“BREAKING BARRIERS: BEDARI’S PATH TO GENDER EQUALITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE”
Bedari, a prominent national-level NGO in Pakistan established in 1991, has dedicated itself to advancing the rights of women and children. Under the leadership of Executive Director Anbreen Ajaib, it has pioneered initiatives such as Pakistan’s first “Crisis Center for Women Survivors of Violence”. Over three decades, Bedari has developed extensive expertise in gender empowerment, combating violence against women and children, and fostering attitudinal change within communities. The organization’s impactful Peace Campaign, comprising activities like public rallies, forums, street theater, and seminars, engaged diverse stakeholders including district administrations, police departments, local politicians, ethnic leaders, and religious
figures. Beyond its initial focus, Bedari has broadened its scope to include education, economic empowerment, and advocacy for the formulation and implementation of laws safeguarding women’s rights, reaffirming its commitment to creating a more equitable society through comprehensive, inclusive approaches.
THEMES AND PROJECTS OF BEDARI:
•Women, Peace and Security
•Health and counselling
•Peace education
•Children and youth
•Human rights
BEDARIS MOST SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS:
1. Empower Youth for Work (EYW).
2. Creating Space: Enabling Women and Girls to Stand Up to The Violence Perpetrated Against Them.
3. Strengthening Mechanisms for Ending Violence Against Women & Girls (SMEVAWG)
4. Women Economic Empowerment (WEE)
BEDARI’s ‘Peace through Arts and Sports’ approach is creating the immense impact on the youth by engaging them in Peace through Arts and Sports programs from across all the Districts/Provinces. By channeling their energies into creative and constructive activities like arts, culture and sports, BEDARI appears to be effectively steering these young people who were at the verge of developing extremist tendencies and joining the groups promoting violence and extremist ideologies towards more positive path.
Bedari’s mission is promoting equal rights of all (including women, men, boys and girls) in society through inclusive community development efforts such as awareness raising, training and capacity building, education, advocacy and lobbying and women economic empowerment to create a society free of violence, where all citizens including women and girls enjoy basic human rights and equal status as human beings.
Source: Bedari – Awakening for human rights
https://www.peaceinsight.org