As many as 50 young girls engaged in rock climbing, camping and cooking activities on Sunday to challenge gender-role stereotypes. Female students from leading universities and colleges trekked up the Margalla Hills trail as a symbol of their strength and commitment to challenge taboos and stereotypes. They participated in camping and cooking competitions and gained awareness regarding different issues. The event was organised by the We Can End All Violence Against Women Organisation which was initiated as a South Asian campaign by Oxfam-Gb in 2005. The “We Can” Pakistan chapter is an alliance member of the “We Can” global network comprising 14 countries around the globe.
In Pakistan, “We Can” had been working through a core group of four provincial implementing partner organisations and a network of change makers (people who pledge not to commit violence against women). The “We Can” organisation marks 16-days of activism and other international days through a number of events and celebrations, and the rock climbing event was also part of the 16-days of activism.
Meanwhile, “We Can” National Coordinator Hajra Pasha said this was a multi-purpose activity that not only focused on attitudinal change but also provided a forum for youth engagement and awareness. “The participants will be ‘change-makers’ in their respective spheres, motivating and encouraging others to take lead in their lives” she added.
She said the campaign had used the symbol of rock climbing as it not only involved strenuous exercise and physical strength but also challenged mental capability. She said such activities were essential for people to strategise in order to achieve a target, and had been known to consolidate belief in will power and capacitates endurance, while adding that these lessons were relevant to daily life and were geared towards gender empowerment, from a behaviourist perspective.
A participant from Bahria University named Ayesha said, “Such activities provide encouragement and a sense of empowerment to female students by challenging the patriarchal mindset.”
Another student from City School named Aleena said, “I am very thankful to ‘We Can’ for helping us understand socio-economic challenges that women face, rock climbing taught us to confront our challenges fearlessly and strategise our path forward.”
