Almost 90% of Pakistani women suffer from some sort of abuse, most of which is justified by Pakistani men, who believe that women are weak. A bill recently proposed that men be allowed to “beat lightly” a woman. Compounding the issue, more than 42% of Pakistani women believe that they are weak*.

Unlike any other domestic violence campaign in the world, this one actually invited men to beat women. But at things women were good at.

Pakistanis had heard the repeated anti-domestic violence messages before, and were tuning out - most communication previously ended up making the woman seem weak and powerless.

We flipped the scenario and showcased the Pakistani woman as a strong, empowered achiever who is able enough to challenge a man rather than be a submissive, weaker person she’s often made out to be.

Unlike any other domestic violence campaign in the world, this one actually invited men to beat women. But at things women were good at.

Pakistanis had heard the repeated anti-domestic violence messages before, and were tuning out - most communication previously ended up making the woman seem weak and powerless.

We flipped the scenario and showcased the Pakistani woman as a strong, empowered achiever who is able enough to challenge a man rather than be a submissive, weaker person she’s often made out to be.

The results were astounding. We had begun to clearly change mindsets.

The video was watched a remarkable 2.5 million times generating a total of 201 million impressions. It sparked a massive conversation in the country around the issue: celebrities, talk show hosts and parliamentarians - both men and women - took up the issue. We had made the topic of violence against women trend in Pakistan. The campaign was also picked up internationally, contributing to domestic pressure.

The Government of Pakistan has worked in parallel to set up the first violence against women center to provide medical and legal assistance, and is implementing a new law that protects women.

Eventually, UN Women took the bold step in not only changing Pakistani men’s perception about women but in inspiring a large number of Pakistani women to stand up to abuse. Women who now know they are unbeatable.

*All claims have relevant sources described in case study document