Ayesha Amin, Founder and CEO Baithak – Challenging Taboos and Hira Amjad,
Founder and Executive Director DASTAK Foundation have won the prestigious Gender
Just Solutions Award at COP28 in Dubai for their work in climate and gender justice
with grassroots communities in Pakistan.
L to R: Hira Amjad and Ayesha Amin at COP28
The Gender Just Climate Solutions Awards have become a highly anticipated event at
each COP and are granted every year to 3 grassroots initiatives tackling the climate
crisis while promoting gender equality. These solutions are examples of climate-resilient
and transformative development models that bring multiple social and environmental
benefits. They contribute to raising the ambition for the achievement of the 1.5-degree
target by 2030.
These awards were announced during an official, high-level ceremony at the 28th
session of United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP) in Dubai, UAE. The
ceremony was attended by ministers from Germany and Chile, activists, and civil
society leaders from across the globe.
Following the devastating floods in Pakistan in 2023, DASTAK and Baithak collectively
provided menstrual kits, prenatal kits, and safety kits to over 30,000 girls and women
across Pakistan. They received this award for their advocacy and for the Gender
Inclusive Climate Action (GiCA) Toolkit that they have co-authored. GICA is a
comprehensive knowledge product that provides practical recommendations to make
climate action gender responsive and inclusive. The global version of this toolkit will be
launched at the sixty eighth session of Commission on Status of Women in the UN
Headquarters next year.
DASTAK and Baithak’s floods response
During their speech, Hira and Ayesha emphasized the need for inclusion of grassroots
communities in policy making spaces and the urgency for prioritization of needs of girls
and women in climate action and climate crises response.
