Women in rural areas are vulnerable to oppression by family and society because of lack of education and awareness in the rural areas hence timely measures must be taken to improve the status of women by providing them equal educational opportunities. In a bid to celebrate ‘National Women Day’ on February 12, Society for the Advancement of Community, Health, Education and Training (SACHET) launched a four-month advocacy project of “Addressing Gender Based Violence and Promoting Women Rights” under GEP (Gender Equity Programme) of Aurat Foundation with the support of American People through United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 10 districts of Punjab including Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Khushab, Mianwali, Sargodha, Gujrat, Bhakar and Mandi Bahawudin.
With a vision of “Promoting Human Development of the Disadvantaged in Gender Perspectives” SACHET through its community based programmes will launch multiple projects in thematic areas of health, education, livelihood and trainings.
The GEP campaigns are envisioned as an opportunity to commemorate the 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence, Pakistani Women’s Day 2012 and International Women’s Day 2012 and symbolically links theses days of national and international significance in order to generate widespread recognition of GBV (Gender Based Violence) and initiate a coordinated effort towards women’s emancipation and empowerment.
In this context, the SACHET has launched different activities during the month of Feb 2012 to mark Pakistani National Women’s Day 2012 in 10 districts of Punjab. Activities include district-level seminars and village-level women assemblies called “Behnan Di Mehfil”. A large number of community members especially women are actively participating in activities.
