As part of the regional We Can campaign in South Asia, Oxfam and partners¹ are addressing violence and discrimination against women and girls in Pakistan. We are engaging 'Change Makers'; local women, men and children, who commit to change their own negative attitudes and behaviour, and encourage others to do the same.
This year, approximately 80,000 more Change Makers will be recruited in 32 districts; promoting both personal change in beliefs and practices and embedding change in schools. The project is also focusing on protecting women affected by disasters; supporting Change Maker groups to identify the particular needs of displaced women; to improve their safety, and help to ensure cases of abuse are referred to the relevant authorities.
Project aims
- Make violence against women and girls socially unacceptable, through engaging Change Makers and campaigning through the mass media to fundamentally shift attitudes and behaviour.
- Ensure the safety of women and girls displaced from their homes by disasters.
- Stop the cycle of violence by changing attitudes at an early age, and reduce the disruptive influence that violence has on children's education, by working to make schools harassment-free places.
- Empower women to develop the confidence to report cases of violence.
¹ The "We Can" National Secretariat; Sindh Development Society (SDS); South Asia Partnership Pakistan; Samaji Behbood Rabita Council; Yar Muhammad Samejo Educational Society and Development Organisation.