2017
A kitchen table in Lahore
Nine women met weekly to teach each other to read the contracts they were signing as domestic workers. Word spread.
01Timeline
Our story: the SSW timeline
From nine women at a kitchen table to programs across Pakistan — every step led by the women in them.
2017
2019
First literacy circle
We registered as a society and opened our first learning circle — 40 women, one rented room and a volunteer teacher.
2021
Livelihoods launch
The first stitching and tailoring cohort graduated. Within a year, a third of them were earning from home.
2023
Beyond one city
Local leads opened circles in 12 districts. Every one of them is run by a woman who graduated from an earlier program.
Today
32 districts and counting
Over 12,000 women have come through a program — and the waiting lists keep getting longer.
02Mission
Our mission
03FAQ
Most asked questions
Women and girls across Pakistan — with priority for low-income households in underserved districts. No fees, no entrance test, no quotas on faith or background.
[Add your funding sources here — for example individual donors, foundation grants and partner organizations.] We publish our results every year, including what didn't work.
Yes. Every program is free at the point of joining — no enrolment charge, no materials fee and no repayment on start-up grants. We also cover childcare and transport so cost never keeps a woman away.
Local women. Program leads are hired from the districts they serve, and most of them first came to SSW as participants. Sessions run in Urdu, Punjabi or Saraiki — whichever the group speaks at home.
Email info@ss4w.com or call +92 333 6135713 and tell us whether you'd like to teach, volunteer, sponsor a woman's training year or partner as an organization. We reply within two working days.