Rida Sohail
Co-Founder & Senior Advisor
Provides strategic guidance and helps shape Jiddat's long-term direction for girls' education and community-centred support.
About Jiddat
Built for the moment when support can change what happens next.
Jiddat exists because many girls are not far from learning. They are far from the support, confidence and family trust that make learning possible over time.
Why we exist
Barriers that look ordinary from the outside.
Too many girls are pushed away from school by things that rarely make headlines: falling behind in class, family doubt, distance, fear, cost, or the belief that education will not lead anywhere.
In rural Pakistan, a girl's education is shaped by more than school access. Learning gaps, household pressure, safety concerns and uncertainty about future pathways can all decide whether she continues. We work at that intersection: supporting girls academically while helping families see education as practical, valuable and worth protecting.
See the barrier
Start with what is actually in the way.
Academic, social, financial or family-related. Usually more than one.
Build trust
Make support something families believe in.
Programs work when parents understand them and feel respected by them.
Sustain learning
Stay close long enough for progress to hold.
Follow-up, adaptation and continuity from one school year to the next.
Our name
جدت Jiddat means a new way forward.
Newness, innovation and the courage to find a different path.
The name reminds us that education work cannot rely only on old assumptions. It needs local listening, practical design and trust built with families.
NewnessInnovationDifferent pathways
What we believe
The principles behind the work.
These four beliefs shape how Jiddat listens, designs and shows up in communities.
01
Education is relational.
A girl learns within a circle of family, school, community, confidence and daily responsibility. Support has to reach that whole circle.
02
Trust is infrastructure.
Programs work better when families understand them, believe in them and feel respected by them.
03
Support must be practical.
Solutions have to fit real schedules, real concerns, real classrooms and real household pressures.
04
Confidence changes outcomes.
When girls begin to see themselves as capable learners, staying in school becomes more possible.
Mission
To close learning gaps and mobilise families so girls in rural Pakistan can stay in school.
Vision
A future where every girl can learn with confidence and choose her own path in life.
Leadership team
The people behind Jiddat.
Jiddat is led by people who believe education work has to be personal, practical and rooted in trust, supported by a team of staff and more than a hundred volunteers across Sindh.
Saifullah Abbasi
Chief Executive Officer
Leads operational planning and turns Jiddat's community-based vision into practical programs and reliable systems.
Attaullah Abbasi
Co-Founder & Senior Advisor
Co-founded Jiddat in 2017 and leads its partnerships and access tools. Selected as a 2024–25 Obama Foundation Scholar at the University of Chicago for his work in rural education.
Mehak Fatima
Community Engagement Lead
Strengthens relationships with families and communities so Jiddat's work stays grounded, trusted and locally responsive.
Ayesha Nadeem
Education Programs Lead
Leads learning-focused program design so students receive practical academic support that builds confidence over time.
Adil Siddiqui
Strategic Partnerships Lead
Builds partnerships and external relationships that connect Jiddat's mission with the people and institutions able to support long-term impact.
How we show up
Careful, local and consistent.
The work is not only about what we deliver. It is also about how we build trust while delivering it.
01
We listen before designing.
We begin with girls, families, educators and local realities so support is shaped by what communities actually face.
02
We make support understandable.
Families should know what a program is, why it matters and what it asks of them. Clarity is part of respect.
03
We focus on continuity.
Follow-up and adaptation matter as much as the first intervention. We stay close to the student's changing reality.
On the ground
Our work begins with real families, real classrooms and girls whose futures deserve more room.
Jiddat exists to make education feel possible, supported and worth continuing.