Sughar Core Team Profiles are Here!
Khalida Brohi
Coming from a small village in
Balochistan part of Pakistan, Khalida Brohi often likes to refer to herself as
the village girl at Large. Educated in Karachi but taken back to her tribal
setups through unfortunate incidents Khalida chose to stand against the custom
of Honor Killings at the age of 16 by launching various initiatives and
recently establishing the setup of Sughar Empowerment Society.
Along with her roles as Social Entrepreneur and Activist, she is the
sister of 8 siblings and a practicing Sufi.
Mehvish Bashir:
At 22 Mehvish is a go-getter! Along with her beautiful voice,
Mehvish possess qualities of a workaholic and the discipline of an army general.
From his diverse backgrounds in Textile Engineering and Marketing, Babar has traveled thoroughly around Pakistan and the United Arab
Emirates.
Founder/Executive Director
Khalida’s believes that a society
can be established where women are not killed for honor but are honored and
given equal status! This belief has taken her so far as to bring innovative
ways to engage women in learning processes, to mobilize tribal men to find
result-based and collective strategies to fight centuries old customs and
provide women the resources to grow wings.
With
the successful take off of Sughar, Khalida plans for the next 10 years to
change the lives of 1 million women in Pakistan. Khalida has been named among
NewsWeeks 25 under 25 Women of Impact as well NewsWeeks list of 100 Women Who
Matter in Pakistan , Awarded Woman of Impact Award by Women in the World
Foundation and various other awards for her young leadership and determination.
Management Guru:
At 22 Mehvish is a go-getter! Along with her beautiful voice,
Mehvish possess qualities of a workaholic and the discipline of an army general.
Driven by her passion to fight injustice against women in Pakistan as basically belonging from a rural background in Khairpur District of Sindh, Mehvish
have always been involved in small ways to give back to her community. Finally
joining Sughar in 2013 she declares that its time she fulfilled her dreams of
women empowerment at a bigger level by contributing towards Sughar’s mission.
With her sharp skills of organizing and management, Mehvish determines task completion, roles distribution, accountability assurance and a bit of fun in everything around the office!
With her sharp skills of organizing and management, Mehvish determines task completion, roles distribution, accountability assurance and a bit of fun in everything around the office!
With her vibrant personality and shinning eyes she is already a
family favorite at Sughar! And, as her role as the management Guru and breathing down the teams neck regularly, she makes sure she stays
favorite! ;)
A true women rights activist at heart Kalsoom is all for community development! From her struggles to educate her little siblings in her small village in the outskirsts of Hyderabad to moving towards Karachi and joining Sughar she sees her journey as a mere beginning!
Kalsoom Niaz:
Community Expert
A true women rights activist at heart Kalsoom is all for community development! From her struggles to educate her little siblings in her small village in the outskirsts of Hyderabad to moving towards Karachi and joining Sughar she sees her journey as a mere beginning!
This fun-loving and soft spoken person is an all times organizer of women in tribal villages of Pakistan, mobilizing them towards the message of Sughar and proving to them that leadership comes from within. In all ways Kalsoom is the expert when it comes to community mobilization and management!
Along with that expertise, Kalsoom's Laugh is a famous energy-booster for the Sughar Team! !According to her that laugh which one can hear at 10 km distance helps her make friends! So hundreds of rural women friends by now, Kalsoom is looking forward to reach out to 1 million women through Sughar and spread the message that she truly believes in as well as spread love and a lot of laughter!
Babar Mughal:
Product Extraordinaire:
From his diverse backgrounds in Textile Engineering and Marketing, Babar has traveled thoroughly around Pakistan and the United Arab
Emirates.
His vast understanding of people and traditions have shown him
both the positives and the negatives among those customs and with a belief that
negative customs that mainly effect our women in Pakistan need to be changed, Baber
have stepped inside Sughar to make sure that happens!
As his role as the Product Extraordinaire at Sughar, Babar is
involved in promoting the best tribal stories from Pakistan’s villages by
creating a unique and fashionable embroidery product which shares a story,
brings together communities, employes women and eventually fights violence in
the name of custom!
And when Babar is not in his formal setup of office-work, he is seen outside playing cricket as the team captain or photographing Pakistan’s endless beauties.
Tag :
the team
POSITIVE IS CREDIBLE
Build for yourself a strong box,
Fashion each part with care;
When it’s strong as your hand can make it,
Pull all your troubles there;
Hide there all thoughts of your failure,
And each bitter cup that quaff;
Lock all your heartaches within it,
Then sit on the lid and laugh….
