Engaging Men and Boys for Gender Equality

Engaging men and boys to accelerate efforts to address GBV: 

Shirakat strives for gender justice and equality through active engagement of all segments of society. Gender justice and women empowerment are interconnected and men have an important supportive and transformative role to play in achieving equality outcomes. Shirakat, being secretariat of MenEngage alliance Pakistan aims at transforming masculinities for a positive shift in attitudes of men. 

The major strategies of this project are as follows:

  • Develop a model project on violence free communities through engaging men and boys in gender equality,
  • Capacity strengthening on ‘gender transformative approaches to engaging boys and men in gender equality’ among various actors in Pakistan, including relevant authorities,
  • Communications and Knowledge management,
  • Evidence based advocacy towards enabling policy environment at national and provincial levels,
  • Program monitoring, evaluation and learning 

This project will strategize its interventions addressing Theory of Change at all level. At the individual, family and community change level, implementation of the project is in collaboration with partner in Sindh namely Sindh Agricultural and Forestry Workers Coordinating Organization (SAFWCO). SAFWCO will engage with local communities, leaders and key stakeholders from CSOs; and local government departments for district level advocacy. MEA-P is working with National Commission on Status of Women (NCSW) to develop models of violence free communities through engaging men and boys for gender equality and two villages in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) will be targeted; Islamabad Capital Development Authority has promised support.