Strengthening Women’s Political Participation in Pakistan

Overview

The Strengthening Women’s Political participation initiative built on a long struggle for women’s rights in Pakistan. Raising Her Voice (RHV) was one of the first global campaigns to address both invisible and visible structural causes of gender injustice. It sought to challenge social norms, empower women, increase their political participation and change government policy. In its early stages RHV benefitted over 187,000 women in Pakistan and globally reached an estimated 700,000 women in 17 countries. The initiative has contributed to transformative change at scale (a) nationally, via leadership training and mobilization of local women and influencing of government policy and (b) globally, via the coordination of diverse, locally relevant projects with a common theme of gender and governance and the influencing of intergovernmental policies and processes. This work continues today in Pakistan with subsequent initiatives building on and expanding the approach.