"Today's generation of Pakistani youth really wants change," said 2009 YouthActionNet® Fellow, Muhammad Shahzad Khan, during a visit to our offices earlier this week.  While in the U.S. for the Women Deliver Conference, Shahzad took time to update us on his program:  the Chanan Development Association (CDA). Through its activities, that include theater, advocacy campaigns, and documentaries, CDA mobilizes youth, particularly young women, to combat violence, discrimination, and social injustice. Since 2006, CDA has staged more than 1,000 theatrical events, reaching some 200,000 Pakistanis with messages of tolerance and peace.

Shahzad began his social change journey at the age of 12 when he went on a hunger strike to protest his 15-year-old sister's arranged marriage to the family's landlord, 45 years her senior. Shahzad's brothers and sisters joined him in the strike, compelling his father to cancel the wedding.  Heavily criticized by their community for rebelling against this socially accepted tradition, Shahzad's family moved to Lahore.  From then on, he dedicated himself to create a better world for his sisters and women like them all over Pakistan. Six years later, Shahzad is not only Founder and President of CDA but also the National Coordinator of Y-PEER Pakistan, a youth network founded by the UNFPA in 2001. 

"The emergence of new media channels have led to great improvements in the youth development arena," said Shazhad in addressing IYF's staff during an informal lunch. "Whole communities now prefer that women marry at 21 instead of 13." There's a greater sense of openness in the country, he explained, which is largely the result of a sexual harassment law that CDA had advocated for.

A key to CDA's success has been a calculated effort to maintain good government relations, especially with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Shahzad explained. "If you act like a mature person, you receive the respect of a mature person. This is the first step to getting elders to listen to youth and this is how I manage CDA partners."  He points out that he is constantly working with national and local government leaders and always ensures their buy-in when planning activities on behalf of CDA and Y-PEER.

With Shahzad at the forefront of the two largest gender-based initiatives in Pakistan, it is clear this forward thinking work is only the beginning of what will be many successes in his fight for women's rights.

YouthActionNet Team with Shahzad

To learn more about Shahzad's work through the Chanan Development Association, please visit: www.cdapak.org.

Eve Brecker

Program Coordinator, YouthActionNet®

International Youth Foundation