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.

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.

If women are unable to read the marriage contract, there should be no stopping them listening to it. So we brought to them the country's first ever Audio Nikahnama. An audio guide and reading of the marriage contract. Accessible anytime, anywhere, from any mobile phone or landline and also accessible through the easypaisa app. This was a first for the country. Never before had illiterate women had any access to understanding their marriage contract independently.

easypaisa's strategy hinged on a crucial insight: over half of Pakistani women can’t read. Targeting these women and the broader community influencing marital decisions, the goal was to make marriage contracts accessible through an audio format. This approach tackled the literacy barrier and aimed to shift cultural norms around discussing marriage rights, often shrouded in taboos.

The strategy involved using technology innovatively to bridge this gap and encourage open conversations about women's rights in marriage. easypaisa also engaged community leaders and media for wider promotion, seeking to normalize this empowering tool in society. This wasn’t just about tech; it was a movement to challenge and change longstanding gender biases, advocating for women's empowerment through awareness and understanding of their marital rights.

The highly accessible audio is available on any kind of mobile phone or landline and through the easypaisa app. Simply dial a number for free and listen to one of seven languages which explain in detail exactly what a Nikahnama entails and what a woman should look out for or download the easypaisa app on your phone. Inclusive audio is also available in sign language for the hearing-impaired illiterate women for whom no solution was previously available.

The timeline was strategic, aligning with periods of heightened societal focus on marriage and women's rights. Placement was key: the service was advertised through local media TV channels, social media, outdoor,s community outreach programs, and beauty parlors in both urban and rural communities, ensuring widespread awareness. Efforts were made to ensure ease of access regardless of the user's location or tech-savviness.

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.