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Empowering Horizons: Canada-Pakistan Joint Initiatives Championing Women’s Advancement

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Canada-Pakistan bilateral initiatives, including economic empowerment programs and advocacy campaigns are advancing gender equality, fostering women’s leadership and financial independence for shared societal progress and prosperity.

Key Points

  • Women’s Voice and Leadership Program strengthens local organizations, reaching over 150,000 people with rights-focused campaigns.
  • BEST4WEER project empowers nearly 500,000 women through post-COVID recovery in northern Pakistan.
  • CFLI funds grassroots gender equality projects with mandatory gender-based analysis.
  • ‘Aik Aur Pakeezah’ drama series addresses digital harms and legal gaps affecting women.
  • Academic and health initiatives like Women Leadership Academy build long-term capacity for women’s roles.

As global partners committed to inclusive development, Canada and Pakistan are forging pathways to women’s empowerment through targeted bilateral initiatives. These efforts, grounded in Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, blend immediate support with enduring strategies for gender equality. Policymakers can draw blueprints for scalable models; investors find opportunities in women-led enterprises; academics analyze socio-economic impacts; and the general public witnesses’ transformative community changes. By addressing barriers like discrimination and limited access, these collaborations promote mutual benefits: Pakistan gains resilient societies, while Canada advances global leadership in feminist aid.

A flagship example is the Women’s Voice and Leadership (WVL) Program in Pakistan, funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and implemented by Oxfam Canada from 2019-2024. This initiative empowers local women’s rights organizations to advocate for human rights, providing core funding, capacity building, and platforms for collaboration. With 12 core partners and 38 grantees, it reached 153,759 people between 2022-2023, including digital campaigns engaging 130,153 individuals on technology’s role in amplifying voices. Outcomes include gender transformative programming, leadership advancements (e.g., two participants becoming executive directors), and tools like a gender budget analysis guidebook.

Complementing this is the Broadening Economic and Social Transformation for Women’s Economic Empowerment and Recovery (BEST4WEER) project, led by Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) with GAC funding of $17.41 million (total $20.16 million) from 2021-2026. Focused on Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, it reaches 566,097 people, including 494,856 women and adolescent girls, through community engagement challenging gender norms. Activities involve traditional leaders, markets, and governments to enhance women’s agency in households and economies post-COVID. Rational analysis highlights its cooperative value: by investing in skills like tailoring (e.g., beneficiary Maryam starting her workshop), it boosts incomes and resilience, potentially adding to Pakistan’s GDP where women’s workforce participation is only 22%. For investors, this opens doors to sustainable enterprises; academics note alignment with SDGs for poverty reduction.

Program

Funding (CAD)

Reach (People)

Key Focus Areas

WVL-Pakistan

Multi-million (GAC)

153,759 (2022-2023)

Rights advocacy, leadership, networks

BEST4WEER

$20.16M total

566,097 (494,856 women/girls)

Economic recovery, norm change, agency

CFLI 2025

Avg. $30K per project

Local communities

Gender equality, empowerment initiatives

This table showcases contemporary scale with evergreen impacts like norm shifts, where each dollar in gender investments yields 2-3x economic returns.

The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) in Pakistan for 2025 further amplifies grassroots efforts, averaging $30,000 CAD per project (up to $100,000), emphasizing gender equality under Canada’s Feminist Policy. Proposals require gender-based analysis to ensure inclusive design, supporting civil society in advancing women’s roles. No specific 2025 outcomes are detailed yet, but historical CFLI aid has funded innovative grants for equality.

Cultural initiatives like ‘Aik Aur Pakeezah,’ launched December 8, 2025, by Kashf Foundation and Canada, use storytelling to tackle cyber harassment and legal gaps. With 72 million internet users in Pakistan and 40% of women facing online harassment, the series humanizes survivors, sparking dialogue for reforms. Partners highlight economic empowerment’s role in ending gender-based violence (GBV), with Canada investing in financial literacy.

Additional programs include AKFC’s Foundations for Health and Empowerment (F4HE), creating safe spaces for youth, and Aga Khan University’s Women Leadership Academy, funded by GAC/AKFC, empowering emerging leaders. These blend health, education, and entrepreneurship, addressing Pakistan’s low rankings (161st in UN Human Development Index 2022).

Canadian aid’s impact is evident: 97.9% of ODA incorporates gender objectives, ranking Canada high among donors. In Pakistan, such support has enhanced climate resilience for rural women entrepreneurs and reduced barriers, contributing to broader GDP growth. Evergreen principles—diaspora ties (215,000 Pakistanis in Canada) and knowledge exchange—ensure lasting benefits, positioning both nations for inclusive futures.

Conclusion. Canada-Pakistan initiatives are catalysts for women’s empowerment, from economic programs like BEST4WEER to advocacy like WVL, yielding leadership gains and norm shifts. These partnerships promise resilient societies, urging policymakers to expand collaborations, investors to back women-led ventures, academics to study impacts, and the public to champion equality. Together, they model global cooperation, driving sustainable prosperity.

* Dr. Muhammad Jahanzaib is the Founder & Chief Visionary Officer (CVO) of Diamanium Thinkers, a global think tank. He holds a PhD in International Relations, specializing in the intersection of politics and economics in Pakistan’s foreign and domestic policy. A double gold medalist and published scholar, he writes on economic intelligence, economic diplomacy, political economy, AI and regional cooperation in South Asia and beyond. He can be reached at jahanzaibdgc@gmail.com.

 

Key References

The Lasting Impact of the Women’s Voice and Leadership Project in – https://www.oxfam.ca/story/the-lasting-impact-of-the-womens-voice-and-leadership-project-in-pakistan

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