Woman Empowerment

• Training in income generating activities and business management.
• Assistance in obtaining financial resources like grants, loans and savings schemes.
• Providing support to help clients obtain waged employment.
• Assistance in accessing social benefits and entitlements.

Encouraging greater financial self-sufficiency

Women have the right to seek and obtain paid work, but in practice there are many barriers which prevent them from doing so. This is therefore a key focus area for DF’s work in Bangladesh.

We provide support to enable women & girls to obtain waged employment, learn essential work skills, set up their own small business enterprises and access loans, grants and savings schemes and social benefits. In this way, we assist in improving their financial security, providing for their futures and enhancing quality of life. Importantly, being able to participate in the workforce and earn a living also gives persons with disabilities a sense of worth and dignity otherwise denied to them.

Skills development

DF identifies and promotes opportunities for women to learn skills that are essential for earning an income i.e., core life skills, basic working practices, small business management, technical abilities, trade skills and income generation activities. For example, we have trained hundreds of persons with disabilities in feasible and practical livelihood skills such as poultry and cattle rearing, horticulture, handicrafts, aquaculture and tailoring.

Self-employment training & loans

In low-income countries like Bangladesh, self-employment provides the main opportunity for the women to earn a living. DF provides training in how to run a successful small business and assists persons with disabilities to access new enterprise start-up loans and grants using its business and Government links.

Support seeking waged employment

As women face many barriers to finding meaningful waged employment, DF assists them in creating connections and securing positions in the business, Government and NGO sectors.

Although employers are slowly becoming more receptive to employing someone with a disability, there is still a long way to go. Establish community based handloom project and encourage to produce as on the demand of local market.

Accessing social benefits

DF also raises awareness amongst persons with disabilities of the social benefits which they are entitled to and helps them to access these i.e., disability, education and widows’ allowances etc. We also assist persons with disabilities to set up self help groups so that they can advocate together for their rights and needs, and work closely with local government, development and Disabled People’s Organisations to support their work in the community