Women, who constitute almost fifty percent of the Pakistani population, need to be trained in marketable trades to facilitate their inclusion in mainstream income generation activities. It was stated on Wednesday by Capital Administration and Development Division Secretary Imtiaz Inayat Elahi while inaugurating the ‘Annual Product Exhibition’ organised by the Women Welfare and Development Centre functioning under the Directorate General of Special Education and Social Welfare. The Women Welfare and Development (WW&DC) Centre organised the ‘Annual Product Exhibition’ to celebrate the International Women Day. The activity is a regular feature of the center which provides an opportunity to the trainees to exhibit their products. The center is providing vocational training to women from the vulnerable segments of the society.
Imtiaz Elahi appreciated the efforts of the centre which works to empower women by imparting vocational skills. He said he has instructed the administration to work out a proposal for the expansion of the centre to allow more women to benefit from it. He stated that better coordination was required among the organisations providing vocational trainings, such as NAVTEC and PBM.
Directorate General of Special Education and Social Welfare Director General Syed Mustafain Kazmi thanked the organisers for their commitment to the event.
He said the centre would be transformed into a ‘centre of excellence’ by expanding its activities to the rural areas of Islamabad. Since its inception, the WW&DC has trained more than 15000 women from low income groups and made them able to earn their livelihood.
The target group for the trainings offered by the center includes orphan girls and widows, especially those from the rural areas. The courses offered range from a one-month short course, a three-month certificate course and one-year diploma courses in different trades such as sewing, cutting, stitching, dress-making, information technology and fashion designing.