BSR Insight | HERproject Update: Promoting Women’s Health in Pakistan
Last month, an appreciation ceremony in Karachi, Pakistan, celebrated the accomplishments of HERproject, a BSR initiative that raises female factory workers’ awareness of general and reproductive health issues.
As a result of BSR's Pakistan project—which included support from the Levi Strauss Foundation and local partner Aga Khan University—female workers in one factory now have access to feminine-hygiene products and family-planning resources. Before HERproject, these same women often missed one to three days of work per month due to their menstrual cycles.
While formal results of a return-on-investment study are forthcoming, the factory's managers have committed to another phase of work for women and a similar health program for men. The project represents a major success in a country where women's health is a contentious issue, women's rights are restricted, and NGO capacity is weak.
HERproject is currently operating in China, Egypt, India, Mexico, Pakistan, and Vietnam, and participation is open to all BSR members. For more information, contact Racheal Yeager at ryeager@bsr.org.
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