Meeting with the President of Pakistan
Actions urged to remove threats to fundamental rights of association & expression
Rang De Tu Mohe Gerua -Part 2
#16DaysActivismAgainstGenderBasedViolence. The 7 December event was part of the 16-day global campaign. The Foundation used flowers & balloons to spread orange..
2018 Manifestoes: Women & Democratic Governance , Behbud Cafe, Islamabad
Elected councillors & activists from Abbottabad, Haripur & Mansehra reviewed the 2018 manifestos, identified more important pledges -- and also gaps -- that support women's agency in democratic governance. This will shape dialogue with political leaders and others.
Local Government: A Consultation with Councillors , Jalal Baba Auditorium, Abbottabad
More than 400 councillors (including about 70 women) from Abbottabad, Haripur & Mansehra discussed their first-hand engagement with the present LG in the province & recommended ways to strengthen it. This is the first in a series of consultations the Foundation will organise across KP. Final set of recommendations based on experiences of over 3,000 councillors will be conveyed to those shaping the new local government in KP and also Punjab.
Expanding CSO Capacities in Social Accountability Across 12 KP Districts
56 CSOs learnt skills in social accountability in two training workshops organized by the Foundation. With them, the total number of CSOs now capable of holding the government to account has increased to 117 across 12 districts of KP: D/I. Khan, Kohat, Karak, Swat, Shangla, Peshawar, Mardan, Nowshera, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Battagram and Haripur
Peoples Assembly: Women’s Leadership in Politics & Public Life , Islamabad
Awami National Party’s Senior Vice President, Ms. Bushra Gohar, said that the ECP must assert its role and authority. She commended the outgoing assembly for the passage of the Elections Act 2017. “This law will deter instances like the by-election of PK-95 in which not a single woman was allowed to vote,” she said. Ms. Aisha Syed of the Jamaat-e-Islami/MMA recommended transparent internal party procedures for nominating women on reserved seats. “Reservation of seats…
Engaging 10,000 Young Voters Islamabad
30 young women and men from Abbottabad, Mansehra & Haripur made plans to engage 10,000 other young voters. They were attending a training workshop run by the Foundation. The youth activists became more familiar with the importance of voting. Working in district groups, they identified priorities which the young want included in party manifestos.
2018 Elections: Improved Media Reporting on WPP , National Press Club, Islamabad
Hundreds of ideas for news stories around 6 themes on women’s participation in the 2018 elections were generated by about 50 journalists at a training organized by the Foundation under its She Can Lead project. Celebrated journalist/anchor Syed Talat Hussain led the training. Data on trends in women’s participation as voters, electoral contestants & legislators was reviewed. Recent legal & administrative affirmative measures were discussed, including reforms under the Elections Act 2017…
At least 7,000 Women Voters Will be Mobilized in KP’s Hazara Region Islamabad
60 women activists from Abbottabad, Haripur & Mansehra attended a training organized by the Foundation under its programme: She Can Lead. They discussed the imperative for women’s political participation and prepared plans to assist over 7,000 women in their families and communities to use their right to vote.
More than 7,000 Women Registered as Voters Abbottabad & Haripur
Round-the-clock, all-out efforts by the Foundation, NADRA & ECP helped 7,014 women in 50 very poor villages get their NIC & register as voters. NADRA officials say this is six times more than average numbers processed daily. The Foundation also identified 9,718 women who are among the 12.5 million women across Pakistan who do not have an NIC. The intensive six-week campaign was run with support from TDEA & UNDP.
The Foundation, NADRA & ECP assisting women to get NICs & register as voters.
