PRP wishes you all a very happy International Women’s Day and expresses a strong commitment to women’s empowerment.

"Meet PRP's outstanding women working in field"

AJK

Sana Manzoor Mir

School Support Associate, Muzaffarabad

The issues of women empowerment and gender equality are top agendas across the world. PRP gives exposure to many women to work in different areas. It has enabled women staff to deal with all kinds of people, organize professional development trainings and events at district level, continue professional development for teachers, provide on job support through mentoring, conduct many co-curricular activities like Children's Day, Literacy Day, etc. It is observed that after PRP interventions in girls’ schools particularly, girls are more confident and active due to the activity based learning culture. On the other hand, PRP empowers many female mentors/teachers to excel in their careers by continuous professional development. Many of them are considered role models in their districts. In addition, PRP is empowering the women economically by providing equal opportunities for jobs and a secure environment for women at the work place.

PRP enabled me to enhance my confidence by producing high quality work and meeting deadlines. Now I make the best use of my time and planning skills. Mentoring and leadership skills are value-added skills for my career development. I feel I am now able to make independent decisions in any situation simply because PRP provided me so many platforms where planning and decision making skills were directly involved. Moreover, the experience of working with PRP has helped in the following ways:

• As a trainer, my confidence and communication skills have improved.
• Helped me to build linkages with academic supervisors, head teachers, teachers and community.
• Enhanced my team building skills, which has helped me in other aspects of my life too.
• Exposure to field improved my capacity to tackle issues and find solutions on the spot.
• Provided strong financial support, as I am the only bread winner and my family's earning hand.

Balochistan

Nazia Gul

School Support Associate, Sibi

PRP has been working to reduce the gender gap by providing equal opportunities to males and females. Many people have benefited from PRP interventions. In education, PRP has empowered women by providing them pre-service and in-service teachers' training programs contributing to their educational and economic empowerment. Providing scholarships to women is highly encouraging. In this project, several seminars have been conducted about women's empowerment and awareness raising, including violence against women and celebration of international days, to increase women’s political, social, educational, and economic rights and strength. With all the above mentioned activities, PRP is making a great contribution towards women empowerment.

PRP provided me a scholarship for ADE which helped me complete my studies thereby opening up new career prospects for me. In 2015, when PRP started its interventions in government schools of district Sibi for improving the quality of reading, I applied and was selected on the basis of the ADE and joined PRP as a School Support Associate. PRP has led to building my skills in many different ways. I have good command of conducting face-to-face trainings, monthly meetings, student assessment, as well as report writing and data entry.

Balochistan

Nighat Raheem

School Support Associate

PRP encouraged the participation of women and built their capacity especially in modern instructions of teaching and behavior change communication. A huge change has been observed in female teachers in our schools. As we know that education makes life progressive and more importantly contributes to well-being. We cannot negate the importance of PRP, which has paved the way for teachers to create a learning environment in their classrooms. It is noteworthy that the teachers are now on track and know how to improve children’s reading skills, especially phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, comprehension, blending and segmentation.

Prior to PRP, I had worked for several projects and yet never noticed any significant change in my knowledge. However, working with PRP, I have learned many new things especially about reading steps and I look forward to more opportunities to learn and grow. I am now well versed in teaching, mentoring and assessment of the students. Prior to PRP, I lacked basic skills such as correctly pronouncing the sounds of letters, blending and segmentation and tools of assessing the students and teachers in schools, but now I am very clear about each and every step of improving education in my community. Additionally, I have improved in the following areas in PRP:

• Training design
• Report writing
• Mentoring and coaching
• Linkages development
• Basic hints regarding pedagogy

FATA

Uroosa Saleem

School Support Associate

As a School Support Associate in FATA, I work for the mobilization of mothers to send their daughters to school as girls' access to education in FATA is the lowest in the country. I also train female teachers, mentors and head teachers in advanced teaching practices. Sensitized female teachers are now performing their roles well inside their classrooms. They are now aware of their rights as professional teachers, women, mothers and social activists in the context of FATA. Further, I am contributing to PRP's major goal of improving children’s reading skills to show that women in FATA are as outstanding as men.

Security threats in FATA are huge, especially for working women. Although I am working in a very conservative area of Pakistan, however, I am handling all my assigned work with responsibility. I am always on time for visits and meetings. My group members and teachers are very supportive and cooperative and are always keen to learn new teaching techniques.

I am the eldest daughter and sister and the only source of income for my family. I am supporting my 4 younger sisters and a brother in terms of their education and other financial needs. I am proud to be the breadwinner for my family.

Gilgit-Baltistan

Naila Yasmeen

School Support Associate

PRP has great contribution towards women’s empowerment by engaging teachers in trainings and educational activities. PRP is focusing on early grades, where female teachers are teaching very effectively as compared to males, as I have observed. To empower women, every year PRP conducts awareness raising seminars and workshops such as the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence. Our female mentors, for the first time in the history of Baltistan, conducted training sessions for hundreds of male teachers, which is just one example of how PRP is breaking orthodox notions of male dominance in society. PRP has a great role in developing reading materials based on gender equality and women empowerment through giving leading roles/ characters to females in mainstream activities.

My best professional achievement while working with PRP is the exposure I get while working in the field. It is uphill task for a female to travel 8 hours – sometimes even on foot - to reach PRP schools. I have converted all these hurdles into opportunities which make my journey very joyous and interesting. Field travels give me inspiration for reaching other women of diverse communities, especially teachers. These opportunities help me to interact with people from diverse backgrounds, where I learn about the problems faced by female students and teachers. I have been able to guide the education department officials, teachers and community to ensure their participation in different activities.

