A Nikahnama is a Muslim marriage contract which is mandatory for a valid marriage in Pakistan. More than half of Pakistani women, however, cannot read the contract due to being illiterate, and even for those who can read, the contract is inaccessible due to cultural patriarchy. As a brand activation centered around empowering women for a stable financial future, we built the first Audio Nikahnama for women in Pakistan, one that is accessible from any kind of phone at any time. So they may understand the most important legal document in their life.

In Pakistan, gender roles and rights are deeply rooted in cultural and religious practices. The Nikahnama, a Muslim marriage contract, is mandatory for matrimonial bonds but often goes unread by women who sign it, mainly due to high illiteracy rates and inaccessibility of the document.

Over half of Pakistani women can't read, rendering them unable to understand this crucial document, the ones who can read are not given access to the document, which outlines their rights and obligations in marriage including the right to divorce and the right to demand financial stability, which unbeknownst to them is often removed from the contract by the registrars and male family members.

Discussing the contents of the Nikahnama, especially around women's rights to divorce, is considered taboo in Pakistani society. This societal norm is so strong that the Nikahnama is often made inaccessible to literate women as well. This practice results in millions of women's financial futures being dependent on their husbands, wherein they have often waived their marital rights simply because they couldn't read their Nikahnama.

The audio that was provided to any woman dialing the hotline, or accessing it through the app, was the exact text and description of the Nikahnama - the marriage contract. Women had the choice of seven different languages and dialects.

We even broadcast entire radio spots that narrated the text of the Nikahnama. This had never been done before in Pakistan.

easypaisa, Pakistan's largest fintech company, has a mission to give the unbanked women of the country - an astounding 82% of the female population - a secure financial future.

While we can't fix the illiteracy problem in Pakistan, we decided to identify and solve the issue revolving around one of the major threats to a Pakistani woman's financial stability: her marriage contract.

Most Pakistani women's financial journey starts when they get married, thus signing their marriage contract is life changing. By signing a legal document that she cannot read and does not have access to (51% Pakistani women cannot read - about 60million), a woman is unaware of what she has agreed to. Often, this includes waiving the right to divorce, trapping a home-bound woman into financial dependency for the rest of her life, absolving the husband of any financial obligations towards her.

The brief was to find a solution.

With an astounding 57,000,000 impressions in its first week, Audio Nikahnama sparked off an immense conversation nationally around the importance of every woman being able to understand her marriage contract.

More than 35,000 calls were made to the hotline in the first week, from all parts of the country. News shows covered the campaign, as did morning shows which target women specifically.

For the brand, 200,000 new sign ups increased our female user base by 6%, while increasing top-of-mind awareness for the brand amongst women by 7%.

The impact on social behavior generated through this campaign, however, is its most powerful result. Discussions are now in place to push for legislation which mandates a marriage registrar to ask the bride specifically whether she has understood her marriage contract.

For the millions of women who can't read, this would not be possible without the Audio Nikahnama.

The audio that was provided to any woman dialing the hotline, or accessing it through the app, was the exact text and description of the Nikahnama - the marriage contract. Women had the choice of seven different languages and dialects.

"Nikahnama is a written contract between two people at the time of marriage. It is very important to understand the Nikahnama prior to marriage.

There are 25 clauses of the marriage contract.

In clause 1-5, basic information like name and address are entered.

In clause 6, the girl’s age is noted. Legally, the minimum age required for marriage is 18 years.

In clauses 7-12, information regarding the witnesses and the bride’s representative is recorded.

In clauses 13-16, information regarding Haq Mehr is entered,

Haq Mehr is of two types: Muwajjal: which is given before or at the time of marriage

Ghair Muwajjal: which is given according to the agreement or a decided upon time.

In the case of Separation, divorce or khul’a, consult a scholar of your sect for the details of Haq Mehr’s principles.

Clause number 17 allows the girl to have any special type of conditions noted.

Clauses 18-19 are very important because here, the girl is given the right of divorce.

To make use of this right, the girl does not have to reach out to any court.

Girls should make sure that the section regarding divorce has not been crossed out in their marriage certificate.

In clause number 20 details regarding Haq Mehr, maintenance and other expenses are entered.

In clauses 21 and 22, boy’s marital status is recorded, that is, if he has not been married before or not.

Apart from this, the girl can choose to allow or prohibit the boy from having a second marriage here.

From clause 23 to 25, the names and signatures of the marriage registrar and the witnesses are recorded.

Be sure to get your Nikahnama registered in NADRA.

Thank you for listening to easypaisa audio nikahnama. Good bye."

Millions of Pakistani women cannot read. But they can hear. So we provided for them an easily accessible audio guide to the most important legal document of their lives: the Nikahnama, or marriage contract.

This was not only a highly innovative way to reach our target audience, but also strategic: audio is the most accessible media channel for millions of women, especially in the lower income demographic.

We provided three audio channels for effortless access: a dedicated free hotline that could be dialed from any phone, traditional radio on which the entire text of the contract was read, and digital access through our app.