ISLAMABAD, March 18: National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) has set up the first ever adult literacy centre for paraplegic women in National Institute for Handicapped (NIHd) to impart basic education to the affected women of earthquake regions.

Dr Asila Ashraf inaugurated the opening ceremony of the literacy centre at NIHd on Saturday.

Addressing the quake-affected paraplegic women she said the entire focus of the literacy programme was on women’s education which was vital for national progress and prosperity.

She said the centre would not only enable the participants to acquire reading and writing skills but also provide them psychotherapy and trauma counselling to mitigate the affects of the earthquake. Ms Ashraf said specialised training courses would be imparted by NCHD literacy trainers and teachers to paraplegic women and within a period of three months they would be able to read newspaper and write letters at a speed of 20 words per minute.