International Women’s Day, on Thursday 8th March, is an opportunity to reflect on the progress made towards gender equality and to recognise that there is still so much work to be done around the world.

Human Appeal’s work empowering women

For more than 25 years, Human Appeal has been working tirelessly to eradicate global poverty. As the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals illustrate, achieving gender equality and promoting equal education is one of the most important ways of tackling poverty around the world. Many of our projects are designed to empower women and transform their lives through access to education and skills training.

Teaching women in Lebanon

In 2017, we enabled 26 women in Lebanon to access a 9 month training course, teaching them sewing, fashion design and technical drawing. The course helped poor women from Lebanon, and also refugee women from Syria and Palestine, to become self-reliant. These women now have the skills to enter the labour force and support themselves and their families.

Healthcare and skills training in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, poor women from rural communities are too often denied access to vital services like healthcare. The literacy rate for women in Bangladesh is only 54% and 40% of girls between 15 and 19 will drop out of school. Many leave without the vital skills needed to enter the workforce.

Last year, we delivered community-based ante and post-natal care to 510 vulnerable women in Mirpur, Dhaka. As part of this project, we identified 4,775 children under-5 and provided them with medical support. We were also able to provide 52 women with entrepreneurial and vocational training, so they now have the skills to become securely employed and support their families.

Supporting women in Jordan

In Jordan, we are currently teaching 16 women sewing and design basics. All of the trainees are living in poverty and half of them have fled for their lives from the brutal conflict in Syria to become refugees in neighbouring Jordan. By gaining these skills, they will be able to live free from poverty and gain stable, skilled employment. 

Agricultural training in Palestine

Life can be very hard for women living in the West Bank, part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Ongoing violence, restrictions on movement and high unemployment ha

With the help of our donors, we will be supporting 20 women and their families, and 8 business owners with an ambitious agricultural project. Women will be taught farming techniques and entrepreneurial skills for 12 months, allowing them to earn an income and support their families for years to come.

Everyone has a right to live free of poverty and suffering, however, women are more likely to face significant barriers. Our projects aim to help women become self-reliant and able to live 

How you can help

Gender equality is both a human right and essential for building a prosperous, peaceful and sustainable world. In order to fulfil the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, we must ensure that women and girls are able to access adequate healthcare, enrolled in high-quality education and given the opportunity to take part in skills training, further education and social and public life. 

By donating £45 to our Livelihoods Fund, you can provide a needy woman with livelihoods support, empowering her to become self-sufficient and allowing her to take care of her children and other relatives.

By giving just £125, you can provide a vulnerable woman in Pakistan with a sewing machine, enabling her to earn money to support herself and her family, and enjoy a potentially lucrative and creative working life. A simple sewing machine can be the key to lifting a whole family out of poverty and benefiting their local community.

Give a woman and her family the chance to live with dignity.