The Road to the SDGs

PURPOSE X With financial support from IsDB, the Centre for Mass Education in Science (CMES) implemented an employment- centric initiative, the “Women Empowerment Programme through Livelihood Skills Training and Human Rights Awareness” in the Tangail (Suruj), Rajshahi (Damkura), Chapinawabgonj (Elaipur) and Dinajpur (Ranirbandar) districts of Bangladesh. X The initiative aimed to improve sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable young women aged 19 to 35 years, facilitating economic and social empowerment and human rights awareness in Bangladesh’s remote rural areas. X The initiative was launched in October 2018 and ran until September 2020. METHOD X The initiative contributed to its goal by: – Increasing young women’s capacity to engage in economic activities by equipping them with new skills related to fashion garment production and basic computer skills; and conducting literacy, numeracy and computer skills training for the youngest women – Employing young women by networking and creating links with local and national organisations to identify jobs, conduct orientation sessions for trainees on job protocols and place them in the identified jobs – Raising awareness of women’s rights and eliminating gender-based violence through awareness sessions among women, men and youth; identifying community champions or influencers willing to engage with the project; and convening community dialogue to raise awareness of the negative impact of discrimination and how the community can support human rights for all, especially for women and girls – Adopting a participatory approach through which all stakeholders are involved in the initiative’s implementation – Encouraging male members of the beneficiaries’ families and community to play a pivotal role in a sensitisation session, in which human rights awareness-raising will help prevent incidents against women – Tailoring the human rights awareness curriculum, including issues of gender equality, violence against women, in line with the SDGs and building in existing tools. SDGs Skills-centric empowerment of women and youth — Bangladesh pilot W omen and young people in Bangladesh are benefiting from new opportunities as a result of an IsDB initiative featuring small grants for training and skills development IsDB’s grant financing initiative in Bangladesh has raised awareness of the negative impact of discrimination and enabled community support for human rights [ 122 ]