Islamabad, 17 July 2023: “Capacity Building of Women Rights Defenders to Protect Rights” Training of Trainers (ToT) concluded today in Islamabad. The training, held from 13th to 17th July in Islamabad, brought together 25 women from 20 districts of Pakistan, equipping them with the necessary tools to advocate for women’s rights in their communities.
Ms. Sameena Nazir, Executive Director of PODA said she is hopeful that a group of dedicated activists working at grassroots have learned the essential skills of human rights advocacy to educate their communities about the process to protect basic human rights and it shows commitment that each of the 25 master trainer women has promised to give the same training to another group of 10 women in their area and the circle of knowledge will expand.
Mr. Vaclav Jilek, Third Secretary of the Czech Republic Embassy in Pakistan said the government of Czech Republic has supported this important training for women rights defenders because we had to work very hard in our own country for human rights and gender equality after the Second World War and we realize how important they are for a country’s progress.
“Bringing people together from diverse backgrounds like from civil society,
university students, social mobilizers, journalists, community activists, police official, teachers, health workers and educating them about basic concept of Human Rights, the Constitution of Pakistan and building their skills in monitoring human rights violations, fact-finding, documentation, and issue-based advocacy is a commendable effort by PODA. I hope the participants will amplify their learning from here and further train communities in the respective districts” said Tanveer Jehan, Master Trainer of the five days’ workshop.
“After attending this training my lens towards seeing humans has changed. As humans, every individual regardless of age, race, gender, and ethnicity has certain rights by birth. I have certainly become more aware of these rights and I will try my best to stand up for the human rights of others” said Bushra Ibrar, a rural woman farm worker from Balochistan.
The trainees, who represented a diverse range of backgrounds including civil society members, university students, social mobilizers, journalists, community activists, police officials, teachers, and health workers, were tasked with further responsibility to amplify this training in their communities.
The second part of this ToT series will be held in August and will include workshops on Women’s Protection Laws in Pakistan and women’s rights in the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
For more information, contact PODA email programs@poda.org.pk 03330621790