Women in Struggle for Empowerment (WISE)  is a woman led organization, established in 2011 with an aim to promote gender justice. WISE has extensive experience in women mobilization, advocacy and lobbying for women and human rights related campaigns. In a short period of time, WISE has undertaken significant work around women rights in Pakistan.

It has registered under Societies Registration Act 1860 as Non-Governmental organization and dedicated to promoting and protect social, political, economic rights for women with its focus on gender, labour, governance, and human rights in Pakistan. WISE’s strength lies in close networking with women struggles and movements at grassroots, national, regional, and international level. WISE also believes in struggling and politicizing all human rights thus working closely with marginalized groups, religious, ethnic minorities, and vulnerable sections of society.

Moreover, WISE has been engaging in creating awareness and providing trainings on the compliance against any act of sexual harassment at workplace. Under the Women Political Participation programme, the focus has been to enhance the women representation in local government system. WISE has actively been lobbying parliamentarians on custodial torture in Pakistan since 2010. Moreover, WISE has been conducting trainings on key issues women and human rights. The approach is guided by Universal Deceleration of Human Rights, Convention on the elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.  

Vision

A gender just and violence-free society where human beings especially women enjoy equity and equal rights.

Mission

To change society in favour of women through education, awareness, and building synergy among human right groups, women and their movements, with respect and inclusive interventions.

Philosophy of WISE

The philosophy of WISE is to put women in the forefront of development paradigms, which is prerequisite for any positive social change. There is no development strategy more beneficial to society as the one, which involves women as central players.

Aims and Objectives

Major aims and objectives of WISE include.

• Organize, educate women, and synergize their struggles for socio-economic and political rights.
• Enhance and strengthen women’s capacity to claim their human rights and countering violations
• Eradication of gender-based discrimination, customary practices that deny women advancement, opportunities, and access to resources.
• Advocacy and lobbying for pro-women programs, policies, laws, and implementation of women related existing laws.
• Counselling and legal assistance to women victims of violence, torture and sexual harassment and respond to the rights and needs of individual women

Feminist Principles

These are the overarching guiding principles for the WISE programming and operations.

• Support transformative change
• Recognize power and privilege
• Put women’s rights actors at the centre of our work
• Honour context and complexity
• Celebrate diversity and challenge discrimination through an intersectional approach
• Nothing about me without me
• Do no harm
• Balance learning and accountability
• Support knowledge for transformative change
• Commit to organizational transformation

Organizational Values

WISE believes that its vision cannot be achieved until its interventions are values based. It has identified the following values as the turf that will be used for all its interventions. 

• Inclusiveness

WISE believes in inclusion of all segments of society regardless of gender, race, ethnicity and religious beliefs, therefore, promotes inclusive participation in its all interventions. The services offered by WISE are focused especially towards the vulnerable and marginalized groups including women, transgender and people with disability, to ensure the inclusivity at all levels.

• Respect

The organization believes in mutual respect among staff members and community members irrespective of their organizational and social status. For us respect-based community participation is an essential part of the process of just development.

• Equity

WISE is committed to promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls, and to remove any barriers that prevent participation of women and girls in the public and political life. However, to achieve the objectives of gender equality, WISE believes the process of gender equity as a prerequisite.

•  Leadership

As a women-led and women-centered organization, we are constantly pushing against the status quo and acting as a bold and loud   voice that brings women in leadership positions within homes, workplaces and at public forums.

• Safety

Safety is our highest priority; the safety of the women, our staff, children, vulnerable adults, and volunteers is of equal priority. We do not tolerate verbal or physical abuse, nor do we tolerate any form of bullying including Internet or physical harassment, cyber bullying etc..

• Accountability

We are fiscally prudent and community-minded. We hold ourselves accountable to our actions before our communities and stakeholders under the constitution of Pakistan.