Did you know that women account for around two-thirds of the world’s labor force yet earn only 10% of the world’s income? And of the 900 million adults worldwide who cannot read or write, about two-thirds are women? Ending blasting problems like poverty means realising individual potentials of the people on earth and how much they could be worth, if given a chance. Can something be done so that women who are a little less than 50% of the world’s population, can be more of a contributory factor to benefit everyone? Yes, it can and it begins with the empowerment of women.
92hands created the US4WOMEN program to increase and improve the social and economic strength of women in the community, to ensure equal-right to women, and to make them confident enough to claim their rights, such as:
To freely live their lives with a sense of dignity, self-worth and respect. To have complete control of their lives, both within and outside their home and workplace. To make their own choices and decisions. To determine financial and economic choices.
For example, we started a literacy program and have taught them basic skills in reading and writing the english language and doing business. They were taught to make counter books and some of them have gone on to make them and sell in their neighbourhoods. We also started a loan scheme where the women borrow money to start income generating projects and return it after an agreed period of time. Women are natural collaborators and they boost themselves to great heights when they feel useful and capable.
We believe that women empowerment does not just mean educating women, giving them jobs and helping them get equal rights as men, but to provide a sense of relief, a sense of dignity and a sense of freedom. and if we are empowering women then indirectly we are empowering their families and if each and every family is empowered in our country, then we are building stronger communities.
It is the right of every woman to take her own decisions for her own benefit as well as the society and together we will transform our communities by transforming families.