Aurat Foundation organized a passing out ceremony of one of its  ‘Women Car-Van Leaders Project’, on October 8, 2013, at Islamabad Hotel.  Under this initiative of women’s economic empowerment, ten household women workers were given one year training on professional driving, basic education and Mixed Martial Arts Aurat Foundation.  Aurat Foundation has also planned to link these professional women drivers to the formal market of skill workers.

The Car Van Women Leaders group include Ms PerveenAkhtar, Ms AliyaBibi, Ms TasneemBibi, Ms Eid-un-Nisa, Ms FareedaBibi, Ms IbratShaheem, Ms KhalidaBibi, Ms Musarat Batool, Ms Nuzhat Sultana, and Ms Zahida Perveen.

Ms Nuzhat Sadiq, Senator PML-N, and Ms Tehseen Fawad, MPA, PML-N participated as chief guests.  Mr Naeem Mirza, Chief Operating Officer, Aurat Foundation, shared the main objectives behind the project.  He said that the project has succeeded in breaking the slave-like status of these women and made them productive members of society by brining them out of domestic labor.   He also said that as per its vision, Aurat Foundation believes that no nation and country can progress unless women become economically empowered.  Ms Shabina Ayaaz, Resident Director, Aurat Foundation’s Peshawar Officer, delivered welcome address.  Dr Rubina Ali, Country Head ICCO/KIA gave a detailed project overview. A documentary was also played for the participants which showed the previous profession of these ten women as household workers, and then getting basic education, driving and Martial Mixed Art classes under the project.

The Chief Guests distributed certificates of F.s Ninja Academy, Driving institute, and functional literacy among the ten women car-van leaders.  Ms Nuzhat Sadiq appreciated the women car-van drivers and said that she would share their success stories with the parliamentarians.

The Women’s Car-Van project is aimed at highlighting women’s strength, with a vision to break stereotypes in the conventional labor market and bring women in the mainstream markets as professional drivers. The project was initiated by Aurat Foundation’s Peshawar office  and implemented at its Islamabad office, with the financial support of ICCO. The program selected 10 domestic workers from Pakistan’s remote villages after surveys of around 200 or more domestic servants.  These ten women leaders were given three training - functional literacy, self-defense, and driving.