Shajar-e-Ilm- “Tree of Knowledge” - is a group of students, activists, and concerned youth across Pakistan and the Pakistani Diaspora, committed to promoting progressive, equitable, and accessible education in various areas of Pakistan. Shajar-e-Ilm was started in response to severe violence on girls’ schools in Swat Valley, where militants burned down over 200 girls’ schools in the span of two years, and declared an all-out ban on female education.

As its first project Shajar-e-Ilm held a one-week retreat in Islamabad for girls from Swat Valley. This retreat was held in collaboration with a reputed and progressive educationalist within Swat Valley, Ziauddin Yusufzai, who has been working for female education in Swat Valley despite tremendous threats to his life by the militants. The Swat Valley Girls Retreat comprised of a series of sessions in trauma-relief, motivation-building, story-telling, and cultural exchange and served as an educational and healing experience for the girls of Swat Valley who have been through enormous trauma during the instability in Swat over the past few months. It created a strong network of mentorship and support for the girls of Swat Valley through a Big Sister/Little Sister Program that shall be used to further the goals of the retreat. Shajar-e-Ilm is currently working on further education projects in Swat Valley