ILO, CIDA, Hashoo Foundation launch joint Women Empowerment Project
By Hina Kiyani

ISLAMABAD—International Labor Organization organized in collaboration with its implementing partner Hashoo Foundation the launch of "WomenEmpowerment through Hotel Management Training" program at a local hotel.
The project provides skills development opportunities tounemployed women and increases their employability in the hospitality and tourism; one of the fastest-growing industry in Pakistan.
Besides a large number of successfully trainees of the program, the Launching ceremony was attended by Murtaza Hashwani, chief executive Hashoo Group, Asif Hayat Malki Federal Secretary Labor and Manpower, John J Moore, Counselor (Development) and head of Aid CIDA, Dong Lin Lee,Director ILO and Sara Hashwani, Chairperson Hashoo Foundation. Many representatives of development and humanitarian organizations also graced the occasion in an effort to streamline resources to substantiate the impact in the field of women empowerment.
While highlighting the various aspects of the project, Murtaza Hashwani said that the project, funded by Canadian International Development Agency, the ILO country program and Hashoo Group is about Women's Employment Concerns and Working Conditions in Pakistan".
The program, he added, aims to provide direct assistance to women to secure decent employment and improve the quantity and quality of employment for women with the view to promoting their empowerment whilst improving the welfare of the families.
The launching coincided with the certificate distribution ceremony for the first group of beneficiaries. Fifty-six successful trainees were awarded a diploma sanctioning 1 month of theoretical training and 2 months of on the job practical experience in one of Pakistan's leading 5-star hotels.
The project started on June 1st 2007 and will train a total of 318 women until March 31st 2008. It is part of ILO's country program addressing women's employment concerns and working conditions. Women seeking employment outside home compete with men in a discriminatory economic environment. Many women face resistance from their families and in theworkplace.
Practical difficulties, such as the lack of safe transportation to and from work, and a lack of advancement opportunities prevent women from accessing formal job markets. Free of cost for trainees, this training program targets women aged 18 to 35 residing in Punjab.
Hashoo Group of Hotels has made a generous contribution to this initiative by offering training opportunities at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad and Pearl Continental Hotels in Rawalpindi, Lahore and Bhurban.
The group also contributes to the financial costs of the program by spending PKR 42,000 on each trainee. This amount covers the trainers' honorarium, trainees' uniform, training hall, etc. Following the training sessions, Hashoo Groupof Hotels offers a professional launching pad through its reputable network.
Since 1999, Hashoo Group of Hotels has been offering unemployed men and women a vast range of training programs. Earlier, Sara Hashwani expressed her gratitude for the valuablecontribution of CIDA, ILO and Hashoo Group for the project and said that the Hashoo Foundation embodies the tradition of service to humanity that has run in the Hashwani family for the last six generations. Hashoo Foundation is a development NGO, focusing on economic self-sustenance and poverty alleviation.
Hashoo Foundation supports marginalized communities in improving their social, economic, education and health conditions through a participatory approach in fields including skills development, formal education, special education, social welfare and economic empowerment.
Hashoo Foundation is at the forefront for the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase of the earthquake-affected areas and made substantial relief contribution.