You
must have heard the phrases containing word “POSITVE” and all these
carrying a positive sense such as positive is credible, positive thinking can
bring the change, powers of positive thinking, a positive cheerful word changed
the whole day and all that jazz. Yes, these all are true, but one must be
thinking that the time in which we are living is full of worries and how can
bring something positive. There is just a bundle of negative thoughts. In spite
of all this, a positive attitude is a match for all the gloom and depression
that affects so many these days.
To see
how ‘positive is credible’ the very first step one must take is “BELIEVE IN
YOURSELF”. This creates the faith that you can do anything good as anyone else
can do. Erase the thinking “I can’t” or “I am a failure and not capable” from
your mind. Just a simple positive attitude, not at once, but can bring a big
change. It is not always easy to have a positive attitude, but some of the
given suggestions can you out to a great extend:
“I CAN DO ALL THINGS BY THE GRACE OF ALLAH, WHO STRENTHENS ME”
In contrast to
positive thinking or attitude a negative one is painful, mean ugly. On one hand
where positivity can make life happier, easier and cheerful, on other hand the
negative attitude can turn things into a nightmare. When we think good
the good can happen, in same way if we hold negative thoughts, look for sin in
everyone, certainly we will find it.A renowned psychologist Thomas W.Allen has
said,
“The power of positive attitude is stronger in fighting disease than all
of the technology of modern science.”
The
positive thinking always results in positive outcomes. The fears for tomorrow
and bad thoughts of past will just make you unhappy. Try this one practically:
“A LIFE CAN BE HAPPIER IF ONE WILL LEARN TO LIVE ONE DAY AT TIME,
BELIEVIVG THAT FUTURE IS YOURS”
At
the end I will surmise whole with the lines: Attitudes are more important than
facts. Whatever mess we are faced with in our country can be turnaround
positive thinking and attitude.” Definitely, Positive is credible….
I am on-board at Sughar!
When I first
received the selection call from Sughar, I couldn’t really believe it. It was really surprising as well as exciting
for me! No doubt it is going to ask me for hard work and a lot of commitment
but yes of course it is now my time to show my guts, my skills and my knowledge
that I have to utilize for the betterment of the organization and for the
welfare of society especially women.
Thinking
about the reasons I chose to apply/work for Sughar? It’s the “PURPOSE” they are
working on. Yes, you read correct the purpose of empowering WOMEN, by grooming
their skills, giving value to their work and enabling them to be
economically strong and stable. Its not like I thought about it just few days
ago but from a very young age I have always wanted to do something for women in
our society, as they never really
receive the respect that they deserve because of rural tradition, where they
are not allowed to get education, can’t ask for their basic rights, where they
are not permitted to do what they actually want, indeed living life of a slave.
Having those
observations in mind I started to develop awareness within my own family,
created many problem for myself but finally succeeded in shifting my uncles
family from a small village to city, for the education of his daughters and
with grace of Allah now they are in middle of their studies. I called it my
very first achievement, and started the same work for other families near my
residential area, but what was lacking is a proper platform, I wanted a center
from I can help in such cause at a bigger level and here I am, at Sughar I am
at the very right place!
Yesterday
was my joining day! It was a memorable day for me with new a place, new people
and new things to do. But amazingly enough it was like we knew each other from
years. The team environment here is so friendly with a lot of respect, while the
team is really dedicated and sincere towards their work.
What more
should I expect? Seriously, lucky me! Surely I am going to learn a lot here
with an everlasting experience!
Tag :
Sughar Team
Interns and Volunteers Needed!
We invite you to come join us in our Karachi office as an intern or volunteer who not only helps out in the following ways but gets to take out so much from the experience!
We Need:
[Media Volunteers]: (Supported by the Media Manager at Sughar)-Updating facebook, twitter, blogger and pinterest of Sughar-Creating and sending our online magazine!- Responding to and sending emails about interviews and stories [Karachi Based]
[Marketing Intern]: (Supported by the Marketing Expert)- Helping out in managing Sughar Fashion Product orders and working with rural women as well as finishing companies we work with for the production process.
[Data Intern]: There is so much data increasing daily at Sughar which needs to be put into the desk, into inventory softwares, contact management files and expenditure sheets. We need someone who is an expert in data management!
[Graphic Volunteer]: Posters, Banners, Model Photo Shoot edits and so much more to be fixed on adobe and other softwares, if you are someone who knows the basics within these, this is the place for you!
[Design Volunteer]: We are looking for creative minds to help us in design thinking for our upcoming production! If you know anything about art, fashion and love mixing both, we are looking for your help!
[A Sughar Friend] Yup! We need more friends =)- Help promote the Sughar event by inviting friends- Talk to atleast 10 people about Sughar - Share our updates on their timeline - Send us smiles and handshakes now and then!
