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Since 2004, the IQRA Welfare Trust
has been running a vocational institution for girls in
the city of Hassan (200 km from Bangalore), in the south
Indian state of Karnataka. Among the stated objectives
of this institution is the education and training of
Muslim women in all fields of life. The institute thus
equips them with a certain level of intellectual and
practical training that liberates them from the shackles
of low self-esteem and encourages them on to new heights
in the development of their personality. Anyone who
deliberates upon the plight of the Muslims in India
today, upon the losses inflicted on them, and upon their
resulting listlessness after their fall from Power will,
doubtless, find an urgent need to remind them – indeed,
to re-educate them - about the reality of Islam and its
glorious heritage. Perhaps, the best way to do this
would be by providing Muslim women with a sound Islamic
education. This may ensure that they, in turn, would
properly educate their children in Islam. Thus, a whole
new Muslim generation may be raised – a generation which
while aware of the possibilities and pitfalls of the
modern world, would hold on steadfastly to the moral
framework of Islam. Such have been the considerations
behind the IWT’s plans for launching this girls’
vocational training institute. It is by the grace of
Almighty Allah that the GVTI is in the third year of its
activity, with two batches of students having
successfully completed their courses therefrom.
The GVTI focuses its attention on educating its students
in Arabic language and the Islamic sciences like
interpretation of the Qur’an, Hadith, Fiqh and in the
origin and development of these disciplines. Besides
these subjects, the students are also taught Islamic
history, the biography of the Prophet and other
sciences, all of which the Muslim woman would require to
make herself a valuable Islamic personality and to
assist her in raising a good generation of the Muslim
Ummah. In imparting such education, the Institute is
especially careful to teach as much of these sciences
from their original Arabic sources. The students are
trained in such fashion that they obtain/ seek knowledge
from the primary sources and, in the process, develop
their own level of proficiency in the language. In
addition to these subjects, the Institute provides a
course in modern disciplines - like computer-related
packages and home science - for all who associate with
the GVTI. These additional courses are meant to assist
them in facing the challenges of the modern age and to
complete their training in maintaining a healthy
atmosphere within their homes.
Since the GVTI is still very much in its developing
stages, there is a dire need for further facilities like
separate building(s) for hostel arrangements. Further,
it is hoped that building spaces within the GVTI
premises rented out on suitable rates will cover the
expenses of the Institute. Such arrangements would go a
long way in facilitating a better quality of education
for the students at the GVTI.
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