All Pakistan Women's Association

Begum Ra'ana Laiquat Ali Khan (Founder of APWA)[1]

The All Pakistan Women's Association, or APWA, (Urdu: آل پاکستان ویمنز ایسوسی ایشن) as it is commonly known, is a voluntary, non-profit and non-political Pakistani organisation whose fundamental aim is the promotion of moral, social and economic welfare of the women of Pakistan.[2]

APWA was founded in 1949 by Begum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan, a famous activist for women's rights, who had said that the role of women is no less important than that of men. Initially APWA was formed to handle the refugee crisis in the newly independent Pakistan after the 1947 partition of British India.[3] Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah, Pakistan's first woman editor and publisher, was one of APWA's many prominent leaders and Zubeida Habib Rahimtoola was a dedicated member of the association.

APWA has been a very active organisation since its founding, with branches in 56 districts across Pakistan, and even in rural and urban areas.[2] It celebrates major events such as International Women's Day, UN Day and UNICEF Day annually, and is a charity organisation which relies on donations to fund its work.

APWA received the UNESCO Adult Literacy Prize in 1974 and later the Peace Messenger Certificate in 1987.

After the secession of East Pakistan as Bangladesh in 1971, the organisation's branch in Dacca was renamed as Bangladesh Mahila Samiti.[4]

In 2016, at the 68th anniversary of APWA's founding, an annual dinner at the High Commission of Pakistan, London was held to pay tribute to the APWA founder, Begum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan. A speaker at the event said that Begum's vision motivated Pakistani women to contribute positively to Pakistani society.[3]

  1. ^ Elizabeth Long, Series: Series 4 : biographies of Women, ID: File - 365. University of Waterloo.
  2. ^ a b Profile of All Pakistan Women Association (APWA) on charity-charities.org website, Retrieved 16 August 2017
  3. ^ a b All Pakistan Women's Association role lauded Archived 29 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Pakistan Observer (newspaper), Published 25 October 2016, Retrieved 16 August 2017
  4. ^ Purkayastha, Nibedita Das (2012). "Bangladesh Mahila Samiti". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.