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“If you are poor and uneducated in Pakistan, you are just waiting for the day when your life will end; each day is spent trying to find the motivation to survive”
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Pakistan, with a population of just over 220 million people, faces significant challenges related to poverty. Despite it’s potential, the country struggles with extremely high poverty levels. Women, in particular, suffer from ‘poverty of opportunities,’ which significantly limits their ability to escape the cycle of poverty. This lack of opportunity often forces many women into dire situations, including begging, crime, and even selling their bodies to support their families.
A study conducted in Pakistan found that poverty and the lack of empowerment were associated with criminal activities of women. Most women who committed drug-related offences, theft and prostitution were from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and became involved in such activities in order to make ends meet. As most of the women were divorced, widowed or single, the financial burden fell on them. Many women also become victims to human trafficking, the most common form of which is prostitution as a means of survival. Low levels of living conditions can often compel children to abandon school in order to contribute to the family income which puts them at a high risk of being exploited.
As divorce rates increase worldwide, many women are left without state support, often forced to find other means of income. This reality is no different in Pakistan, where the team met with numerous women who are divorced for various reasons, ranging from a husband’s unwillingness to provide for the family to cases of domestic abuse. The unfortunate reality is that, in such circumstances, women often bear the greatest burden, facing economic and social hardships with limited support.
Our Response:
It is important to understand that each person has something unique to bring to the table. Exploring these individual strengths and talents is essential before deciding on the types of businesses that would best suit women. By recognising and building on these unique qualities, we can create opportunities that empower women and set them up for success.
Poverty is the inability of having choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. United Nations
We encourages women to explore their abilities and passions to succeed in their chosen businesses, empowering them to earn with their own hands. This support aims to transform them into successful businesswomen, allowing them to provide for their families with dignity and preventing the need to resort to begging or other harmful means of survival.
A simple, personalised approach is implemented, recognising that each woman has a unique skill set and passion. This is why it’s essential—and a core part of the project’s success—that the team sits down with each woman to help her draw up her own business plan. Together, we evaluate and cost the business and create a profit forecast. If everyone is satisfied with the plan, we proceed by providing training tailored to managing that specific business. We then accompany each woman to purchase her business components, ensuring she’s set up for success. In Pakistan, women have chosen businesses ranging from shops, online trading, beauty parlours to even a butchers shop.
Areas of focus in Pakistan: Rawalpindi, Sindh & Baluchistan
Please support these women and give them the opportunity they have been seeking for a lifetime. Every woman deserves a chance to build a future, to stand on her own. Your support can make all the difference.
