About Us - Behbud

President – Behbud Association of Pakistan

Message from President Behbud

It is my belief that when you enable a woman to become financially independent, you empower her socially and politically too. Every penny earned by her is spent on her home and educating her children. The impact is instant.

Our History

Behbud is a name that stands for the support and strength for the women of Pakistan. It’s a non-profit social enterprise, entirely run by women volunteers, inaugurated in 1967 – is marked as one of the largest and oldest non-profit organization in Pakistan, providing employment to thousands of women for over fifty years. Now Behbud has blossomed into a movement that has empowered 5 generations of Pakistani women. Behbud focuses on three main projects, economic empowerment, education and health.

Our Vision

Empowering and ensuring the well-being of women & girls, their families and communities.

Our Mission

To empower women and their communities by providing health, education, income generation and vocational training regardless of color, caste or creed.

Self Sustainable Non profit Organisation

Today, over 50 years later, Behbud has blossomed into a movement that has empowered five generations of Pakistani women to break through the shackles of patriarchy and take back the reins of their own lives. Behbud has been instrumental in the uplift of over a million disadvantaged women and their communities since 1967.

Behbud bases itself on the sole principle of working at the grassroots; physically reaching out and providing free of cost training in hand embroidery and needlework to women restricted to their homes and villages.

Apart from our skill development programs and fair wages, we also provide free healthcare to our workers and their families, and open schools for their children in their communities.

Producing handmade apparel, home textiles and accessories in 11 different traditional crafts, Behbud has played a significant role in keeping the crafts of Pakistan alive today.

Today, the Behbud ecosystem not only prides itself as a self-sustainable entity, but also as an ethically driven fashion brand that benefits both its home-based workers and Pakistani society.

SKILL DEVELOPMENT

Behbud Association’s headquarters, set in the heart of Rawalpindi, is one of the largest hand embroideries unit in Pakistan. With a systematic recruitment process in place, we formally evaluate each individual woman’s craft know-how and artistic interests, and consequently begins a thorough training process for skill enhancement and refinement.

EDUCATION

From the very beginning, Behbud introduced the concept of home schools in communities where children were at risk of dangers such as abuse and exploitation. Currently with eight home schools in rural and urban slums located in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Anjum Riyazul Haque, the Chairperson of the Education Committee at Behbud, explains that these schools were launched as a safe haven for unsupervised toddlers.

HEALTHCARE

We approach the subject of women’s health in a sensitive manner. This is because sexual and reproductive health is often considered taboo subjects due to a lack of awareness and guidance. It is for this reason that primary and reproductive healthcare has always been one of our greatest missions in women empowerment.

DISASTER RELIEF

We swiftly respond to catastrophic events through our extensive disaster relief work. During the 2005 earthquake, we rehabilitated affectees by spearheading the construction of 168 shelters in remote villages in the Abbottabad District, including the establishment of a rehabilitation center for the injured at our Lahore chapter.

Shop Our Book

Discover our full story by ordering our book; Embroidering Dreams - 50 Years of Empowering Women and Preserving the Craft of Needlework; that highlights women empowerment stories and needlecraft excellence; a catalogue of Behbud’s brilliance.

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