STAR Schools
PAGE established more than 170 STAR Schools for children in underserved communities, including out-of-school girls and children facing poverty, displacement and other barriers to education.
Impact
From changing individual lives to changing the systems around them.
Across more than two decades in the United Kingdom and Pakistan, Fajer Rabia Pasha’s work has connected direct delivery with evidence, advocacy, institutional partnerships and policy influence — creating practical routes for women and girls to learn, earn and lead.
Impact at a glance
Scale built through programmes, partnerships and evidence.
Selected cumulative figures from Fajer’s leadership at PAGE and Inspired Sisters. Programme populations can overlap, so these figures are intentionally presented separately rather than combined into one headline total.
24+years across social development, policy and advocacy
170+STAR Schools established by PAGE
23,000+teachers trained through PAGE initiatives
50,000+beneficiaries reached through PAGE programmes
10,000+women and girls reached through Inspired Sisters
4international PAGE presences: UK, USA, Canada and UAE
Signature initiative
Building the evidence base for girls’ education in Pakistan.
One of Fajer’s central priorities at PAGE was to move girls’ education advocacy beyond anecdote and put credible evidence at the centre of policy dialogue, public understanding and investment decisions.
Evidence → Advocacy → Policy
Status of Girls’ Education in Pakistan
Fajer initiated and championed a continuing body of work examining the status of girls’ education in Pakistan. Earlier publications tracked national conditions and the impact of COVID-19; the work developed into Girls’ Education in Pakistan: Statistics & Trends 2022–23, produced by PAGE in partnership with the Pakistan Institute of Education under the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training.
The purpose was larger than publishing a report: to make gender-disaggregated evidence usable by policymakers, development partners and advocates, identify persistent barriers, and strengthen the case for targeted action and investment.
Explore PAGE publications ↗Signature approachUse evidence to make exclusion visible — then turn it into action.
Girls’ education at scale
Turning advocacy into access, opportunity and leadership.
As Executive Director of the Pakistan Alliance for Girls Education from 2015 to 2025, Fajer led and scaled a portfolio spanning non-formal education, mentoring, teacher development, digital inclusion, refugee education, leadership and national advocacy.
Aim High
Developed as a national mentoring initiative for girls, connecting students with role models, confidence-building and pathways to aspiration and leadership.
Take the Lead
A leadership programme designed for 10,000 young women, with certification by Cornell University and support from the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, Total PARCO and Mexoxo.
Girls and technology
PAGE established a Digital Inclusion Hub for girls in Sindh in partnership with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, alongside wider digital learning and safe-internet work.
Refugee & emergency education
Specialised programmes supported girls affected by displacement and crisis, including Afghan refugee communities, with initiatives funded by partners including the Women’s Peace & Humanitarian Fund and L’Oréal Fund for Women.
Scholarships & pathways
A five-year holistic scholarship programme, funded by Malala Fund, supported girls from deprived backgrounds with sustained educational opportunity.
Changing the conversation
Policy, advocacy and systems influence.
Fajer’s work has consistently connected programmes on the ground with the institutions and narratives that determine whether change can endure.
Girls’ Education Task Force
Led PAGE’s engagement around the establishment of a Girls’ Education Task Force at the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, bringing greater focus to coordinated action for girls.
Ulama – Ambassadors of Girls’ Education
A national campaign initiated by PAGE with the Council of Islamic Ideology to engage religious leaders in advancing girls’ education. It was formally launched by the President of Pakistan in 2021.
Evidence into advocacy
National seminars, policy engagement and research connected government, civil society, communities and development partners around the barriers keeping girls out of school.
The UK chapter
Inspired Sisters: education as a route to economic agency.
Founded in Manchester, Inspired Sisters built practical pathways for women and young people from ethnic-minority and disadvantaged communities to develop skills, enter employment and participate more fully in economic and civic life. This section will continue to grow as earlier programme records are added.
Accessible skills development
Learndirect provision supported learning in IT, English language, numeracy and business skills, alongside customised college programmes through franchise partnerships with City College Manchester and City College Birmingham.
Routes into work
Employability, personal development, vocational and driving-skills programmes helped women overcome practical barriers to work, with programmes supported by the Department for Work and Pensions, Manchester City Council and UK Government funding.
Employer networks
Inspired Sisters developed employer networks to strengthen women’s access to employment and connect community-based skills development with real economic opportunities.
Voice in public policy
Fajer represented ethnic-minority communities and civil society in policy forums and contributed to work supporting ESOL as a mainstream publicly funded provision.
Partnership as infrastructure
Change at scale is collaborative.
Across her work, Fajer has worked with public institutions, international development organisations, foundations, corporations, universities and civil society. The organisations below represent selected relationships across PAGE’s programme portfolio; roles vary between funder, implementation partner, technical partner and institutional collaborator.
Government & public institutions
Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training · Pakistan Institute of Education · Pakistan Telecommunication Authority · Federal Directorate of Education · Council of Islamic Ideology · Prime Minister’s Youth Programme
International development & foundations
Women’s Peace & Humanitarian Fund · L’Oréal Fund for Women · Malala Fund · Education Cannot Wait · JICA · Islamic Development Bank · IDRF · King’s Trust International
Corporate, academic & civil society
Zindigi / JS Bank · Total PARCO · Mexoxo · NUST · Alight · Turkish Red Crescent · APNIC Foundation · VSO
Selected organisations are presented as collaborators across the institutional portfolio, not as a claim that every relationship was personally originated or held the same funding role.
A connected model of change
From community to systems change.
01
Individuals
Skills, education, confidence and opportunity.
02
Communities
Local access, mentoring and trusted networks.
03
Institutions
Partnerships, stronger programmes and evidence.
04
Systems
Policy influence, public dialogue and sustainable change.
The work continues
Impact is not a completed chapter.
Today, Fajer is carrying the same approach into women’s economic opportunity, responsible technology, nursing education and healthcare — connecting lived experience with institutions capable of delivering change at scale.
Explore current work →Follow the journey →