Insan Foundation Trust (IFT).
Peace, for the Insan Foundation Trust (IFT), is a negotiated value. Peace and democracy, good governance and rights of the women, children and religious and ethnic minorities are indivisible and cannot exist in isolation. IFT believes that by taking this approach, it has the ability to resolve all forms of unhealthy conflicts in Pakistan. One of the most effective ways of shaping this approach is to engage communities and government in debates and discussions.
IFT is currently running a programme called “Act for Change” with about 4,000 Pakistani and Afghan refugees, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This runs under a core programme of IFT, the Child Development and Youth Leadership Program (CDYLP). Before its volunteer phase from 2008 onwards, the project was being undertaken with 14,000 students and community members in NWFP and Baluchistan.
As well as the CDYLP, IFT runs the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Program (GEWEP). GEWEP aims to demonstrate the social, political and economic viability of gender equality and women’s empowerment. One of the most recent initiatives under GEWEP is Women Action for Peace and Non-Violence (WAPN) – a national programme in partnership with another Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-based organisation, Khwendo Kor (KK); this is due to begin in May, 2010. This partnership seeks to promote the grassroots implementation of the UN Security Council Resolutions 1325, 1820, 1880 and 1889, on women, peace and security, and reduce prevalence of domestic violence.
Youth groups, women, government and non-government organisations and institutions are IFT’s strategic partners in the struggle for change. The organisation provides technical support to the government and its departments on mainstreaming gender issues, and IFT believes that this working relationship is going to expand the horizon further as the Punjab Home Department has showed its interest to work with IFT with respect to the implementation of the WAPN programme.
