Nabila* is an 18-year-old villager girl who lives in a mud house without any facilities. She has 6 sisters, but her parents have always considered them a burden.
In Pakistan, a woman’s parents are expected to pay her groom’s family a significant dowry. Three of her sisters are already married, and her parents arranged their dowry with great difficulty.
However, her sisters are not happy in their husbands’ houses as the husbands’ families continue to demand more dowry. Nabila told us that her parents are already in great debt.
While Nabila wants to become a teacher, her parents do not have enough resources for her to pursue her dream. Seeing her parents’ debt and her married sister’s condition, Nabila decided to learn sewing skills as a way to earn income.
She hopes that one day she will earn money not only for herself but for her family, too. She is very grateful to RAM for her enrollment.
Unfortunately, the dowry system in Pakistan leads to daughters being viewed as financial burdens. Parents often sell girls into domestic servitude, prostitution, and forced marriages.
Going into debt to pay a dowry is also a driving force behind families taking out loans from brick kiln factory owners.
However, at our vocational training program, women and girls are offered a safe place to learn an in-demand and marketable skill, basic good business practices, and become educated on their rights as women under the law.
Would you like to support our sewing classes? Just $25 sponsors one month of tuition for a student! You can also sponsor a sewing machine for $90.
Learn more by visiting our gift program here.
*Name changed for security purposes.
RAZIA’S STORY | FOOD KIT CAMPAIGN FOR BRICK KILN WORKERS
Razia is a generational worker in a brick kiln. All of her family works in the brick kiln as well. She suffers from tuberculosis and is very sick and weak, though she is continually trying to work for her children.Her family wanted new clothes and food to celebrate...
NORRA’S STORY | UPDATE
Thanks to your generous support, we were able to distribute 40 food kits to starving brick kiln families who had been out of work for some time due to heavy smog this Christmas season. Several weeks ago, we shared the story of Norra, a brick kiln worker with three...
NORRA’S STORY | FOOD KIT CAMPAIGN FOR BRICK KILN WORKERS
This holiday season, would you partner with us to support starving brick kiln workers in dire need? One brick kiln worker, Norra, has three girls and recently gave birth to a young boy. Due to severe smog, the government shut down work at the brick kiln where they...