United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

Empowerment of Girls and Women – Advocacy, Awareness and Action for Women’s Rights (in collaboration with the Aurat Foundation)

Proposed Duration: February 1999 – December 2001

Objectives:

• To stimulate advocacy, awareness and action in support of women’s rights in 60 districts throughout Pakistan;

• To build the capacity of Citizen’s Action Committees (CACs) to initiate actions at the local level through networking and resource mobilisation.

Activities:

• Capacity building of Aurat Foundation staff for improved advocacy on women’s rights issues, inter-personal communication and providing support to women;

• Capacity building of CACs on communication, advocacy, project documentation and accounts;

• Sensitizing of district level partners on the situation of women’s rights (violence and economic/ political empowerment);

• Action planning through local partners for improving the situation of women;

• District level activities by CACs for awareness and capacity building;

• Advocacy with decision makers and parliamentarians in support of district activities;

• Dissemination of communication materials on women’s rights.

Remarks:

Aurat Foundation is now coordinating a nation-wide network of NGOs in a major new project to promote the political participation of women. The CACs are key vehicles in this for encouraging women to stand as political candidates in the current local bodies’ elections (33% of seats are reserved for women) and encouraging women’s participation as voters.