Htwe’s Story of Coding Her Future
From disrupted education to digital empowerment
Htwe, a bright young woman from a family of eight, had always been committed to her studies. But between school closures and escalating violence, she was forced to pause her education. The dream of becoming financially independent felt farther away with each passing day.
That changed when she joined the Safe Girls Coding Club.
“Attending the training is such a life-changing event for me,” she says. “There are a lot of girls like my friends who want to learn IT skills and have a job.”
Skills gained
Through the programme, Htwe gained hands-on training in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and English language skills; building blocks for both employment and further education. More importantly, she joined a community of young women with shared ambition: to code her way to empowerment.
Why Coding Matters
More than a technical skill
While some may understand coding to be just a technical skill, in the context of displacement and crisis, it becomes a protection tool, a bridge to financial independence, and a way out of harm’s reach.
- Employment pathways: In countries with shrinking job markets and limited mobility for women, digital skills create access to remote and freelance work.
- Reduced vulnerability: Girls with digital literacy are more likely to stay in school longer, marry later, and avoid exploitative labour.
- Leadership and agency: Learning to code cultivates skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and confidence which aspire for leadership, not just survival.
In places like Myanmar, where over 2 million people are displaced and half the population lives in poverty, giving girls tools to enter the workforce with confidence is essential.
Locally Led, Globally Connected
Partnerships that last
Muslim Aid works with grassroots partners like Swanyee Development Foundation and Thabyay Education Foundation to ensure that each coding club is tailored to local realities, culturally appropriate, and designed to last. The workshops are long-term investments in systems change.
By rooting the programme in local ownership, we are ensuring that when crises evolve, the solutions remain sustainable, relevant, and driven by the very communities they aim to serve.
The Virtual Door to a New Reality
From classroom to career pathways
For Htwe and hundreds of other girls, the coding club expands past the classroom and becomes instead a doorway. A place where new futures are imagined and coded into reality, one algorithm at a time.
And for the global Muslim community, it is a reminder of what our collective support can achieve. These girls don’t just need notebooks. They need networks. They don’t just need access. They need equity.
With every course completed, every website designed, and every code compiled, these girls are writing their own futures and rewriting what’s possible.
