ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal’s Women Empowerment Centers (WECs) have provided vocational training to 277,238 disadvantaged women, enabling them to achieve self-sufficiency, while 12,377 are still undergoing training at these centers.
An official of Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM), told reporter that 162 Women Empowerment Centers (WECs) have been established nationwide, including in Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas, since 1995. These centers provide free vocational training to widows, orphans, and disadvantaged girls in a variety of modern professional skills, such as dress designing, embroidery, Basic & Advanced Computer Courses, beautician courses, Tie & Dye, and fabric painting.
Currently, these Women Empowerment Centers (WECs) are spread across the country, with 55 in Punjab, 33 in Sindh, 30 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa/FATA, 22 in Balochistan, 6 in Gilgit Baltistan, and 16 in Islamabad Capital Territory/Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Attendees at these centers receive a daily stipend of Rs. 50.
Among the 162 Women Empowerment Centers (WECs), 128 centers have diversified their programs to include market-relevant trades such as IT training, beautician courses, and cooking classes. These centers are distributed across different regions: 47 in Punjab, 31 in Sindh, 23 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa/FATA, 15 in Balochistan, 2 in Gilgit Baltistan, and 10 in ICT/AJK. Furthermore, these centers tailor their training to local skills based on the specific needs of each area.