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.
RABIA’S STORY | SEWING WITHOUT GLASSES
17-year-old Rabia* belongs to a very poor family. She is the eldest of five children, and her father is very sick. She enrolled in the sewing program to try to help her family and is very grateful to RAM for the opportunity. However, she has weak eyesight that makes...
SIMRA’S STORY | DIABETES & THYROID DISEASE
Simra* is a young Christian student in our sewing class. However, she always felt tired and irritated and did not show much interest in sewing. She was often absent from class due to sickness. She frequently took medication prescribed by a quack doctor at the...
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