Girl-led charity wins international award for outstanding work
Charity Aware Girls is one of just 20 organisations from around the world to receive an inaugural With and For Girls Award.
The With and For Girls Awards is a global initiative to identify and support strong local organisations working with and for girls with flexible funding.
The charity – based in Peshawar, Pakistan – is recognised for its work to promote equal rights for girls and young women and its position as a platform to equip them with knowledge and leadership skills.
Aware Girls will receive the Award at a London ceremony, where representatives from the winning organisations will attend along with people from a range of foundations, multilateral agencies, INGOs and prominent influencers within the sector. In Pakistan, girls lack basic rights. Many are forced into early childhood marriages and are taken out of school.
Aware Girls works in the North West of Pakistan where security for human rights activists and for young women and girls remains a challenge. Furthermore, state laws make it difficult for local organisations to access international funds.
Aware Girls runs a variety of programmes to raise awareness of girls’ rights and build the leadership skills of girls and young women.
These include training courses on leadership, human rights, civic and political empowerment, addressing violence against women and HIV/AIDS education. Aware Girls also runs a helpline to support girls and women who are survivors of domestic abuse. It provides advice to more than 2,000 people every year.
In the 2013 general election, Aware Girls led a team of 100 young women to monitor the elections, the first ever team of young women election monitors in the history of Pakistan.
Muna Wehbe, CEO of Stars Foundation – “Despite the critical role that women and girls play in sustainable development, the World Bank estimates that less than two cents of every dollar spent on international aid is directed towards adolescent girls.
“The With and For Girls Award provides flexible funding to grassroots girl-focused NGOs, empowering them to invest their funds where they need them most.
“We want to shine a spotlight on these outstanding local organisations and encourage more funders to support girls in their role as vital agents of change within our sector.”
As part of the award package, Aware Girls will receive US $50,000 of flexible funding and capacity building support.
