Islamabad, July 9, 2026: The Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC), in collaboration with the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and Bedari and with the support of Global Affairs Canada (GAC), successfully concluded the three year Empowering Women & Girls (EWG) Project.
The project completion ceremony brought together policymakers, government officials, development partners, civil society organizations, academia, journalists, community leaders and project beneficiaries to celebrate its achievements, reflect on key lessons learned and reaffirm a shared commitment to advancing gender equality and empowering women and girls across Pakistan.
Engineer Gul Asghar Khan Baghoor, Parliamentary Secretary Ministry of Communication, commended the project’s achievements and praised the partners for expanding access to education, strengthening livelihoods and advancing gender equality at the community level. He also reaffirmed his support for women’s empowerment and the need to sustain such initiatives.
Dr. Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro appreciated the creativity, resilience and entrepreneurial potential shown by women beneficiaries during the exhibition showcase. She said she would support a similar exhibition at Parliament House to provide women entrepreneurs with a wider platform for their products and businesses.
Ms. Noureen Bano Lehri praised the project’s holistic and community driven approach and stressed the importance of integrating its successful models and best practices into national policies and institutional frameworks for wider and lasting impact.
Ms. Sasha Oliveira said the partnership between Global Affairs Canada, the Commonwealth of Learning, SPARC and Bedari had expanded educational opportunities, strengthened livelihoods, promoted gender equality and advanced the rights of women and girls in Pakistan.
Ms. Frances Ferreira, Senior Adviser, Empowering Women & Girls Project, Commonwealth of Learning, said the initiative was driven by a shared commitment to advancing the rights, education and economic empowerment of women and girls. She noted that the community centered approach had created lasting positive impacts for families, communities and society.
Ms. Asiya Arif Khan, Executive Director, SPARC, highlighted the project’s transformative role in creating opportunities through education, skills development and community engagement. Ms. Anbreen Ajaib, Executive Director, Bedari, said the success of the project showed the strength of strong partnerships and locally driven interventions.
Ms. Sabeen Almas, Program Manager at SPARC, said more than 10,000 girls and boys were reintegrated into formal education and Open Schooling pathways, over 77,000 women and girls received vocational and labour market skills training, more than 465,000 women and girls joined awareness sessions on human rights and gender equality, and over one million people were reached through public campaigns promoting women’s rights, education and social inclusion.
Ms. Huma Akhtar Chughtai, Member of the National Assembly, Mr. Ghazanfar Budhal, district task force members, Dr. Zahid Majeed of Allama Iqbal Open University, and Ms. Komal Ijaz of Shelter Home, Multan, also addressed the event. They highlighted positive changes at the grassroots level, especially in raising awareness, promoting girls’ education and enhancing women’s participation in community development.
