Well known for its highly articulate and influential women, Pakistan is also notorious for the severe restrictions placed on women’s personal and political liberties. The Raising Her Voice (RHV) programme started working on this very complex and sensitive issue by building a country-level partnership with the Aurat Foundation (AF), which for the past 26 years has promoted women’s empowerment and citizens’ participation in governance. Working together, the RHV programme and AF established 50 Women Leaders Groups (WLGs) in 30 districts across Pakistan, with a total membership of 1,500 women activists, living and working in their communities. The aims of the WLGs are: to promote activism within their communities; to defend and promote individual and collective women’s rights; to represent marginalized women; and to raise women’s collective voice at local and district levels, as well as, with AF’s support, at the provincial and national level.

This case study evaluates the Raising Her Voice Pakistan programme in order to explore how change happens and inform future programme design and ways of working. This publication forms part of a series of Active Citizenship Case Studies.