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In a major step toward women’s economic empowerment, the Sindh Community Foundation (SCF) has launched 15 literacy centers across rural Sindh, providing basic reading, writing, and numeracy skills to 450 women cotton and agricultural workers. The initiative, supported by the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) through its Asia Gender Equality Fund, aims to strengthen women’s awareness of their rights and upgrade their participation in economic and social decisions.
The new centers are spread across 15 villages in Districts Matiari and Sanghar, five in Matiari and ten in Sanghar. SCF plans to expand the project with 10 more centers in Thatta, the total reach to 750 women agricultural workers in the three districts.
To assure the quality of teaching, SCF organized a three-day thorough training workshop for 15 female literacy facilitators. The training focused on adult learning methods, informal education, and rights-based teaching, equipping facilitators with the tools needed to guide women learners effectively.
Speaking at the workshop’s closing session, Javed Hussain, Executive Director of SCF, said, “Literacy is the first step toward empowering women. It enables them to understand their rights, negotiate fair wages, and take part confidently in collective action.”
Hira Arain, SCF’s Manager for Economic Empowerment, added that literacy helps women calculate wages, maintain basic records, and gain self-confidence, directly impacting their daily lives and livelihoods.
The training was led by Manzoor Uqali, Senior Education Specialist, who helped facilitators create contextualized literacy content, while Raees Alvi of SCF also addressed the participants.
The launch of these centers comes at a time when women agricultural workers, particularly in cotton farming, often face limited access to education and labor rights information.
