Samina and Shabana are taking active and creative steps to address a major issue facing Muslim women. They believe that all barriers can be overcome through social and economic empowerment. All one needs is ‘will’, and the vision to change the human condition
By Bhakti Chalak
Samina Shaikh and Shabana Contractor studied together while living in the Muslim neighbourhood of Kondhwa, Pune, the cybercity of Maharashtra. On realizing that the educational indices of Muslims in India are extremely poor, both decided to improve the situation of their community. They, thereby, set up their organization — Future Foundation — in 2016 with the sole aim of motivating Muslim children to attend school.
Both friends first surveyed the Muslim community, and realized that students are unable to study due to difficult conditions at home. This, they found out, was also the reason behind the high drop-out rate.
Said Samina, “We met students and parents in areas around Kondhwa. After talking to them, we understood the basic reason behind students dropping out of school. Due to lack of financial support, many had to drop out of school. As an immediate measure, we not only helped the students academically. but focused on how to empower their parents financially.”
They discovered that lack of financial stability is hampering a lot of parents from sending their children to schools. “Many parents of Muslim children do not have permanent employment,” she said.
Due to this, there is constant economic instability suffered by many families. To deal with this, children start working very early. That is the reason why there are more Muslim children in the labour force.
Their Foundation offers job opportunities to Muslim women so that they can send their children to school. Often, the financial responsibility of the family falls on the husband. If women become earning members, stability will automatically come into the family.
According to Samina, if the women are capable and confident, they can take care of everyone. It turns around the condition of the family.
Keeping this in mind, Samina and Shabana worked extremely hard to create employment opportunities for Muslim women. In most places, it was challenging to get them out of their homes, but, gradually, they overcame this difficulty.
Most middle-aged Muslim women are not educated. This made them unemployable.
Future Foundation found a solution to this problem. It advised them to up pick jobs as household help, and in the cottage industry, among other sectors, in the nearby areas. Soon, several uneducated women were employed.
However, a few families were too poor to send their children to school. The Foundation provided them a monthly financial assistance.
Future Foundation focuses on Muslim women who face domestic violence and have no support system. In the absence of financial support and shelter, these women have to depend on their abusers, and, in the process, face more abuse and violence. Only after the situation goes out of control, and beyond human tolerance, does a woman choose to leave her home — as a last resort.
In such a situation, she has to take care of her children, while she has no place to go and live. In such intense crises, a woman needs a safe shelter.
Keeping this in mind, Future Foundation has set up facilities of free shelter for such women. Women who are escaping their abusive partners with their children, are offered a clean and comfortable place to live, till the children complete their education.
The Foundation is trying to ensure that the youth too get higher education. Hence, the doors of foreign education should be opened for them.
It organizes awareness drives and camps to ensure that scholarships for the minority community are available to the needy. Besides, training camps are held to keep youngsters updated about new skills in various professions.
Through the Foundation, Samina and Shabana are taking active and creative steps to address a major issue facing the Muslim community. They believe that all barriers and all difficulties can be overcome through social and economic empowerment. All one needs is ‘will’, and the vision and determination to change the human condition.
Source: awazthevoice