Open letter to Punjab Assembly Members

We write to you today to express our grave concern over the passage of the draconian Tahaffuz-e-Bunyad-e-Islam Bill 2020 (“the Bill”), which empowers the Directorate General Public Relations (“DGPR”) to visit and inspect any printing press, publication house or book store and confiscate any book, before or after printing. The vesting of such immense arbitrary and unilateral power in a single bureaucrat is in breach of even those reasonable restrictions that can be imposed on the right to freedom of expression under the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 (“the Constitution”). Moreover, due to the ambiguous wording of the Bill, there are […]

Govt barred from coercing NGOs for re-registration

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday restrained the Punjab government from taking coercive measures against civil society and non-government organisations (NGOs) for their re-registration under the Punjab Charities Act 2018. Justice Shahid Karim passed the order on a joint petition filed by over a dozen civil society organisations and the NGOs, including the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Aurat Foundation, South Asia Partnership-Pakistan (SAP), AGHS Legal Aid and the Women Rights Association. Representing the petitioners, Advocate Hina Jillani stated before the court that the Punjab Assembly on Feb 28, 2018 had enacted the Punjab Charities Act, 2018. […]

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Charities Commission to be active soon

Source: JIO Welfare Organization Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Charity Commission has been established and will be active very soon. As it happened in Punjab, all the nonprofit organizations (NPOs) based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be required to registered with the newly established commission. As per our information, the deadline for registration for NGOs/NPOs was set as August 5, 2020. This seems unrealistic now. However, we can safely say that the KP government will start registration soon. The Commission has set up its website, which can be visited here: KP Charities Commission. The screenshot is attached here.

Download Zainab Alert application now!

Zainab Alert is the child abduction emergency alert app developed to report and track a missing child. Once a case is reported on the app, it instantly galvanizes communities and law enforcement agencies to assist in search for the safe recovery of an abducted child. It’s a nonprofit and  non-commercial initiative and now has been officially launched from the platforms of law enforcement agencies. A flyer along with this email to give a brief about the app is also attached.  Below are the links of our social media handles & to download the mobile application. Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/zainabalerts/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/ZainabAlerts Android – http://bit.ly/2U3uDqu Apple […]

Policy Recommendations on Online Harassment Cases

Digital Rights Foundation released Cyber Harassment Helpline’s annual report of 2019 on 24th June. The report highlights complaint trends observed in the previous year as well as the policy recommendations for all the stakeholders. Concerning trends observed were the increase of attacks on mobile wallets/ e-wallets like EasyPaisa and phishing attacks where people were targeted through WhatsApp or text messaging. The Helpline saw a total of 2023 cases being reported, with a daily average of 146 calls per month in 2019. When compared to the overall complaints the Helpline had received over three years, the calls from 2019 account for […]

“Girls Back to School” must be at the center of Pakistan’s Covid-19 recovery strategy

14 July, (Peshawar) An online session on Challenges to Girls Education in COVID Crisis was organized by Blue Veins which was attended by young girls, parents, teachers’ associations, lawyers and civil society representatives. According to Civil Society organizations, girls are particularly vulnerable when schools remain closed for long periods of time. They fear that a large number of girls, especially from the lower strata of the society, may not return to school after the Covid-19 passes. It is estimated that there are 1.8 million out of school children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 64 percent of them are girls. Coved-19 can […]

The Little Art announced 25 under 25 finalists

The Little Art is celebrating 25 stories of resilience to encourage and inspire millions and is ecstatic to announce the 25 young women for 25 Under 25 Award! These 25 young women represent the geographic and cultural diversity of Pakistan and bring assorted experiences and determination to contribute towards positive social, environmental, and cultural impact in Pakistan. Young women are continually leaving indelible marks over the framework of history and it comes at no surprise that wings continue to spread every day. In Pakistan, we are witnessing the change as it happens. From the seashores of Karachi, to the chilly mountains […]

Digital Rights Foundation launches Digital 50.50 e-magazine

Digital Rights Foundation launched its newest initiative, a feminist e- magazine called the Digital 50.50, a monthly e-magazine that aims to create an open space for ideas, opinions, art, and discourse on a wide array of topics in the digital rights arena from an inter-sectional feminist lens. The idea behind launching Digital 50.50 is rooted in our organization’s goal to make online spaces safer and equal for women journalists and support them in providing reliable information to the public. To ensure gender-sensitive reporting and amplify women’s voices, Digital 50.50 believes that the inclusion of women is a must in all […]

Her Abilities Award 2020: Honouring the Achievements of Women with Disabilities

Nominations are open for the Her Abilities Award 2020 which is the first global award honouring the achievements of women with disabilities. Her Abilities was launched by Light for the World to honour women with disabilities who achieved greatness in their life or field of work. Categories Her Abilities will award the achievements of women with disabilities globally from the following three categories: Health & Education: Women with disabilities from the health or education sector, including but not limited to: teachers, teaching assistants, headmasters, university professors, doctors, surgeons, nurses, community health workers, etc. Rights: Women with disabilities from the advocacy and rights […]

Concerns expressed over rising incidents of violence and discrimination against religious minorities

It is unfortunate that despite the current Covid 19 pandemic, that is posing its share of challenges in Pakistan, religious intolerance and discrimination sadly in the past few months is on the rise. This concern has been expressed by the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP). Recently, Nadeem Joseph a Christian from TV colony Peshawar died as a result of gunshot wounds he received on June 4th 2020. He and his mother-in-law Elizabeth Masih were brutally attacked by a Muslim man Salman Khan and his sons a few days after Nadeem Joseph bought a house in TV Colony in Peshawar. He was sprayed […]

