THE CHALLENGE

Imagine not being able to read and write. Imagine not having benefitted from an education. In regions of Pakistan such as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), where violence, conflict and insecurity are everyday realities, a staggering 92% of women and girls are illiterate. In many parts of Pakistan the rights of girls and women are severely restricted and violence against girls and women is rampant, owing to a combination of factors, including poverty, ongoing extremist violence, and highly conservative attitudes.

In 2009, the Taliban in Pakistan completely barred girls from attending school, a rule it enforced with indiscriminate brutality. Girls’ schools have frequently been the targets of violent extremist attacks in recent years.

In this context of extreme danger, girls and women have little or no access to computers or the internet. And yet access to computers, the internet and computer training can connect Pakistani girls and women to the wider world and give them access to crucial information, services, and support networks, in addition to useful skills that can boost women’s employability.

The SOLUTIONS WE'RE PROPOSING

As the NY Times journalist Nicholas Kristof has famously said:  “The greatest threat to extremism isn’t drones firing missiles, but girls reading books." Indeed, one of the most effective ways to counter extremism and promote peace and stability is to promote girls’ and women’s education and empowerment.

W4’s field program in Pakistan works courageously and relentlessly every day to ensure that girls and women in Pakistan can exercise their basic human rights to safety, dignity and education. 

Our field program runs a pioneering training program for girls and women from poor communities in rural areas in Peshawar, providing them with access to computers and computer training. 

Through the opening of a local computer training center, which offers an intensive, 4-month ICT (information and communications technologies) training course, Peshawar women aged 15 to 45 can have unprecedented access to computers and the internet and acquire useful computer skills. 

THE IMPACT OF GIVING

By donating to equip W4’s local computer center and offer ICT training for underprivileged girls and women in Peshawar, you can have a powerful, far-reaching impact! The program is providing girls and women, whose daily horizons are usually extremely limited, with unprecedented access to information and resources (such as health and educational information, online communities and support networks in Pakistan to combat violence against women and promote girls’ and women’s rights and political participation).

The program also enables these girls and women to acquire ICT skills that enhance their educational performance and boost their employability. The program is enriching girls’ and women’s skills, qualifications and confidence, amplifying girls’ and women’s voices and raising community awareness of the value of girls’ and women’s education: make a donation today to enable Pakistani girls and women – and in turn their communities - to reach their fullest potential and drive positive change.