09/16/2005

WUSC’s vocational training program emphasizes gender equity in all its programs. Fifty percent of the students are female. This fifteen-year-old program has challenged the gender norms of Batticaloa and is slowly bringing about change. However, it is still difficult for women to find non-traditional employment. This young woman chose to learn electrical wiring, a non-traditional vocation for a woman. She told us why she chose this field: “We can’t always depend on our parents; we want to earn our own money. At first I will join other people, then I want to start my own company. There is a lady near my house who does this. The new houses are being built after the tsunami will need electricity for them. I will be able to do the job.”