Initiated as a small voluntary women’s collective in Pakistan in 1975, Shirkat Gah (SG) has evolved into a leading women’s rights organization that operates out of offices in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar including its own facility in Lahore, and six new field stations across all four provinces.

In 1981, SG launched Women’ Action Forum (Khawateen Mahaz-e-Amal) as a platform of individuals and organisations for women’s rights and until 1984, SG Collective members were absorbed in establishing WAF. During the period 1985-86, the Collective made several key decisions that included:

Establishing SG as a full time institution so as to be a more effective resource centre; two members gave up other work to do so;
Changing society required working with men as well as women.

Starting in 1986, SG became the Asia Coordination office of the international solidarity network, Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML). An extensive action-research on the interface of women, law and customs under the aegis of WLUML’s Women and Law in the Muslim World programme galvanized SG’s outreach strategy.

A new phase started with the key decision to run an expanded and more systematic outreach programme. Three of the Collective members running projects became Coordinators for the two offices. SG grew exponentially from 1995-2005; adding staff, new projects, and a new office in Peshawar.

In 2005, SG realized that the organization required restructuring.To aid this process, a Transition Team was established and provided its recommendations shortly thereafter. These included (a) a single executive authority heading ShirkatGah in the form of a Chief Coordinator (b) the Collective to be split into (i) a Governing Board comprising 5-7 members, currently 6, mandated to act as a bridge between the Chief Coordinator and (ii) the rest of the Collective to form a General Body.