Islamabad

Shahnaz Mazhar

District Program Manager

Being district Manager, I shoulder different responsibilities and also act as a role model for other women to be empowered. In PRP Abbottabad, staff working with me (female and male) were sensitized about gender mainstreaming, Harassment Act. 2010, child rights, child abuse and research methodologies organized by myself and other colleagues. Besides that, we have childcare facility in the office. I raised my voice for women staff to be dropped near their homes when back from the field in late hours, which is now the standard policy for all PRP women staff in all regions. This Project has continued its struggles to give more opportunities to women staff for field and office work. In Abbottabad, female teachers comprise 50% of all the teachers who are getting trainings under PRP to teach and assess students. This is a great achievement of the PRP project. I always support and recognize that women staff specially should be given opportunities to boost their creativity and motivation. But now with the grace of God, gender gaps are reduced in all 341 schools of Abbottabad. I am proud that I have developed gender-friendly environment in PRP Abbottabad office. In District Abbottabad in 2016, we celebrated International Women's Day to clarify the concept to all staff members.

Being the third daughter in the family, I was unwelcomed and got less attention. I patiently bore all the hurdles, barriers and cultural constraints. I got education on the choice of my father. I have spent more than 18 years in the development sector and faced a lot of difficulties and harassment; sometimes, I would get depressed, but overcame this through strong determination I am a daughter, sister, wife and mother and play all of my roles very actively with dignity and pride. God has granted me a very honorable position and I am working with full commitment and zeal. My two children, a son and a daughter, are studying in grade 8 and 7 and are supported by me alone. Today my mother feels proud of me. I finally I feel I have reached a place where I am proud of my accomplishments and happy with my life.

khyber pakhtunkhwa

Hunzla Saqib

Reading Quality Associate

PRP is committed to women empowerment. It is a commitment that forms the foundation of trust on which all of our activities as a global humanitarian organization rest. It has been training women in various aspects to make them drop their inhibitions and to get involved in fruitful activities. It is PRP's mission to provide equal employment opportunity to women, while recruiting/hiring staff. PRP has awarded many grants to its IPs who were working on women empowerment. PRP actively celebrates all international days related to women like International Women’s Day, International Day of the Girl Child, Days for the Elimination of Violence against Women, etc.

"Mentioned below are some of my achievements in PRP:"

• Supported material development team by participating in preparation of video mentoring development session.
• I had been playing lead role in different trainings and orientation sessions to different partner organizations (IRM, & EEF )
• • Conducted a 2-day workshop with a group of 25 teachers at Islamic International School, Warsak Road Campus – Peshawar. The teachers were oriented on basic five components of reading along with PRP model which had been implemented in field.
• • I was also honored with Employee of the Month award by PRP.

khyber pakhtunkhwa

Anila Shams

Reading Quality Associate

"Gender sensitivity, equality and equity are at the core of all the three major components of PRP. PRP is promoting gender equality in interventions especially empowering females through improved reading skills and quality education. PRP has developed gender strategy; the goal of which is to enable girls, along with boys, to improve their reading skills through a strategic focus on selected high-impact activities in each of the three components of the project. PRP takes gender specific measures and actions to address different needs and interests of beneficiaries (men/women/girls/boys).PRP develops gender sensitive materials that support a culture of tolerance and inclusion, boost the concept of safe and gender-friendly schools, and reinforce gender equality at all levels. Moreover, promotional materials (posters and brochure) have also been developed to promote gender equality in PRP schools. PRP is providing equal job opportunities to men and women. PRP has a zero tolerance policy on women’s rights violations.

"As a result of CPD Model, the teachers learned new concepts and strategies and successfully created a conducive learning environment in the classroom (print rich classrooms and group activities).I have strong co-ordination with required officials for smooth implementation of activities. I am actively involved in the TIG Mapping of Pashto reading program. I also developed several success stories based on field activities."

Sindh

Soonhan Afzal Baloch

School Support Associate

PRP is working from 2015 in our region. It has provided us an opportunity to work in a safe and secure environment. I am working in PRP, along with managing my domestic responsibilities as well as two kids. PRP has empowered me by providing a healthy learning environment where I am utilizing my skills effectively.

In PRP, I worked with different types of teachers and encouraged them to carry out reading activities in their classroom. It wasn’t easy in the start to bring about change in their teaching methods, but I tried on a regular basis. The school that changed the most was a semi government school named Syed Pannah Ali Shah which is situated in Sindh University Colony, Jamshoro. It has 300 students enrolled in Grade I and II with 4 teachers who are in the PRP project. In the beginning, they thought that their School didn’t need any change in teaching methods but gradually they accepted PRP methodology and are now applying it very well. They also expressed their interest to have a reading festival in their school, so I organized a whole event with different developmental activities and it went very well. Other mushroom schools of Jamshoro also participated in it. I think it was a good combination of transferring my knowledge to the field. I strongly believe in acquiring knowledge in planning and reading activities and inspiring others to apply that knowledge in their schools.

Sindh

Rabia Baloch

School Support Associate

PRP has been providing equal opportunities to all men and women in employment as well as in the communities. Keeping in view the ground situation, every effort has been made to provide maximum opportunities to women during the whole project cycle.

I am the only female staff member among 7 in district office Tando Allahyar. I have been motivating female teachers to work for the improvement of reading skills of children. I have built a good professional relationship with male staff members as well. I am known as the most cooperative among all staff members. Although, I belong to the traditional Baloch community of Tando Allahyar; after joining PRP, I had to leave the village and settled in Tando Allahyar city along with my family in a rented building. I also enrolled my son in a school and am taking care of him as well. I am multilingual and can speaks many languages, including Sindhi, Balochi, Saraiki and Urdu. I have been handling mixed language TIGs including Urdu and Sindhi. We have been receiving very positive feedback from TIG teachers, mentors and facilitators.