“Focusing on providing a

better quality of life in

basic fields of education,
health and economic
empowerment to the less
fortunate.”

ASSIGNMENT # 02
Course: Profit & Non-profit Organizations
Submitted to: Dr Kulsoom Sumra.
Submitted by: Maryam Kayani (28514), Musab Bin Naveed
(24696), Habibullah (24698)
“50 years of Empowering
Women & Preserving the
Craft of Needlework”
Behbud Association of Pakistan

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 1- OVERVIEW

After more than 50 years, Behbud has grown into a movement that
has enabled five generations of Pakistani women to free
themselves from the constraints of patriarchy and reclaim control
of their own lives. Since 1967, Behbud has played a significant role
in the improvement of nearly a million underprivileged women
and their communities.
Behbud was founded on the lone tenet of working at the
community level, physically reaching out, and giving women
confined to their homes and villages free instruction in hand
embroidery and needlework.
Along with our skill development initiatives and fair pay, we also
offer free healthcare to our employees and their families, as well
as open schools in their neighbourhoods for their kids.

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Behbud has made a substantial contribution to preserving
Pakistan's ancient crafts by creating handcrafted clothing, home
textiles, and accessories using 11 different traditional techniques.
The Behbud ecosystem now takes pleasure in not just being a self-
sustaining organisation but also in being an ethically minded
clothing company that benefits both its workers who work from
home and Pakistani society as a whole.
 Skill Development.

One of Pakistan's largest hand embroidery factories is located in

Rawalpindi at the headquarters of the Behbud Association. We
formally assess each woman's craft expertise and aesthetic
inclinations after putting in place a systematic recruitment

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process. This is followed by an extensive training approach for skill
improvement and refining.
 Education.

In communities where kids were at risk of abuse and exploitation,

Behbud pioneered the idea of home schools from the very
beginning. Anjum Riyazul Haque, the Chairperson of the Education
Committee at Behbud, reveals that there are currently eight home
schools operating in rural and urban slums in Islamabad and
Rawalpindi. These schools were established as a safe refuge for
unattended children.
 Healthcare
We take a delicate stance when discussing women's health. This is
owing to the fact that due to a lack of knowledge and guidance,

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sexual and reproductive health are frequently seen as taboo
matters. This is why providing access to primary and reproductive
healthcare has always been one of our top priorities for
empowering women.
 Disaster Relief
Through our vast disaster relief work, we quickly react to
tragic occurrences. By leading the construction of 168
shelters in isolated communities in the Abbottabad District
during the 2005 earthquake and opening a rehabilitation
facility for the injured at our Lahore chapter, we helped the
affected individuals get back on their feet.

2- FOUNDER & BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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  Founder.
Behbud Association was founded by Mrs. Akhtar Riazuddin in
Lahore in 1967. It is a non-profit organisation with a focus on
empowering underprivileged and marginalised populations by
implementing programmes in the areas of education, health,
vocational training, income production, and disaster assistance.

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 Board of Director

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 3- HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Rehabilitation programmes for 1965 war victims, refugees, the

poor, and the disabled were started, along with a small industrial
home and dispensary. Behbud developed during the first seven
years into a national, multi-functional, non-profit, non-political
organisation with the aim of assisting the socio-economic
empowerment of impoverished individuals throughout Pakistan's
main cities.
Because Behbud believed in maximising cost-benefit ratio, it
worked on its numerous projects in huts, rented rooms, and
garages during its early years of hardship. Later, the Head Office
moved from Rawalpindi/Islamabad to other significant cities.

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 4- REGISTRATION.
Behbud Association is registered under the “Voluntary Social
Welfare Agencies (Registration and Control) Ordinance, 1961”.

5- AREA OF FOCUS.
It focuses on the purpose to economically empower women
through free healthcare, counselling, and education for their
children, as well as vocational training in local crafts.

6- PROGRAMMES
 Behbud Education System (BES).
As the cornerstone of long-term economic growth, Behbud's
different educational enterprises strive to offer high-quality
education at reasonable prices. The Behbud Education System
encompasses all educational initiatives managed by the Behbud
Association (BES). Through their educational initiatives, Behbud
offers women and children the chance and resources to grow and
improve their lives. Our schools are close to Kacchi Abadis so that
children may go there on foot. In order to draw in families with
little financial resources, a low cost structure is maintained. There
are four primary schools, three secondary schools, and an
intermediate college in the Clifton and Kalapur neighbourhoods.
 Behbud Health Services (BHS).

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BHS, which began as a simple health clinic in 1970, has grown into
a full-service healthcare centre that focuses particularly on women
and children. 67 weekly clinics are run by 19 skilled doctors in:

 Livelihoods.
In addition to being used as production facilities, Behbud's three
locations in Mehmoodabad, Clifton, and Korangi also house
vocational training facilities for cutting, sewing, machine
embroidery, and hand embroidery. The facilities provide two-year
degrees, one-year certification programmes, and six-month
training programmes. Exams administered by the Sindh Board of
Technical Education (SBTE) are prepared for by qualified
instructors. Students who complete the diploma programme have
better work prospects and earning potential.

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The shop's revenue directly benefits the employees at Behbud's
manufacturing facilities.
 Behbud Creations.
Behbud Creations is the company's channel for selling goods made
by our employees. Infant and kid clothing, cultural gift items, home
textiles and linens, women's clothing, and accessories are all goods
that we exclusively make by hand. The shop's revenue directly
benefits the employees at Behbud's manufacturing facilities.

8- ACHIEVEMENTS.
 In March 2000, the Pakistani president awarded Riazuddin
the Sitara-e-Imtiaz in recognition of her selfless social
contribution.
 She was also one of the 1,000 women nominated in 2005 as
part of the 1000 Peace Women project for the Nobel Peace
Prize.
 Behbud Foundation wins KHI Awards in the category of
‘Empowering Women’

9- REFERENCES.
 https://www.dawn.com/news/1617273
 https://pakngos.com.pk/listing/behbud-association-
pakistan/
 https://behbudkarachi.org.pk/behbud-creations/
 https://alchetron.com/Begum-Akhtar-Riazuddin
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begum_Akhtar_Riazuddin

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 https://www.faysalbank.com/en/faysal-csr/csr-initiatives-
education/behbud-association-of-
pakistan/#:~:text=Behbud%20Association%2C%20Lahore
%20was%20founded,income%20generation%20and%20di
saster%20relief.
 https://behbud.org/?fbclid=IwAR3bEmFNcepZ15Yk4jJx0a
UQneivHwf-wLtN0OcygtpWUfjhFM4iuuH2pCw

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