International Women’s Day amplifies the one day a year when the resilience and limitless potential of women and girls everywhere are proudly celebrated. At READ Foundation, one day isn’t enough; we intertwine every initiative with a commitment to creating an environment where women can thrive. Empowering women is a right, not a privilege. And it’s a right that benefits everyone.
Across the communities we serve, women and girls confront structural barriers to education, economic participation, and decision-making, and yet despite these challenges, are already leading change. They run households, nurture young minds, manage small businesses, teach in schools and lead local initiatives. Women are not waiting to be empowered; they are shaping their families and communities every day. Our focus is to remove obstacles and create opportunities for that leadership to grow.
Globally, gender inequality in education persists in both access and outcomes. Around 122 million girls are out of school, and women make up nearly two-thirds of the world’s illiterate adults. But girls’ education is not just about access; girls need the chance to gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to shape their own lives and participate fully in society. The impact is transformative. Each additional year of schooling can increase a woman’s life expectancy by 10 per cent, and her earnings by 20 per cent. Each additional year of education for girls also drastically lowers rates of child marriage and infant mortality.
Throughout Pakistan, we provide day-care facilities for female teachers within our schools. This recognises a reality too often ignored: child care is not a luxury, and women should not be forced to choose between their careers and their families without meaningful options. By addressing this practical barrier, we support women’s retention in the workforce and strengthen the continuity of education for students.
Across Yemen, we provide livelihood and vocational training for widowed women, helping them sustain their households with dignity and agency. In contexts where women bear disproportionate responsibility for unpaid labour, supporting women’s economic participation directly contributes to household resilience and community stability.
In Bangladesh, youth-led child marriage prevention committees are actively intervening in real cases of early marriage, demonstrating that adolescent girls are not passive beneficiaries but powerful agents of change within their own communities.
In the refugee camps of Lebanon, youth women and girls navigate displacement, economic precarity and social exclusion. Our mobile life skills programmes provide support in financial and academic literacy, supporting not only education, but the capacity to make informed decisions about their future.
In Tanzania, girls’ clubs strengthen awareness around gender-based rights, reproductive health, early child marriage prevention and menstrual hygiene support, ensuring girls have both knowledge and the collective solidarity to advocate for themselves.
When women are supported, communities thrive. Children stay in school. Local economies become more resilient. Social networks strengthen. Empowering women is essential for everyone’s success.