Women Voters Dalola, District Abbottabad
Women NIC & Voters Registration Campaign
Week 3 April 2018 Continuing its round-the-clock, intensive campaign, the Foundation helped NADRA & ECP reach poor women living in Bakot, Nammal & Berote villages nestled in Abbottabad's mountains
2018 Elections: the Foundation launches a campaign to assist more than 17,000 women in Abbottabad & Haripur to use their right to vote
Celebrating the International Women’s Day, the Foundation launched a campaign to help more than 17,000 women in Abbottabad and Haripur to get their NICs and register as voters. A training workshop was held in Abbottabad for 60 local volunteers inducted for the campaign. Speaking on the occasion, the Foundation’s Executive Director Ms. Rashida Dohad said: “we are committed to assisting women to play their due role in national politics. We will reach the…
Training CSOs in Digital App
A part of the Foundation’s capacity building of CSOs in social accountability is training them in using a specially designed digital app; Awam to upload stories of citizen monitoring of government facilities. This app has been developed by the Foundation’s partner Media Matter for Democracy (MMfD) who also leads the training on it. On 27 and 28 February 2018, 8 women and 15 men from 13 CSOs from Battagram and Mansehra were…
Analysis, strategies, Team building and Fun Program & Review & Planning
A three day Programme Review & Planning (PRP) meeting was held in Lahore from 26-28 December 2017. Objectives Review programme implementation during: 1 March 2017–31 December 2017 Planning of ongoing projects like CERAG, SELP, AAN and She can lead. Improve team interaction and communication. Identification of challenges towards implementation of project activities.
Building Capacities in Social Accountability.Training CSOs from KP’s districts Mansehra & Battagram
17 women and 49 men from 25 CSOs from districts Mansehra and Battagram participated in a Social Accountability training on 20-22 December 2017. This training was part of the Foundation's ongoing efforts to build capacities in social accountability of more than 100 CSOs in 12 districts of KP. Social Accountability is a broad range of actions & mechanisms used by citizens & CSOs to hold public officials & service providers to account. It…
Citizen Journalism Training by MMfD in collaboration with the Foundation
Media Matters for Democracy in collaboration with the Foundation trained CSO activists to upload social accountability stories on the app AWAM. MMfD is the Foundations partner in CERAG. Developing a mobile application ‘Awam’ comes under their domain in this joint venture. ‘Awam’ is a digital tool to facilitate citizens to generate multimedia journalism content, particularly on the local governance issues of their communities, and interface this content with the mainstream media…
Asia Pacific Leaders Conference
As part of the OGP framework of cross-country learning, the Government of Indonesia hosted the Asia Pacific Leaders Forum on Open Government on 14 December 2017 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Its overarching theme was: Open Government for Inclusive Development. The forum brought together 750 participants including heads of governments, ministers, local government leaders, civil society, business, development partners, and other opinion leaders from the region and beyond to share their experiences…
Building Capacities in Social Accountability.Training CSOs from KP’s districts Abbottabad & Haripur
39 women and 40 men from 22 CSOs from districts Abbottabad and Haripur participated in a Social Accountability training on 27-29 November 2017. This training was part of the Foundation's ongoing efforts to build capacities in social accountability of more than 100 CSOs in 12 districts of KP. Social Accountability is a broad range of actions & mechanisms used by citizens & CSOs to hold public officials & service providers to account. It…
Peoples Assembly on Public Participation in Public Budgets Abbottabad Press Club
A Peoples Assembly was organized at the Abbottabad Press Club on 20 November 2017. 108 women and 248 men from eight districts of the province participated in the Assembly. They discussed the Foundation’s findings and adopted a Charter of Demands. Outline of Citizen Charter of Demands for Fair & Transparent Public Budgets : Government Priorities Equitable Distribution of Development Funds Promote Transparency Fiscal Decentralization Pro-Women Allocations It was presented to Deputy…
MOU signed between Government of Pakistan & Omar Asghar Khan Foundation
The Foundation works closely with State authorities . It engages with State authorities on required approvals for project implementation. This was effectively done at the federal level with the Economic Affairs Division with which the Foundation signed an MOU on 8 November 2017.Chairperson of the Foundation Dr Yasmeen Zaidi signed it.
Women get CNICs: the Foundation & AAN arrange NADRA mobile van visits in rural areas of Haripur
Awaz-e-Niswan (AAN) is envisioned as a membership-based network of women voters across the country. It aims to represent the concerns of women voters in Pakistan and to increase political commitment towards the needs and concerns of women voters in Pakistan with gender responsive political processes.On 27th Oct 2017 NADRA MRV visited the rural areas of Haripur.
