In the face of enduring gender disparities, the landscape of women’s empowerment in Sindh, Pakistan is experiencing a remarkable shift. It’s a narrative fueled by resilience, unwavering determination, and united collective efforts—an inspiring tale resonating across the distant corners of Sindh province. Ms Jama from a remote village of Saindad Alyani in district Mirpurkhas, Sindh, shared her transformation story: “I am a widow having responsibility to raise little children, I had no income, it was hard for me to earn a daily meal for my children. I got this opportunity to work and solve my immediate problems of livelihood. I was determined and I changed my destiny. Because, I diligently worked for 25 days under the Cash for Work scheme in my village, and I earned 17,500 rupees. This money has proved a substantial source of income for me. I invested this amount in purchasing a goat to sustain my income. It is growing too many goats now, and I feel now, I have attained financial independence.” Respectively, Mai Pathani, resident of village Asif Brohi in Umerkot district, elaborated their communal development journey emphasizing on unity and determination; which led them to potentially ease their challenges. The villagers were facing terrible conditions to have access to the road, which restricted their mobility to the village boundary, there was troubled transport, movement and hardship got exaggerated when there were any sick or pregnant women in the village. The collective efforts yielded positively, she informed ‘we constructed a mud road for the village, it’s more than just a pathway; it’s our lifeline solution, enabling easy movement to the whole community. Instead of waiting for any change to come from outside, we’ve become the architects of our own destiny. We have proved that genuine empowerment and change instigates from within. The journey of women empowerment doesn’t end with Mai Jama and Mai Pathani in Mirpurkhas and Umderkot districts. There are hundreds of women in Sindh articulating to be listened to. Ms. Bakhtwar Khatoon, from village Jan Mohammad Jamali in the district Qambar Shahdadkot shared her experience on the cash for work (CfW) initiative under SFERP; highlighting its pivotal role in fostering behavioral change towards empowerment and skill development. She expressed ‘initially, there was reluctance among women and even some men in the village to participate in such programs. The project team successfully ensured participation by ensuring a safe working environment, assuring privacy and respect for cultural norms. The selected labor fulfilled their duty for payment under cash for work strategy; SFERP provided free Jazz Sim cards and Mobile Wallet services at our doorstep, facilitating easy withdrawal of our earning’. The ground-breaking intervention was initiated by the Government of Sindh through its Planning & Development and Irrigation Department titled as “Sindh Flood Emergency Rehabilitated Project (SFERP)” with financial support of the World Bank in Jan 2023. This 500 million USD project has focused local infrastructure restoration through livelihood support with Cash for work (CfW) strategy. This project aims at assisting the flood affected communities to earn cash under “decent work” conditions. Such support enables them to meet their immediate livelihood needs and in return to their work local infrastructure; which was destabilized by massive 2022 floods, is restored. Cash for work strategies provide employment to unskilled workers by inclusion and participation of all societal groups and sects. The infrastructure development interventions are planned locally with participatory approach and schemes are executed locally by rehabilitating watercourse, cleaning water ponds, earth filling for mud roads, reviving street pavement and etc in the flood affected villages. The project has reached by engaging 61,489 are women, 75,758 vulnerable groups that include 1,849 disable person, 3,978 windows, 268 divorced, 2,928 orphans, 6,774 women headed Households, 5,137 females on-off farm worker, and 30,834 landless harries. Large family size 12,038, pregnant and lactating women 7,465. The project is extended to 14 districts, 50 talukas and 489 union councils of Sindh province.
