OUR STORY

The concept of Baithak stemmed out in 2018, when Ayesha Amin, our founder, after her Fulbright Master’s Degree, started conducting focus group discussions (FGDs) in the rural communities of Jamshoro to understand the needs and challenges that girls and women faced in order to access their sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Soon these FDGs transformed into safe spaces for women to come together to reflect on, discuss, and learn about issues affecting their health. They started referring to these spaces as ‘baithaks/ بیٹھک’ – an Urdu / Sindhi word meaning sittings’ or ‘gatherings’ of people. Culturally, these baithaks are spaces where decisions are made regarding community and family life; however, it remains male dominated and women are excluded from these discussions, leaving them having no say in matters that affect them. Ayesha with the team of volunteers continued doing more baithaks in different parts of Jamshoro and the rest of the Sindh. And soon a passion project evolved into a powerful grassroots movement across Pakistan.

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to enable grassroots feminist movement building around Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice (SRHRJ) for girls and women by creating safe spaces for them to reflect on, engage in dialogue, and learn about their SRHRJ. By providing them knowledge, tools, and resources, we facilitate the process for them to make informed decisions about their bodily autonomy. We are committed to channel lived experiences, realities, needs, and challenges of girls and women from grassroots to advice and guide local and global policies and programs.

OUR VISION

“We envision a society where every girl and woman has resources, safety, and agency to exercise her bodily autonomy”

CORE VALUES

“We envision a society where every girl and woman has resources, safety, and agency to exercise her bodily autonomy”
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Inclusion

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Accountability

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Self-care and collective wellbeing

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Courage

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Joy

Inclusion

For us, inclusion is about building a community and co-creating the work we do with the grassroots communities we serve where everyone feels included and safe to share their insights, feedback, and experiences. We create safe spaces and make sure that voices of girls and women are heard, especially the ones that often remain neglected.

Accountability

At Baithak, accountability means being open and transparent in the work that we do. We take responsibility for our actions and decisions, actively seeking feedback from the communities we serve. This enables us to ensure that our work aligns with their needs and that we stay true to our mission of making an actual impact.

Self-care and Collective Wellbeing

We believe that REST is RESISTANCE. Our bodies and minds need rest to resist the oppressive structures and challenge societal norms and taboos that control and express girls’ and women’s bodily autonomy. By prioritizing self-care and support for each other, we create resilience and strength to continue creating an impact for the communities that we work with.

Courage

The work that we do requires a lot of courage. As a feminist organization, we engage in difficult topics and lead challenging discussions in our baithaks, creating safe spaces for dialogue. We also show courage by holding each other accountable to drive meaningful change.

Joy

Our work is more than a job; it's our passion. We find joy in interacting with young girls and women and supporting the communities that we work with. The sisterhood we share along the way brings us solidarity, happiness - and a reminder that we share this journey together!