Building Capacities in Social Accountability.Training CSOs from KP’s districts Peshawar & Mardan
10 women and 27 men from 12 CSOs from districts Peshawar and Mardan participated in a Social Accountability training on 23-24 October 2017. This training was part of the Foundation's ongoing efforts to build capacities in social accountability of more than 100 CSOs in 12 districts of KP. Social Accountability is a broad range of actions & mechanisms used by citizens & CSOs to hold public officials & service providers to account. It…
“Inequities in budget allocations are alienating citizens in poor regions,” Rashida Dohad, addressing a press conference Abbottabad Press Club
Foundation held a press conference on October 20, 2017 at the Abbottabad Press Club. Journalists from different print and electronic media including the office bearers of Abbottabad Press Club were present to cover the press conference including Foundation’s team. Ms. Rashida Dohad Executive Director of Omar Asghar Khan Foundation presented the key findings of the budget analysis done by the Foundation team. Local journalist raised questions regarding share of Hazara and unjustified allocations…
The Foundation calls for a fair Provincial Finance Commission Award in KP Peshawar Press Club
Foundation held a press conference on October 18, 2017 at the Peshawar Press Club. Representatives from different print and electronic media houses were present to cover the press conference. Ms. Rashida Dohad Executive Director of Omar Asghar Khan Foundation presented the key findings of the budget analysis done by the Foundation team. Activists showed their keen interest in the data and raised questions to know more about the findings, which Ms. Rashida…
Synergizing institutional efforts for maximizing development benefits The Foundation’s team in discussion with CDLD, GIZ, WWH & Lasoona Peshawar
On Monday 28 August 2017, the Community Driven Local Development (CDLD) project held a provincial orientation for district officials and elected representatives. Omar Asghar Khan Foundation, WWH, Lasoona and GIZ were also invited as they have complementary projects. Using this opportunity, a joint meeting of the Foundation, Lasoona and WWH was held following the conclusion of the CDLD orientation on Monday 28 August in Peshawar. Lasoona was represented by Mr. Noor Malik and…
Better development outcomes, better local governance CDLD Provincial Meeting Peshawar
CDLD organized a one-day Provincial Orientation Workshop on its revised design in the extended project period on Monday, 28 August 2017 at Peshawar. The orientation brought together about 60-70 participants including key government officials and elected representatives from the selected districts and representatives of organizations with complementary programmes. Mr. Said Rehman, Policy Coordinator CDLD, presented the summary of CDLD results and impact of pilot phase. He said that more than 23,000 first applications were received, about…
Open Government Partnership National Workshop, Islamabad
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral initiative for securing concrete commitments from governments around the world to promote transparency, fight against corruption and strengthen governance.Pakistan initiated the joining process of OGP with the approval of the Cabinet in December, 2016. In order to secure full membership, Pakistan needs to develop an OGP National Action Plan (NAP). To fulfill this requirement, EAD organized a National Workshop on OGP on 27th July 2017. Measures to increase fiscal transparency were recommended by the Foundation for…
The Foundation and its Partners celebrated Omar Asghar Khan’s 64th Birthday and reaffirmed their commitment to continue pursuing his dreams.
On 3 July 2017 a meeting was called at the Foundation’s office in Abbottabad to commemorate the birth anniversary of Omar Asghar Khan. It provided important opportunities for interaction with key activists of the regional citizen coalition formed in 2005. Discussions with the 14 women and 20 men attending the birth anniversary celebrations reconfirmed the need to strengthen the coalition and extend its outreach from the Hazara region to across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa A short…
Test-Run of a Training Module on Social Accountability
A three day test-run of the Foundation's training module on Social Accountability was held at its Islamabad office on 26-28 May 2017. The Foundation's staff and two colleagues of its partner Media Matters for Democracy participated in the test-run. The test-run helped assess and fine-tune the training content and methodology.
Oakdf Team at Mashal Khan’s Chehlum
On 21 May, 2017 chehlum Dua of Mashal was held in his native village Zaida Swabi. Foundation's team visited Mashal's grave,offered prayers and laid floral wreath for student who was brutally murdered over blasphemy allegations. A Quran Khwani was also held at Mashal's house, where his family members had gathered to commemorate the chehlum.
Foundation’s session with students of Bahria University.
At the request of Miss Sara Kamal Bajwa the teacher of 'Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance' Bahria University Islamabad, the Foundation hosted a discussion to share its experiences in ensuring DRR measures a re pro-women in Foundation's office Islamabad on 20 April 2017. Miss Sara Kamal Bajwa along with about 16 students participated in the discussion. Foundation team consisted on Miss Rashida Dohad, Mohsin Ali and Shah Faisal. The purpose of this discussion to introduced…