Gender Equality

Gender Equality

With an emphasis on women and girls, AKF invests in human potential, expanding opportunities and improving quality of life.

The Aga Khan Foundation supports communities in planning and responding to crises, such as the recent devastating flooding in Pakistan. Gul Noori has worked there for over two decades as a search-and-rescue expert.

She has broken down barriers to women with her example, as she scales mountains to bring life-saving support to communities in need. She has also helped in training over 36,000 local volunteers how to prepare for crises. Nearly half of them are women.

She says,

“Our belief is: if you save one life, it is as if you have saved all of humanity.”

AKF is committed to opening doors for women at all levels. Of the nearly 35,000 civil society organizations supported by AKF worldwide, 38% are led by women.

Watch a short video of Gul Noori’s story, from the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat.

Give now.

Your support is needed now more than ever.

For decades, your generosity has contributed to AKF’s wide range of development activities around the world. With your help, we can continue this critical work during a time when the world needs us the most.

Give monthly to join iHope, a community of donors committed to sustaining AKF’s work today and in the future.

Make a one-time gift to support our work now.

Or make a pledge to have your gift made by the end of the year count towards this campaign.

AKF USA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law.

Today, AKF is sowing the seeds of hope and equality throughout Africa and Asia with gender responsive initiatives across our Global Program Framework, including in Agriculture and Food Security; Civil Society; Climate Resilience; Early Childhood Development; Education, Health and Nutrition, Work and Enterprise.

These efforts, guided by a fusion of evidence, data, and local knowledge, offer women and girls a new future of increased participation in local leadership and new job opportunities.

Targeting both immediate wins and generations of success, all our gender equity programs echo our core approach of pluralism, dignity, and self-reliance.

Initiatives include

Farmers collecting organic cotton, Balwani, Madhya Pradesh

Agriculture

Recognizing the significant role women play in agricultural value chains, AKF is leaning in to increase their involvement in decision-making, asset ownership and revenue.

A woman presents to a seated group of women outdoors in India.

Civil Society

Enhancing opportunities for women’s leadership in civil society and local government through training woman leaders, supporting women-led and gender equality focused organizations, and understanding and addressing the underlying beliefs and practices that create and reinforce gender inequalities.
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Education

Ensuring equitable and safe access to quality education, especially for girls, so they can benefit from relevant learning opportunities and transition through learning from early childhood to professional development.

AP-supported pharmaceutical business, Murghab

Work and Enterprise

Promoting a generation of women entrepreneurs and engaging coalitions of employers to enhance young women’s recruitment, retention and advancement, and to create conducive workplace environments.

Our impact

55%of people reached

were women where gender information was reported in 2020

75%of people reached

by AKF’s Work and Enterprise programs in 2020 were women.

38%of civil society organizations

supported by AKF were women-led in 2020.

“The search for justice and security, the struggle for equality of opportunity, the quest for tolerance and harmony, the pursuit of human dignity—these are moral imperatives which we must work towards and think about on a daily basis.”

His Highness the Aga Khan

Evora University Symposium, Evora (Portugal)
12 February 2006

Areas of Exploration

Equipping young people with the knowledge to flourish in their communities

AKF works to strengthen local education systems so children can gain the knowledge and skills they need to thrive.

Hear how Millicent, a teacher in Kenya, engaged her students during the pandemic with creative activities using easily accessible resources.

Scaling Mountains to Open Doors of Opportunity

Meet Gul Noori, who trained as a search-and-rescue expert through AKF’s community grown crisis planning.

With over two decades of experience, she routinely scaled mountains to bring life-saving support to those in need. She believes, “If you save one life, it is as if you have saved all of humanity.”

The Sweet Smell of Success…and Pastry

When Nurgul and Nazira met in college, they soon realized they shared a love of baking and a common dream of opening a pastry shop.

With AKF entrepreneurial training and vital business courses, they started their business from scratch with just a large oven and a mixer.

Today, their early seeds of hope have flourished into much more than they could ever have imagined!

Watch their success rise!

We solve problems best working together.

In a world where cultural differences can divide us, we believe diverse perspectives are a strength.

AKF has worked with more than 34,000 civil society organizations across 14 countries, benefiting more than 1.6 million people. These organizations work to ensure all voices have a chance to be heard in local decision-making.

To spread their reach even further, AKF partnered with like-minded organizations and USAID to create Spark, a collection of learning resources about pluralism and civil society.

Learn about pluralism and see how this tool helps facilitate civil society.

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