The "Light in the Darkness of Illiteracy" programme of the Pakistan Bible Society (PBS) has spanned nearly a decade and changed the lives of many Christian women in Pakistan. Through this programme PBS helps women learn how to read and write Urdu, the language spoken by approximately 32,000,000 Pakistanis. Most students start the programme with a good spoken language, but they are not yet able to read and write in Urdu.

The literacy rate among Pakistani women is 64%, much lower than the global average of 83%, according to UNESCO. However, in the predominantly Muslim country, the literacy rate among Christian women is only 34%. This is lower than the national average. Christians make up only 2% of the total population in Pakistan. They have become a marginalised community, and the problem of illiteracy further contributes to this isolation and darkness.

Literacy programmes empower women to explore opportunities not previously available or thought of for them, outside of the brick factories, mills, and farms where they and their families work long hours for meagre wages, just as their ancestors have for generations.

One of the programme participants is Haniya. Haniya was just 12 years old when his father was killed, in a suicide bomb attack on a Catholic church in Youhanabad during Sunday Service in 2015.

“My father regularly attended church services. Unfortunately on that day he was helping the security guards at the church gate when a suicide bomber tried to enter the Church. The suicide bomber strapped an explosive jacket on his body and he triggered the bomb at the gate," Haniya recounted the dark memory. The blast killed 14 people and injured 70, one of whom was Haniya's father.

Despite Haniya's father being uneducated and unaware of the benefits of education, Haniya and her younger sister attended the "Light in the Darkness of Illiteracy" class. After her father passed away, they began learning to read and write. Her hard work and thoroughness were evident throughout the programme and how Haniya and her sister adapted to the teaching materials. Haniya now works at a local garment factory.

“ I am now a supervisor in the production of clothes whose materials we take home and share with many other women," she said. "When the clothes come to us after being cut, I can sort them by size and tie them up in bundles that are labelled."

I have now started to provide useful activities to many women around where I live, and I get a small commission.

Haniya's quality of work impressed even others in the factory and management regularly commented on her performance. In addition to the practical benefits of learning to read, women who graduate from the programme are also encouraged to be diligent in reading their own Bibles.

Haniya was honoured to be given the opportunity to read the Bible at the Pakistan Bible Society's Annual General Meeting. For her, it was a privilege that made her think of her father who passed away. According to him, his father would be proud of his progress now.

"I miss my father. If he had seen me reading the Bible in a big church in front of the meeting, he would have been very proud."

I am grateful to the Church leaders, teachers, and the Pakistan Bible Society for shining a bright light in our lives darkened by illiteracy."

After the participants graduate, pastors, teachers (tutors) and programme supervisors are assigned to meet the graduates regularly to provide assessment and support for further learning.

Through the illiteracy eradication programme, PBS hopes that learners will become intelligent, active and confident members of society. The project aims for programme participants to become literate Bible readers, who can earn a living wage for their work, and who are motivated to send their children to school.

Another participant is Beena. She is a 76-year-old widow who has 8 children and 27 grandchildren. She feels a tremendous blessing from this programme. She hopes that all her children and grandchildren will also become educated people and become good Bible readers.

Despite her enthusiasm for learning since childhood, Beena did not have the opportunity to learn to read or write. Beena was able to work as a cleaner in a hospital and did so for 46 years before retiring in 2007. After her husband died in 2000, the area where Beena lived, about 28 kilometres east of the Afghan border, was overrun by a fundamentalist social structure called "Jarga" that operated outside the laws and customs of the Government of Pakistan. Firearms are carried freely, kidnappings and murders are common, and women are not allowed to leave their homes independently.

“ There is not a single school for girls in this region. Education for girls is considered immoral … In this situation, education for women is impossible," Beena said.

Although the Pakistan Army restored government control in the region in 2014 and rejected the "Jarga" system, it is still difficult for women to integrate more freely into society and some restrictions still exist.

"In January 2022, our pastor visited our home for a regular pastoral visit (once a month from Peshawar city). He informed us that the Pakistan Bible Institute was opening adult illiteracy classes in the Church. He also shared that his wife Robina will be teaching the class. If you agree to join and learn to read and write, then I will take this responsibility. I went to my eldest son and asked if he would allow me, my daughter-in-law, and my granddaughter to join the class.

Despite the cultural barriers to overcome, Beena advocated for improving her family's education and through the help of her son, the women in her family were able to take the course.

“We started our classes in February 2022 and now we thank God that 11 women from my family have now been able to read the Bible. We started a family Bible study group and read at least 2 to 3 chapters per day.

Beena and her family have almost finished the New Testament and are excited about reading the Old Testament. This nine-month course requires students to attend classes six days a week, each meeting lasting 2 hours a day.

If they are willing, women who have passed the course can take an equivalency exam based on the formal primary education threshold, allowing them to pursue higher levels of formal education.

In the eight years between 2014 and 2021, 52,854 women graduated through this project. Last year in 2022, PBS celebrated the graduation of 5,655 programme participants, presenting them with certificates of completion and Urdu New Testaments. By 2023, another 3,500 Christian women are expected to graduate from this literacy programme.