Ayesha Amin, Founder and CEO of Baithak-Challenging Taboos has won the prestigious Gender Just Solutions Award at COP28 in Dubai for their work in climate and gender justice with grassroots communities in Pakistan.

The Gender Just Climate Solutions Awards have become a highly anticipated event at each COP and are granted every year to three 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 the 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, Baithak has collectively provided menstrual kits, prenatal kits, and safety kits to over 30,000 girls and women across Pakistan. Ayehsa has received this award for her forum’s advocacy and the Gender Inclusive Climate Action (GiCA) Toolkit that she co-authored with Hira Amjad, Founder and Executive Director of DASTAK Foundation. 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 the Commission on the Status of Women in the UN Headquarters next year.