worth $45 million, adding that the university would like to become its partner in its endeavours.
He pointed out that the UAF was a member of Nevtec, ICDD, AusAid, USDA, USAID, IFPRI, Tika, and Punjab government's skill development programmes. He said that the UAF would initiate skill development programmes in Azad Kashmir, adding that there "is a tremendous potential of raising the cottage industry of branding the Achaar which can grab a huge global market worth billion of US dollars". Dr Iqrar A Khan expressed his dismay no Pakistani organisation had won any of the 64 projects of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to address gynaecological issues around the world.
Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Professor Dr M Iqbal Zafar said that some students of the faculty were working on impact assessment of the project. Welcoming the participants, Director of the Institute of Agriculture Extension and Rural Development Dr Tanvir Ali said that 186 women had been trained at the Laboratory Girls High School.
As many as 787 women from Chak No260, 263, 265, 266, and 273-RB had participated in short courses, including beauty parlour, poultry farming, goat farming, livestock management, stitching, cooking, computer classes, first aid, food preservation, post-harvest practices, and better health practices. Other speakers included Dr Saira Akhtar, Dr Zakaria Yousaf Hassan, Rakhshanda Akhtar, Dr Shaukat Ali, Mahwish Munawar, Qari Muhammad Iqbal and Professor (Retd) Zubair Siddique.
Comments
Comments are closed.