MRS. ABIDA MALIK
PRESIDENT, BEHBUD ASSOCIATION OF PAKISTAN
- Graduated from Home economics College, Lahore
- After Living in the US for twenty some years, Abida was able to convince her husband to leave his flourishing plastic surgery practice and move back to Pakistan to serve his homeland and train other doctors. With their two daughters moved back in 1988 and have not looked back.
- Joined Behbud Association of Pakistan in 1994 and served as advisor till the year 2000
- She became Vice President in 2001 and in 2007 she was promoted to Senior Vice President and in 2019 she was elected President of Behbud Association of Pakistan.
- She is voluntarily working for Behbud from last 28 years.
- She holds additional charge of the chairperson of industrial home of Behbud Association of Pakistan, which has grown from tiny industrial home unit into one of the largest handmade crafts production unit in Pakistan, with increase in Home based workers from 100 in 1994 to over 10,000 in 2021.
- Abida’s Leadership and business development skills have directly resulted in growth of Behbud’s Industrial Home production, expanded its crafts portfolio, developed export strategies and has made Behbud’s product a highly sought after brand.
- She has worked tirelessly to improve the sustainability of the organization through initiatives like setting up of Behbud Art and Crafts Shops. Behbud Café and expansion of skill training facilities in satellite centers for underprivileged women.
- Abida Malik also represented Behbud at conferences abroad, particularly those organized by South Asian Women’s Association (SWAN), where she showcase Behbud products which were completely sold out.
- She has been the force behind documenting 11 indigenous crafts of Pakistan and the stories of women artisans, in a beautiful book called Embroidering Dreams, which was launched successfully on 26th October, 2022.
- Today, it is due to her vision that Behbud is Pakistan’s largest hand embroideries
unit and employs over 5000 home based workers. - Abida Malik has trained over thousands of women artisans, spanning over
generations, in fusing contemporary fashion with traditional needlework
techniques, preserving Pakistani crafts for the future generation. - She has been awarded The Home Economics Business Excellence Award, 2021 by101 Incredible Women CEOs of Pakistan & Alumni Foundation of Home EconomicsPakistan on 17th November, 2021 in honor of her sincere and tireless efforts onwomen economic empowerment on national and international forums.
- Leading the non-profit towards its next chapter, Abida is now working towards
building a Mother and Child hospital in Rawalpindi. - Hobbies: She has been golfer from sixteen years.
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.
