As Khlong Toey Music Program Director and Co-founder, Gigi Nemrod told us “I hope that through our program, we’re introducing our students to positive female role models, but also that through arts education we are teaching them that they can express themselves, learn anything they want to learn and be whoever they want to be.”
We’ve seen the evolution since PFCF was founded nearly 14 years ago that the music programs, through the communities where they live, could be an integral part of addressing gender inequality and creating more opportunities for women and girls, which began with the creation of the Mother’s Society over a decade ago.
Whether it’s the Mother’s Society in rural Nepal using the power of their voice to tackle taboo topics around gender, child marriage, sex trafficking, and the rights of women and children, to increasing girls participation in Morocco through traditional music or mentoring teenage girls through dance, it’s become clear that art can make a tangible difference in people’s lives. An investment in more women as teachers, staff, and program leaders is not only valuable but also necessary.
