“It’s contagious!” That’s how Gamal El Sayed, the Director of SEKEM School described the case of the increasing number of girls studying at SEKEMs Vocational Training Center (VTC). “The girls are now more than the boys at the carpentry workshop,” he reports. This actually goes to the annual Girls’ Day event that SEKEM School celebrates with its students on the occasion of the International Women’s Day.
This year, the event was quite special. With the oriental Tabla and classical songs, the SEKEM students celebrated their colleagues who broke the patterns. Seven girls of the SEKEM students engaged themselves in the workshops of plumbing, carpentry, and electricity at the VTC. Such vocations that are known to be male-dominated. Likewise, 18 male students also experienced a profession that is mainly carried out by women. They were interned at SEKEM Kindergarten and the School for Children of Special Needs. Those young equality champions were recognized for their achievements and received certificates from their SEKEM teachers during the event.
Every year, a month before the International Women’s Day, the female SEKEM students at the last year of the preparatory stage attend different workshops at the VTC. “This explains why the number of girls choosing to get enrolled in the VTC at their secondary education stage is increasing,” the SEKEM school director reveals. “Those girls have a contagious passion, and hence it became a tradition at SEKEM.” The aim of the Girls’ Day is not only to raise the awareness towards gender equality, but it does also help girls and boys in choosing the right career for themselves for the future, wherein they are able to develop their talents.
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