AgriSurge – Innovation Challenge

Deadline – July 14, 2020 Agriculture sector is the mainstay of Pakistan’s economy as it contributes around 20 percent in the overall gross domestic product (GDP) and is also a big source of employment. It helps meet the food requirement of ever-increasing population, providing raw materials to all the major industrial sectors including textiles, leather, sugar, flour milling etc., and has a significant role in in poverty alleviation and rural development. Low growth, water shortage, environmental concerns, volatile energy prices, rising expectations from consumers – these are some of the complex challenges the agriculture sector is facing today, along with […]

Digital Victim Support Services Directory

The Victim Support Services Directory is a joint initiative of Group Development Pakistan (GDP) and the Federal Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) to provide easy access to information about services for victims of violence, harassment, and abuse, particularly children. This nationwide service provider database is searchable by organization, service type and geographic location, allowing victims and/or family members to quickly identify and access support and referral services. The service providers in the database offer the following diverse services to survivors and their family members: Shelter Referral Counseling Helplines Reporting Missing Children Reporting Online Abuse Legal Support Psychological Support People can […]

EVAWG Alliance demands public apology from Tariq Jameel for his misogynistic remarks on television

EVAWG (Ending Violence Against Women and Girls) Alliance, a civil society network dedicated to promoting and protecting women and girls‘ rights in Pakistan, would like to express its shock and disgust, following the televised statement from Tariq Jameel who blatantly attacked, objectified and vilified 47% of the Pakistani population by claiming that women’s lack of modestly was the cause of the Pandemic Covid-19.Such ill-informed and misogynistic narratives directly violate women’s fundamental rights to equality and dignity that are enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan. EVAWG alliance is therefore extremely disappointed at the fact that our government could endorse such anindividual […]

Portal established to report online child sexual abuse material

March 19: Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) in collaboration with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and the Global Fund to End Violence Against Children launched a portal to improve children’s online safety in Pakistan. The new portal allows internet users in Pakistan to anonymously report child sexual abuse material in three different languages – English, Urdu, and Pashto. The reports will then be assessed by trained IWF analysts in the UK. It is the 33rd portal set up around the world to fight the spread of online child sexual abuse material. The launch was due to take place in Pakistan and […]

Apply for Consultative Status with Economic and Social Council of the UNO

The United Nations Organization (UNO) has requested applications from NGOs if they want to join Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) as consultative member. Their request has been pasted here for your convenience. Dear NGO Representative, The NGO Branch of the United Nations would like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank you for the contributions your organization has made to the work of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). As you might be aware, May is the last month for Non-Governmental Organizations to apply for consultative status with ECOSOC if they wish to be considered by the NGO Committee […]

Covid 19 – Handbook for Non-health Professionals

Ms Sidra Bashir, along with many other professionals, have developed a wonderful handbook for people with no medical background on dealing with Corona patients at home. We are sharing this book here for wider access. Handbook for Non-health Professionals You can send them feedback at this email address: info@p2impact.com

Corona Epidemic in Pakistan – Actions Needed, and Actions Taken

Team Pak-NGOs has started a new initiative to collect data about: Actions being taken by organizations (NGOs and charity organizations) and individuals, Actions needed – support needed by any particular community, or anything else you think must be done to deal with the corona crisis We have created four forms – Two forms are meant for actions taken (one for organizations, and one for individuals). Two forms are meant for sharing needs (one to be filled by organizations, the other to be filled by individuals). We will share this data widely with NGOs, INGOs, and general public. You are requested […]

Trans activist Nayyab Ali wins GALAS International Activist Award

Nayyab Ali was announced as the recipient of the GALAS International Activist Award at a ceremony in Dublin, on Saturday, Feb 8, 2020. The award, presented by the National LGBT Federation (NXF), recognises the contribution of an international LGBT+ activist, from outside of Ireland, who works tirelessly to promote the full equality and inclusion of LGBT+ people in society. Nayyab is a trans woman from Pakistan, an acid attack survivor, trans activist and the founder and chairperson of the All Pakistan Transgender Election Network. She also manages the ‘Khawaja Sira Community Centre’ in Okara, which offers a basic literacy and […]

HVTN 702 clinical trial of an HIV vaccine stopped

GENEVA, 4 February 2020—The United States National Institutes of Health has announced that its HVTN 702 clinical trial of an HIV vaccine has been stopped. While no safety concerns were found during the trial, the independent data and safety monitoring board found that the vaccine was ineffective in preventing HIV transmission. The trial, conducted at 14 sites across South Africa, followed more than 5400 HIV-negative 18–35-year-olds over 18 months. The participants received six injections during the six-month period, either the vaccine or a placebo. An analysis undertaken after at least 60% of the participants had been in the study for […]

New support programme for local small-scale projects in developing countries

At the UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid in December 2019, the Federal Environment Ministry of Germany, together with the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), presented its new support programme for local projects that protect the climate and biodiversity. It focuses on supporting small organisations and initiatives in developing countries. The programme’s goal is to select, by 2025, more than 100 “small” projects through international calls for proposals which will be awarded a grant of up to 100,000 euros each. GIZ is responsible for the new IKI Small Grants and for its coordination. The funds are provided by the International Climate Initiative. […]