Karachi: The British Council, in partnership with the WOW Foundation, UNFPA and Entrepreneurship and Community Development Institute (ECDI) is set to celebrate 10 years of WOW – Women of the World Festival Pakistan. The WOW festival will take place at the Beach Luxury Hotel, Karachi, on the 24th and 25th of January 2026 and will celebrate women’s achievements, foster dialogue, and address the challenges they face. The festival invites women, girls, and families to enjoy a diverse and inclusive program.
James Hampson, Country Director, British Council Pakistan said: “As we celebrate a decade of Women of the World (WOW) Pakistan it is right that we take a moment to reflect on what 10 years of this Festival has meant since that first gathering in Karachi. Giving space to women and girls and mobilising the transformational power of arts and culture is where WOW really comes into its own: hearing what’s needed to make real change.’
Amneh Shaikh-Farooqi, Chair and Co-Curator at WOW Pakistan said: “WOW Pakistan began with a simple conviction: women’s voices matter, and when they are heard without apology, something shifts. For ten years, this community has built space where ideas could surface, connect, and move forward – even when the world urged restraint. Dastak is both a knock and a claim: I am here. Movements don’t begin alone or all at once – they begin with each knock adding to the next, building force, until a quiet heartbeat becomes a shared rhythm in motion. ‘Das’ means ten, ‘tak’ means so far – and this moment belongs to everyone who has carried WOW with their belief, love, and support. Ten years in, we are still listening, still creating, and still moving – toward a future shaped by many voices, not just a few.’
Jude Kelly, CEO and Founder of The WOW Foundation, said: ‘When I founded WOW, I always dreamed of it taking root in Pakistan, a country with a powerful legacy of individuals and communities determined to remove barriers for women and girls. Ten years on, WOW Pakistan stands as an extraordinary beacon of creativity, courage and collective action. As we mark this anniversary in Karachi, we celebrate the progress made, honour those who paved the way, and renew our resolve to keep dreaming big and working together for lasting change.’
The festival promises an inclusive experience for all with sign language interpretation, Braille resources, wheel-chair friendly ramps and walkways ensuring participation for everyone.
The festival’s vibrant lineup includes:
Opening panel with Senator Sherry Rehman, Jude Kelly CBE, CEO and Founder of The WOW Foundation and Jane Marriott, British High Commissioner to Pakistan. The panel will be moderated by journalist Sidra Iqbal.
Kathak dance performance by Nighat Chaudhry
Performances by musicians Natasha Baig and Baber Sheikh
Live Musical performances by Ustad Noor Buksh
Panel on AI: Coded Inequality Moderated by Amber Shamsi
Fireside Chat: Cancer Chaos and Creative Ethos with Angeline Malik
Master class on Investment by Mashal Khan
Performances by Sindhi artists
Dance performance: Unfolding: A Celebration That Raised Us by Adnan Jahangir and Daughters
Songs and Stories for Children by Khalid Anum
Performance by GRIPS theatre
This year’s theme, Dastak: A New World Is Knocking, marks ten years of women creating, leading, and shaping change. Dastak symbolizes momentum, possibility, and the power of collective becoming, honouring how far we have come while calling us toward what is next. It is an invitation to recognise this moment of transition and to open the door to new narratives, new leadership, and a future shaped together.
Through the WOW Festival, the British Council continues to create platforms for women to voice concerns, challenge systemic barriers, and celebrate their accomplishments.
The programme for WOW in 2026 has been developed by curating partners and informed by planning sessions held earlier in which a diverse group of people belonging to civil society, women’s rights organisations, disability led organisations, legal community, academics, artists, transgender community leaders, teachers and educators came together to discuss who and what they would like to see at the WOW Festival.
The WOW Foundation was created by Jude Kelly CBE in 2018 to run the global movement that is WOW – Women of the World Festivals. The festivals began in the UK in 2010, launched by Kelly at the Southbank Centre London, where she was Artistic Director, to celebrate women and girls, taking a frank look at what prevents them from achieving their potential, raising awareness globally of the issues they face, and discussing solutions together. To date, WOW has reached five million people in 45 locations on six continents, in locations including Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Finland, Greece, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Somaliland, the UK and the USA.
Over the last 13 years the festivals have developed a reputation as a space for world renowned artists, activists, thinkers and performers including Angela Davis, Malala Yousafzai, Annie Lennox, Patrick Stewart, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Salma Hayek, to come and participate, alongside thousands of women and girls who don’t have public profiles but are doing amazing things. WOW provides platforms for people of all kinds, changes attitude, brings communities together and provides a unique space for people to work together towards gender equity in their own communities. One example of the Festival’s impact came in 2015, with the founding of the Women’s Equality Party by Sandi Toksvig and Catherine Mayer.
In 2018 Kelly left the Southbank Centre to run The WOW Foundation full time as a charity working to build, convene and sustain a global movement that believes a gender equal world is possible and desirable through festivals and empowering women and girls. The unique festival model creates numerous pathways for participants to take part in WOW projects, amplify their own causes, or start new initiatives which have a wide impact on communities. It is the biggest, most comprehensive and most significant festival dedicated to presenting work by women and promoting equity for women and girls.
WOW Festival was originally produced and presented by Southbank Centre.
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We do this through our work in arts and culture, education and the English language. We work with people in over 200 countries and territories and are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021-22 we reached 650 million people.