What will you get?- Totally good looking office space at our office at DHA Karachi- A Computer while at work- Free internet access (while at work)- A shiny certificate of being a big help! Learning from our weekly training sessions at our office - Amazing experience from being part of an awesome team and Cough* Cough* A beautiful Sughar Hand Clutch as a gift! (Full time workers would be compensated for travel)
We look forward to hear from you!! Comment here or send us an email at sugharwomen@gmail.com
Tag :
Join Us
Deadline Extended: We are Hiring! - Deadline 30th April 2013
Sughar Project Manager
What is the role going
to be like?
The PM will lead the Projects Core
Operations. This includes general management, strategic planning around
community development, organizational growth, & managing relations with
Donors, Media Partners and other stakeholders. The position is
full-time and based in Karachi Office of Sughar.
Major Qualities we are
looking for:
·
Good with skills of communication
and public speaking
·
Skilled in both macro and micro
management
·
Has
Strong writing skills in English
·
Has previous Management Experience
·
Quick and active in daily activities
of the project
·
Good
at motivating and coordinating other staff
·
Have guts to take risks and get
her/his hands dirty!
·
Ability to work more than 8 hours a
day!
·
Ability to travel long hours and
frequently
·
Can speak Sindhi, Urdu and English.
Writing skills only required for English.
·
Understands and respects Pakistani
rural culture
·
Has excellent time management
skills!
What You Will Do
1.
Develop
monthly work plan of the project and submit the copy of the plan to Manager
Programs, Manager Finance, Manager Admin/ Logistic and the respective finance
officer of the project
2.
Prepare
weekly work plans for the project activities and submit the weekly plans to
Manager Programs, Manager Finance, Manager Admin/ Logistic and the respective
finance officer of the project
3.
Implementing
work plans timely and managing operations by ground staff
4.
Facilitate
ground staff in activities of the project
5.
Organizing
monthly gatherings in villages for mobilizing rural men
6.
Prepare
activity reports, lists of participants, activity budget settlements and send
all the reports/ documents to Manager Programs for approval and record
7.
File
creation and record keeping for the project
8.
Prepare
Address List of the Project stakeholders including government departments ,
national and international NGOs, elected representatives, experts and other all
stakeholders and continuously update the address list
9.
Organizing
external stakeholder visits to the Sughar Centers in villages
10.
Maintain
hard and soft files and folders of all the project activities, reports
including activity reports, photos, lists of participants, monthly reports,
quarterly reports , updates , case studies, meeting reports and other reports
and documents in a systematic way
11.
Develop strategies to train, grow
and retain team members
12.
Cultivate good relations and
partnerships with communities, partners, investors and customers
13.
Organize
quarterly progress review meetings of the project staff, document the
meeting minutes and ensure follow ups
To Apply
Send in your CVs and a Cover Letter
to jobsatsughar@gmail.com by 29th of April 2013 and we will get
back to
you within a few days with results!
Call for Applications
Sughar Production Manager
What is the role going to be like?
The Production Manager will lead the
Embroidery Production and marketing side of the project. From production to
shipping and producer record keeping as well as provision of wages she/he will
be incharge of the activities that have to do anything with creating the best
fashion product at Sughar. This is a full time job in Karachi office of
Sughar, does involve a lot of travel.
Major Qualities we are looking for:
·
Has an understanding about markets
and changing market trends
·
Ability to travel frequently both
within the city and out of city
·
Knowledge about quality control,
color combinations and basic styles
·
Knows how to interact with different
kind of stakeholders. [From community to Fashion Designers]
·
Understands and respects traditional
rural culture of Pakistan
·
Familiar with Karachi markets
·
Ability to grasp new fashion ideas
and innovate frequently
·
Can speak Sindhi, Urdu and English
·
Has the ability to get things done
quickly and on time!
What You Will Do
·
Purchasing raw material per month and
per order
·
Traveling to villages of operation and facilitating
rural women in embroidery production
·
Working with project ground staff and
manager for creating wage structures and timely payment of women
·
Frequent Communication with customer and
producers
·
Creating and managing Sughar registers for
wage and other use
·
Checking and maintaining product quality
during embroidery and production
·
Working with Sughar partner companies
for finishing of embroidery in final products
·
Work on packaging, tagging and shipping
products nationally and internationally
·
Maintaining wage chart for the producers
around Sindh and Balochistan
·
Taking orders online and on phone
·
Close Coordination with Sughar Sale’s
staff for orders and customer care
·
Inventory Management for both finished
and unfinished products
·
Event/exhibition booking and organizing
·
Producing and submitting reports of
activities per month
To Apply
Send in your CVs to jobsatsughar@gmail.com 29th of April 2013 and will get back to you
within a few days for the next steps!
