Gender Empowerment, piece of cake, right! !
Well, not exactly!
Where to start from? Thought I was an expert.
What is empowerment for all these women whom I haven't begun to understand?
What does empowerment mean to them, living a few miles away from my home but decades apart from the life I live? How can I come up with some measures that would work for all these women, whose lives are as different as their problems are, who do not even understand that they have a right to have rights?Lets start by getting to know them, spending time with them; thus I started travelling to the twenty field offices, each one overseeing the loan process for thousands of women in several villages.
I'm so excited to keep up with your blog, Sophia! I recently read Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's book, "Half the Sky," about empowering women worldwide, and it had a whole chapter about micro-credit for women. In particular, it prominently highlighted the work of Kashf, another microcredit organization in Pakistan. I was amazed by their success. Looking forward to learning about DAMEN and what you discover! So glad that you got to go back to your home country and bring back your skills and experience to women there.
ReplyDeleteWhat a really unique experience to be able to go back to your hometown and start there. That is really exciting!
ReplyDeleteI'm SO excited you have a blog! I would love to compare the women you're meeting with some of the women here in Jamkhed. The picture of your group of women reminds me of some of the women's self-help groups here.
ReplyDeleteSounds similar to some of the issues facing with the Bedouin women. Glad that you decided to blog, Sophia!
ReplyDeleteI love your observations of the differences between your life and the lives of poor Pakistani women in terms of empowerment. I can't wait to read more.
ReplyDeleteGood luck Sophia! I look forward to following your work.
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