Foundation has implemented 19 projects in 18 districts of the Punjab province and reached 212,698 women to advocate and aware them about their rights and opportunities to be empowered socially and economically.

Brief:

Like other parochial and male obsessed countries, Pakistan also has dominant patriarchal set-up seldom gives a chance to the other half of human population to flourish and stand-up for its own cause and rights. Such trends lead to a society that accord derogatory position to the women in practice and, ultimately, generations remains underdeveloped and undeserved. Women are viewed inferior to be reined in by men for the better or, in the majority of cases, for the worse. They cannot raise their voice against violence by men, who are their fathers, brothers, and the husbands. Contrary to the status of women in state religion, i.e. Islam, the prevailing traditions and customs in Pakistan are quite discriminatory against the women who constitutes more than 50% of the total population. Simply, the slanted perception that a daughter has not role to play in the family matters, results in violence and discrimination against them.

What We Do:

BUNYAD Foundation believes that women are such a pillar which determines the future of any nation by the level and quality of investment in their children’s health, education and civic socialization. In an underdeveloped country like Pakistan, women are living on the margins even after decades of state independence. Either they constitutes more than 50% of country’s total population, but they are still neglected in opportunities, violated in fundamental rights, abused in gender justice, and exploited in economic self-reliance. BUNYAD Foundation views mass illiteracy and economic dependence of women are key challenges to their pleasant life and socially empowered status. It believes that if women will be aware about their fundamental educational and economic rights, there will be no reason behind that they are empowered with least violence and abuse by her male counterpart. Realizing this reason underlying, BUNYAD Foundation advocated for the fundamental rights of women particularly about education and economic empowerment. In this regard, the Foundation has implemented 19 projects in 18 districts of the Punjab province and reached 212,698 women to advocate and aware them about their rights and opportunities to be empowered socially and economically. These interventions were made solely in far-flung rural areas where women has least opportunities and information can be empowered.

Geographic Coverage:

Initiating in 1996, BUNYAD Foundation has implemented 19 projects aiming to empower the women from marginalized and neglected communities in 18 districts of Punjab province. Among the total of 19 projects, almost half were implemented in two or more districts. The first project to empower the women was implemented in district Hafizabad where, in total, 10 projects have been implemented so far solely to advocate fundamental rights of women so that they can be provided an opportunity to be socially and economically empowered.

Partners:

BUNYAD Foundation was awarded grants from the International Labor Organization (ILO), UNESCO, UNDP, USAID, DFID/PSDF, and Cardiff University to implement the projects to empower women in targeted locations.