SHANGLA: Alpuri tehsil administration said on Saturday that over 100 local widows, orphan girls, and other women would be trained in handicraft skills in the first phase of a district government programme, introduced in response to the high number of widows facing financial difficulties.

Assistant Commissioner (AC) Mohammad Hamid Saddiqui told journalists that the district government, along with the social welfare department, intended to teach handicraft skills to local women, especially widows and orphan girls.

According to him, the programme’s goal was to empower and financially enable the women to provide for their families rather than depending on others for assistance. The AC said that in the first phase, he expected that over 100 women would be registered in the programme to be trained over three months, for which they had called for applications to be submitted at his office in Alpuri.

Mr Saddiqui said the women would be equipped with various handicraft and sewing skills and would also be informed about boosting their businesses and earning substantial income. According to him, the women would be enrolled in the already established Dastakari centre located in the social welfare office in Alpuri. The assistant commissioner mentioned that they had also registered these crafting centres with NAVTAC so that the beneficiaries, especially female orphan students, could secure jobs abroad.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2024