Through a highly strategic creative exercise, we managed to find a solution to a major societal problem in Pakistan. More than half of Pakistani women cannot read their marriage contract (the Nikkahnama) 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.

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.

easypaisa identified a profound challenge in Pakistan: the high illiteracy rate among women, particularly impacting their understanding of the Nikahnama, a crucial marriage contract. This lack of understanding posed both a business and social challenge.

As a brand valuing social responsibility and women's empowerment, easypaisa recognized the need to address this gap. The target market included Pakistani women, especially those unable to read, and the broader community influencing marital decisions. easypaisa's interpretation of the client's problem was rooted in the brand's core values: to empower and educate, ensuring financial inclusivity.

The desired outcome was two-fold: to enhance women's understanding of their legal rights in marriage, thereby promoting gender equality, and to position easypaisa as a socially responsible brand committed to addressing crucial societal issues. By tackling this challenge, easypaisa aimed to create a significant social impact while reinforcing its brand values and strengthening its market presence.

It all stemmed from a critical insight: over 50% of Pakistani women are illiterate, severely impacting their ability to understand their marriage contracts. This realization emerged from a blend of research and data analysis highlighting women's literacy levels and cultural practices around marriage.

The strategic process involved analysing these data points and cultural insights, leading to the realization that technology could bridge the literacy gap in an accessible way. The team faced internal challenges in developing a user-friendly, culturally sensitive solution, and externally, they had to address societal reluctance around discussing women's rights openly.

The breakthrough moment was recognizing that an audio version of the Nikahnama could transform the way women engage with their marriage contracts. This innovative approach aligned with easypaisa’s commitment to social responsibility and corporate purpose, tackling a significant societal issue while reiterating the brand's values and market relevance.

The idea was brilliantly simple yet profoundly impactful: transform the traditional marriage contract, the Nikahnama, into an audio format. This innovation directly addressed the high illiteracy rate among Pakistani women, enabling them to understand their marital rights and obligations, a knowledge previously inaccessible to many.

This idea was born out of the strategic insight that empowering women through information could lead to significant social change. The creative strategy of using audio technology not only made the Nikahnama accessible but also challenged cultural norms around discussing women's rights in marriage. This approach allowed easypaisa to engage with its audience in a deeply meaningful way.

The execution of this idea – an easy-to-use audio version of the Nikahnama – seamlessly blended the creative strategy with practical application. It showed the brand's commitment to social responsibility and innovation, aligning with its brand values by directly impacting its target audience's lives.

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.