There has been a lot of research being done on empowerment especially in the context of South Asian countries but theirs is a dearth of scholarship on women in non-traditional jobs and how it effects the women empowerment. We have tried to ground this phenomenon in the context of Pakistan through focusing on a case study in the remote region of Altit Hunza, Pakistan.
The case study we choose was a women social enterprise under the name of CIQAM which is established in the Altit Village of Hunza, Pakistan. This was implemented by NGO called Aga Khan Cultural Support program (AKCSP) in 2008.The main objective of this project was to provide a source of income for women from marginalized households at the same time empowering them in the process.
In this study we examined the reason behind women going into non-traditional jobs and what role did CIQAM played in the empowerment of women in Hunza. Through this research we found out that one of the few reasons why they went into non-traditional jobs was due to household financial issues. This project played a significant role in the empowerment of women in this region. At all levels of change, Personal, Relational and Environmental, the women involved positives and transformational change in their lives