Women's Desk

Greetings in the matchless name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This is to draw your kind attention towards the women's desk of the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan (PCP).

PCP came into being in 1993, as the result of the union of Lahore Church Council and UP Synod of Pakistan. The total membership of the church is 300,000 - 400,000. It has 27 presbyteries and 330 congregations. More than 300 pastors, catechists and workers are serving the church. It is, of course, a large church, and serves in the fields of evangelism and mission, education, literacy, health, and social welfare, but still the church is not well consolidated to attain success in the 21st Century.

Under the great stress of consolidation, the church has seriously felt that it needs to build the capacity of women. More than 50 percent of the membership is that of women, who are mostly uneducated, illiterate and unskilled. Most of them are limited to the boundaries of the house and related just to the household. Until the women are developed, the church cannot be consolidated. That is why the PCP has begun with the women's desk. The need for this is to create awareness among women about their identity and role in the family, the church and the nation. This desk is established in order to educate them, organize them, strengthen them, and develop them. This need is urgent and pressing.

The church has proposed a program for the secretary of the women's desk. The proposal includes the provision of the office facilities for the secretary, and also for the transportation arrangement for the secretary so that she may visit the women of the church. It also includes the equipment, furniture and fixtures of the office.

The objective of the proposal includes the issues of creating awareness among the women about their identity and role in the church, the program of literacy for them, and the provision of training for different skills among the women in order that they may attain respect and honour, and have the opportunity to develop their families.

As far as the implementation of the proposal is concerned, the following steps should be taken:

1. The secretary shall visit the congregations, and shall form the societies for women and young girls.
2. Through these societies, the women shall be made aware of their identity, position and role.
3. They shall be helped to become literate.
4. They shall be taught skills in order that they may make their living.
5. This shall be especially applicable to the village women.
6. Thus, through this program, the church shall be consolidated and made effective through the strength of the more than 50 percent population of women.

The expected benefits are:

1. The women in general shall be benefited, particularly the village women.
2. The quality of life of the women, and their health, shall be improved.
3. The honor and dignity of the women shall be increased.
4. The importance of the women shall also be increased.
5. The women shall be effectively beneficial to their families, church and the nation.