For more than 15 years, Right To Play has worked with local partners in Pakistan to deliver high-quality education, life skills and child protection programmes.

We began working in Pakistan in 2008 to empower girls through sport. Today, we offer programmes in rural and urban regions to ensure children – and especially girls and out-of-school children – can access quality play-based primary education and receive psychosocial support.

In 2023, we reached more than 90,000 children, including more than 60,000 girls.

A girl in a hijab and a face mask smiles and looks at the camera. She is seated at a desk in a classroom.
Arfaana's determination and hard work paved way for her to become the first in her family to graduate and pursue high school. She dreams of becoming a doctor and returning to her hometown to provide healthcare to her community.
Read Arfaana's Story

Right To Play Pakistan's 2024-26 programme priorities

  • Supporting teachers and school leadership to create safe, engaging and
    inclusive classrooms;
  • Empowering girls and young women to gain social emotional skills and financial literacy that empower them to have greater autonomy over their lives;
  • Building children's life skills through the Life-Skills Based Education (LSBE) curriculum using games and interactive sessions to prevent gender-based violence and gender discrimination;
  • Providing psychosocial support to children coping with the effects of climate change and marginalisation;
  • Building strong partnerships with donors, government, and local organisations to expand our non-formal education programme to reach more children and young people;
  • Generating evidence on the impact of play on children’s learning and development.
Pakistan Focus Areas

Challenges and Opportunities in Pakistan

Approximately 34.8% of Pakistan’s population is aged 14 or younger, and around 64% are under the age of 30.

Many Pakistani children and youth face challenges in accessing and completing primary education. More than 22 million children are out of school, many of them girls. Many schools lack basic facilities and trained teachers, leading to poor learning outcomes. Environmental and economic instability create additional challenges. Teacher training, psychosocial support, curriculum partnerships and infrastructure improvements can greatly enhance the quality of education.

Gender equality and girls' well-being in Pakistan are hindered by deeply rooted patriarchal values that limit girls' access to education. There are also high rates of violence against women. There are opportunities to increase gender equality through educational programmes and economic empowerment efforts that provide education, vocational training and financial literacy programs for women.

Key Statistics:

  • More than 22 million Pakistani children aged five to 16 are out of school.
  • 53% of women aged 15 to 64 years reported that they never attended school, compared to 33% of males in the same age range.
  • The Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) rate for young women aged 15 to 24 years is 75%. The NEET rate is the percentage of young people who are not engaged in any form of education, employment, or training.

A girl stands with her coach and holds a certificate.
Amna rose above gender discrimination to become a cricket player in Pakistan. In 2016, her Right To Play-trained Coach gave her the encouragement and confidence she needed to keep pursuing the sport she loves, despite criticism from family and friends. Now, Amna is helping other girls realise their right to play at her own cricket academy.
Read Amna's Story
Pakistan Country Map

Key Activities and Impact

In Thatta, Karachi, Sujawal, and Islamabad, we’re improving education for children through the Roshan Rastay project. By training teachers in active, child-centered approaches, we’re helping to improve children's literacy and numeracy. The project has reached more than 38,000 children across 110 formal primary schools, 56 non-formal education centres and 89 charity schools. Supported by The Light Foundation, this project tackles educational challenges in rural and impoverished urban areas.

The What Works II: Play for Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) project builds on the success of What Works 1, which focused on reducing violence against women and girls through evidence-based interventions. In this new phase, supported by UK International Development, we're working with schools to reduce gender-based violence through play-based life skills education in Karachi.

The GOAL project is empowering adolescent girls in Karachi and Islamabad with life, leadership, and financial literacy skills that help them succeed in school and in life. With a focus on promoting gender equality in sports, the programme offers play-based opportunities that enable girls to gain increased ability to exercise agency over their bodies and lives.

The Playful Futures project provides adolescent girls in Sialkot, Punjab, with essential life skills through life-skills-based programming. Supported by Dr. Mehboob Ilahi, the project serves underprivileged communities. We're building sports infrastructure and offering youth development and coaching programmes to these communities. We're also building the capacities of local youth as coaches to effectively use sports and physical education to inculcate essential life skills among school children.

The Skills for Life programme, supported by the Bilquis and Abdul Razzaque Dawood Foundation (BARD), has enhanced children's life skills, self-esteem, and confidence while increasing access to sports, especially for girls, in Lahore. It has fostered safe learning environments, raised awareness of social issues and child protection, encouraged positive disciplining techniques among coaches and teachers, and helped shift community perceptions, recognising sports as vital for children's well-being.

“I never thought to play any sport as it was against the norms of our society. But when I started taking part in games, I felt more positive, and I became more confident.” – Madiha

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Key Supporters and Partners

We collaborate with the Government of Pakistan through the Ministry of Education; School Education and Literacy Department (SELD) Sindh; Federal Directorate of Education, Islamabad; to implement our programmes.

Our work is made possible with generous support from donors, including UK International Development from the UK Government; GIZ; The Light Foundation; Standard Chartered Bank, Women Win Foundation, UEFA, Fagus Lucida, IDM and Bilquis & Razzak Dawood Foundation (BARD).

We also work closely with key implementing partners such as Aahung, Aga Khan University (AKU), Indus Resource Center (IRC), The Citizens Foundation (TCF), Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) and Zindagi Trust to deliver impactful programmes that create lasting change.

Country Office Address

Plot 3-D, Ground Floor, 3rd Road, near Shifa Hospital
Sector G-10/4, Islamabad, Pakistan
Phone: +92 051 235 1872

RIGHT TO PLAY IN PAKISTAN

How Madiha Is Standing Strong for Girls

Madiha grew up in one of the most conservative areas of Pakistan. She refused to let tradition tell her what she, or any other girl, could or couldn’t do.

Empowered to Learn: Laila’s Story

Illiteracy keeps girls in Pakistan dependent on their families and husbands and makes them vulnerable to practices like child marriage. Laila was no exception.