The SFERP project is being implemented with support of NGOs which include Sindh Rural Support Organization, National Rural Support Programme, and Thardeep Rural Development Program. We recognize that Pakistan is committed to contribute in achieving SDGs targets along with other nations. The SFERP focuses on SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). Nevertheless, the Pakistan government is addressing gender gaps by aligning its policies, providing opportunities to women in various fields including politics, management, engineering and others, at the same time the government is implementing social safety nets like the Benazir Income Support Program and The Strengthening Social Protection Delivery System and etc. And as a result of that, Pakistan is improving its gender indicator, and contributing to the SDGs through various projects under supervision of different departments. According to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2023 the country has improved by 5.1 per cent on the “economic participation and opportunities” sub-index in the last decade to attain 36.2 per cent parity, though this level of parity remains one of the lowest globally. Notwithstanding, the construction of infrastructure remains a challenging field for the inclusion of women and vulnerable groups. But infrastructure projects can play a vital role in shaping the socioeconomic landscape of a nation. These projects’ impact often extends beyond construction to the creation of opportunities, inclusion and participation, economic well being, positive engagement of excluded and marginalized groups, and livelihood improvement and entrepreneurship enhancement. In Pakistan, such endeavors are not only addressing infrastructural needs but are also serving as an avenue for empowering these groups, and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) globally. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the Former Foreign Minister, and Chairman of Sindh’s ruling party (Pakistan Peoples” Party) has taken commendable steps to enhance gender indicators and advance SDGs in a manner that captivates global attention. At the same time in fulfilling the promises to the women under PPP”s manifesto, which writes ‘economic empowerment of women focuses on enhancing social safety nets for women, and cash transfer programmes and initiatives for asset accumulation’; his visionary model and strategic approach have accelerated process from policy formulation to field based initiatives that could significantly foster gender equality and women inclusion in various projects such as SFERP. His pragmatic approach in engaging diplomatic channels and enhancing policy dialogues has successfully gathered support for the integration of women into such transformative endeavors. We witness that, SFERP Project Director Ghulam Asghar Kanasro has challenged the gender gap in Sindh, he has focused on mainstream women through infrastructure rehabilitation projects. His plan, under this project, includes integrating gender considerations and prospects to sustainable development and empowerment of women in Sindh province.
Mr. Kanasro expressed optimism that the upcoming WEF’s GGGI report would portray a remarkable picture of Pakistan in gender equality, particularly in indicators related to economic participation and opportunities. The officials working in SFERP Mr. Babar Naseem Khan, who is Senior Social Development Specialist and Task Team Leader for Livelihood Restoration Component SFERP at the World Bank; emphasized that infrastructure projects embody more than mere physical development; they act as catalysts for social empowerment and sustainable growth. Through active involvement of women and vulnerable groups, particularly via cash-for-work initiatives, these interventions not only address immediate infrastructure needs but also contribute to broader development goals. Mr. Mohammad Aslam Laghari, Deputy Project Director, highlighted that the initial cash disbursement to Cash for Work beneficiaries posed a challenge. Despite having a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ABL Bank, limited outreach led to difficulties for beneficiaries who had to make multiple visits to the bank branch. To tackle this, an additional MoU was established with Mobilink Microfinance Bank for digital payments via mobile wallets/ devices . Subsequently, Mobile Wallet accounts were opened, and payments were successfully processed. To prevent deductions, project team members now accompany beneficiaries during cash withdrawals. While some deductions were initially committed by agents, prompt actions were taken by the project team, leading to reimbursements directly into beneficiaries’ Mobile Wallets by the retailer. Mr. Ahsan Tehsin, Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist and Task Team Leader of SFERP at the World Bank, emphasized that Cash for Work represents a multifaceted intervention, spanning from initial dialogue to scheme completion, and it has been yielding remarkable results.
However, many schemes rely heavily on local materials, posing challenges to sustainability and climate resilience. Recognizing this gap, the SFERP team is collaborating with academia to identify local climate-resilient resources that can be sourced and utilized within Cash for Work interventions. This strategic approach aims at facilitating significant and sustainable achievements in the construction of basic infrastructure while also increasing the participation of women and vulnerable groups. In spite of all the efforts, the Pakistan Government needs to thoroughly implement policies and enhance interventions that actively involve the local communities, encompassing both men and women, as well as vulnerable individuals, and unskilled labor. Because generating employment opportunities serves as a crucial mechanism for poverty alleviation and community empowerment, thereby contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Furthermore, by aligning with the global gender gap index, Pakistan can propel its agenda of gender equality and social inclusion forward, with the commendable efforts of the President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari by supporting the Government of Sindh to pave the way for the economic empowerment of women for an inclusive and sustainable future.
The author is a development professional, writes on women’s issues and their rights. She can be reached at email: [email protected] and at X SanaSRahimoo.
