Bait-ul-Mal Women Empowerment Centres: Free Training and Rs 50 a Day
Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal trains widows, orphan girls and poor women free at 165 centres and pays Rs 50 a day. See the courses, who qualifies and how to find one.
Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal runs 165 Women Empowerment Centres that teach widows, orphan girls and women from poor homes a trade for free, and pay each trainee Rs 50 for every day she attends. Courses include tailoring, embroidery, computers and beauty work. You join at the nearest centre, because the online list of centres does not open.
Bait-ul-Mal is the federal welfare body best known for medical grants. Its sewing and skills centres get far less attention, yet they are in every province, plus Islamabad, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. Bait-ul-Mal says 25,054 women are enrolled right now.
We read the centres' section of Bait-ul-Mal's programmes page and its press releases of August and September 2026, and checked the links it gives for joining.
Bait-ul-Mal pays trainees Rs 50 a day to learn a trade
Training at a Women Empowerment Centre is free. On top of that, Bait-ul-Mal pays each enrolled trainee a stipend of Rs 50 for each day she attends. It is not a salary, but it covers a bus fare or a cup of tea for a woman who would otherwise stay home.
Bait-ul-Mal says 228,604 women have passed out of these centres in the last 10 years. At an exhibition of trainees' work in Islamabad on 23 August 2026, its Managing Director put the all-time figure at more than 400,000.
The stipend is paid on attendance, so missed days are not paid. Bait-ul-Mal does not publish how often the money is handed over, or how long each course runs, so ask at the centre on your first visit.
Six kinds of course are on offer
Bait-ul-Mal lists six course groups. Each centre picks courses that sell in its own area, with help from local NGOs and community members, so not every centre teaches all six.
| Course | What you learn |
|---|---|
| Cutting, drafting, tailoring | Measuring, cutting and stitching clothes |
| Hand and machine embroidery | Decorative stitching by hand and machine |
| Basic and advanced computer | Computer use, from basics upward |
| Beautician | Salon and beauty skills |
| Tie and dye, fabric painting | Colouring and painting fabric |
| Hand knitting | Knitting woollen garments |
Tailoring is the course most women can turn into money fastest, because it works from home with one machine. Bait-ul-Mal's Managing Director said in August 2026 that the centres now aim to go beyond skills, towards selling products and running a small business.
Widows, orphan girls and poor women get the places
Bait-ul-Mal lists four entry rules: widows with dependent children, orphans and destitute girls with no support, women from low-income households, and selection with the involvement of local representatives. No income ceiling or age limit is printed for these centres.
That last rule means a word from your union council member or local elected representative can help. It is not a fee, and nobody should charge you for it. If a person asks for money to get you a place, refuse.
Widows on another scheme are not shut out by anything Bait-ul-Mal publishes for the centres. Its medical grants do exclude people on other government aid, but no such line appears for the skills centres.
The list of centres does not open online
Bait-ul-Mal's page has a button marked "List of WECs and Application Form". When we checked it on 10 October 2026, the button did not lead anywhere. So for now, the way in is to find the centre near you and ask in person.
- Call the Bait-ul-Mal helpline, 0800-66666, and ask for the nearest Women Empowerment Centre.
- Or ask at the Bait-ul-Mal district office, or your union council.
- Visit the centre with your CNIC, or your B-Form if you are under 18.
- If you are a widow, take your late husband's death certificate. If you are an orphan, take your father's.
- Ask which courses start next, how long they run and when the stipend is paid.
The documents in steps 3 and 4 are our advice, because the centres' own form is not online. They prove the status that the entry rules describe. A centre may ask for more.
Centres are open across Pakistan, including Punjab's big districts
Bait-ul-Mal says its 165 centres cover all four provinces, Islamabad, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. In September 2026 it trained 120 teachers from its centres in Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Nankana Sahib, Gujranwala and Sialkot alone, which shows how many centres sit in central Punjab.
If no centre is near you, other free training exists. BISP families can apply for BISP's Benazir Hunarmand skills programme, and women in Punjab can watch for the Punjab SEHR free courses. Orphan girls may also qualify for Bait-ul-Mal's monthly stipend under its orphan support programme.
Common questions about Bait-ul-Mal Women Empowerment Centres
Is the training at a Bait-ul-Mal centre free?
Yes. Training is free, and trainees are paid Rs 50 for each day they attend.
Who can join a Women Empowerment Centre?
Widows with dependent children, orphan and destitute girls, and women from low-income households.
How do I find the nearest centre?
Call the Bait-ul-Mal helpline 0800-66666 or ask at the district office. The online list did not open when we checked on 10 October 2026.
Can I learn computers at a Bait-ul-Mal centre?
Yes, at centres that offer it. Bait-ul-Mal lists basic and advanced computer courses, but each centre picks its own courses.
Does Bait-ul-Mal give a certificate?
Bait-ul-Mal's page does not say. Ask at the centre before you enrol if you need one for a job.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked on 10 October 2026. We read the Women Empowerment Centres section of the programmes page and the August and September 2026 press releases on the Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal website, and tested its "List of WECs" link. Bait-ul-Mal does not publish course length, stipend payment dates, a document list or certificates for the centres, so none are stated as fact here.
About the author
Public Services and Education Journalist
Fajr Riaz is a journalist and content writer at Pakistan Era, based in Lahore. She covers the questions people meet in everyday life in Pakistan: how a public service works, what a change in the rules means, and where to find a reliable answer.