Tag :
Join Us
Sughar Salma and Her Dreams
The road that leads to this village seems to have no end until the dirt road starts, and then there would come the traces of life far ahead in the midst of bushes and trees. You will see trees kneeling towards the tiny path which is perhaps the only way to get there as on the right there is a beautiful river passing and on the left fields and farms run up till your sights distance.
This is the Village Baboo Khan Lashari, a small village in Sindh Province of Pakistan where Sughar Empowerment society operates, although surrounded by trees and the bushes this village looks as if there is miles and miles of population spread across its land, but once you get inside, a beautiful image of about 197 small hut-like houses all made of wood would come to your sight.
In these peaceful surroundings of utter silence and village life, there are many stories that surround us for their Inspiration, success as well as uniqueness that we have come across while becoming a part of their lives. One of the story is of Salma.
Salma comes in the inspiration part, at her young age of 19 and her sheer brilliance even belonging to a village where education wasn’t that much of a priority to anyone and where traditions both positive and negative strongly exist as the core values of these people. Salma was one of those fortunate girls who had had gone to receive her primary education from a nearby school with much hardships, later wishing to take her education further she requested her family and community to see for her a way to go to the town of Sakro for her middle grades but that not having been a possibility for any other girl in her village went the same for her and Salma stayed home.
Idleness was the last thing Salma enjoyed the most, running to the fields with her mother at the time of harvest in the piercing heat of summer or sweeping the house for a dozen times in a day, she still thought there was more to what she could do.
Those were the times when Sughar Empowerment Society supported by International Labour Organization (ILO) approached Salma and her village residents bringing for them an idea they hadn’t heard before!
Sughar mobilizers told the community men and women about their ending traditions and about their values that were being lost every day in the globalized world and so they said we want to work together with you to promote those beautiful traditions but then, in return struggle to end negative traditions like exchange marriages, child marriages, honor killings and others where women at majority become victims!
Sughar [English translation: skilled and confident woman] is a program aimed at ending the negative customs of exchange marriages, child marriages, honour killings by promoting the beautiful traditions and providing socio-economic empowerment to women in tribal communities of Pakistan. Sughar establishes Women Centers in villages offering a 6 month course to tribal women. The course involves value-adding the traditional embroidery and provides basic education and literacy skills. It raises awareness of rural women on their equal status and rights. Each course offers a minimum loan to each woman after graduating to initiate Primary Production Units at their homes thus promoting women entrepreneurship which greatly influences their power to ownership and decision making.
The whole idea of promoting traditions made the men in the community agree at the first note! Salma was awestruck; she wouldn’t believe that an organization intending to benefit women and to work with women is so welcomed in her community by men!
“It was so new for me” she says enthusiastically, “it still is! even though I have now become a part of it myself, because before this we only knew that income could only be brought home by men and earning wasn’t something we said women did”.
The best part yet came when asking where to have their Sughar Center inside the village; the tribal leader offered one of the rooms from his house!
Salma was chosen as one of the Local Facilitators among the three who would be trained in an intensive 10 days Training of Trainers (TOT) to come back and train the 30 selected women for the Sughar Center for 6 months through a module in local language.
Those days came when Salma was seen beaming to herself, her dying feelings and her dreams came back with more energy and life and she was now a girl destined to change her life as well as the lives of other women in her village!
“When some of the women didn’t want to come initially to the Sughar Center for the daily 2 to 4 class, I went to their homes and told them the inspiring stories of girls that I have heard from Sughar team”, Salma explains, those girls who starting from scratch became the owners of businesses right from their homes! And the next day I see these women coming to the Sughar Center laughing and talking”!
Just recently when Sughar Women Program launched Pakistan’s first ever Rural Women Brand called Sughar via a Fashion Show in Karachi, Salma was one of the designers for the dress of a top model! Her beautiful embroidery when modeled with much grace and sophistication adding to the love she had put in every stitch while preparing it!
Although with a bright smiling face, tears are like best friends to Salma, always shinning in her eyes when she talks about progress, change and women status. When asked about how it felt to earn income, learn about rights and to teach other women the best things for their lives, she didn’t say anything…. She just cried and smiled.
++++
We at Sughar have recently been nominated for Azm-e-Alishan Awards in Pakistan, coming to the finalists now we can only get to the finals through your vote! Please go to this facebook application to vote for us! Thank you! http://apps.facebook.com/azmealishanawards/?ref=ts
Tag :
Case Studies
