Daily Times

SOC Films has released the “Siyani Sahelian – Advancing Action of Adolescent Girls” documentary on YouTube. The documentary highlights SOC Films’ collaborative flagship program with Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) focusing on girls’ education in South Punjab.

Launched in March 2018, Siyani Sahelian is a program which aims to tackle gender inequality for disadvantaged out of school adolescent girls (aged 9-19) in three districts of South Punjab, including Muzaffargarh, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan. To-date, the program has empowered 36,000+ out of school adolescent girls in South Punjab through post primary opportunities for learning gains, TVET [Technical and Vocational Education and Training], livelihoods and life skills.

“With this program, we have had a chance to work closely with young girls who face severe socio-economic challenges. In a span of just three years, we have been able to enable, and empower these girls by teaching them life skills so they have the ability to stand on their own two feet. Our documentary chronicles this journey and highlights the impact Siyani Sahelian has made in their lives. I still believe that these girls, if educated and empowered, can be the backbone of Pakistan’s economy.” said Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

Enabling 18,000+ dropped out girls in phase 1 spread over a period of twenty-five months [with a promising results of 92% passing percentage from the PEC Examination 2020] and 15,000+ dropped out girls in phase 2 spread over a period of fourteen months, the Siyani Sahelian documentary highlights the program’s three strands of empowerment:

1. Remedial/Accelerated Learning:
   A) This strand is being offered at all three district hubs and 415 partner community schools in hard to reach areas in district Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh and Rahim Yar Khan, creating opportunities for extremely vulnerable girls to obtain education/vocational skills, such as victim of early marriage, minorities groups and adolescents with minor physical disability.
2. Vocational Skills and Livelihoods (TVET):
   A) These 3-month courses, certified with NAVTTC/TEVTA, aims at equipping the girls with skill sets that are high demand in their districts which they can monetize post-training, such as Domestic Tailoring, Machine Embroidery, Beautician, Word Press, Poultry Farming, Kitchen Gardening, Handicraft, Khussa Making, Chunri Making, Fabric Paint and Gota Kinari.
3. Life Skills Based Education and Mobile Cinema:
   A) This 60-hour program aims to equip adolescent girls with core life-skills intend to create a positive change in their attitudes and prepare marginalized girls for a better tomorrow. The program also raises awareness about the rights of women through a mobile cinema, workshop and documentary films in partnership with SOC Films and Girls Rising.

For the outreach of this collaborative program to over 60 towns and villages, SOC Films also produced short animated films – the first of which is released along with the Siyani Sahelian documentary, titled Civil Society and the role of Women. This film highlights the importance of female participation in society as they actively try and fulfil their civic responsibilities. The film also highlights the role of women and how they can effectively fight for their rights while suggesting a series of organizations and institutions that assist women in their search for a greater quality of life.