About Us

VISION is registered with the 1860 Societies Act of Pakistan since 1998 as a nonprofit   headquartered in Lahore.

VISION started its journey in 1997 with an intervention on HIV&AIDS prevention among the Zenana populations and other male sex workers in Lahore who were using body massages as a pretext to offer sexual services to men or women willing to pay for it.

VISION initially focused on public health and promoted a ‘safe sex approach’, but soon found that the Zenana population was the most visible group among sexual minorities and was also the most vulnerable to harassment and exploitation because it was so easy to identify.

During the first year of its efforts, VISION’s team realized that a more holistic approach would be needed to make the intervention effective. Within the next 12 months, VISION had launched the first drop in center for Zenanas in Lahore in partnership with Naz Foundation International (UK). And one year after that, the center became a largely community-owned, community-run operation, supported in part by VISION, but run by the Zenana community. This early work created the foundation and impetus for the Pakistan Supreme Court ruling in 2010 that accorded voting rights to the transgender population in Pakistan, thereby recognizing transgenders as a third gender.

VISION currently has a Child Rights resource center based in Abbottabad. VISION’s journey reflects our efforts to protect the rights of most groups that have been sidelined from the mainstream rights protection and promotion agendas in Pakistan.

VISION has cultivated long-term partnerships with donors based on trust and results (see list of donors). Our continuing partnerships with donors, such as the European Commission, demonstrate our integrity and transparency.

Our work on the safety and security of community based rights activists testifies to our commitment to a holistic approach to human rights issues in Pakistan.