Gulalai Ismail

Gulalai Ismail
Born 1986 (age 31–32)
Swabi, Pakistan
Education Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad
Occupation Human rights activist
Relatives Saba Ismail, sister
Website http://www.awaregirls.org/

Gulalai Ismail (born c. 1986) is a Pashtun human rights activist from Pakistan and chairperson of Aware Girls and the Seeds of Peace network. She speaks on the subject of promoting peace in Pakistan and women's empowerment at conferences internationally and is the recipient of the International Humanist of the Year Award from the International Humanist and Ethical Union, and of the Fondation Chirac Peace Prize.

Early life and activism

Ismail was born in Swabi and from the age of nine was brought up in Peshawar, Pakistan.[1] The daughter of teacher and human rights activist Muhammad Ismail, she was educated from a young age about gender discrimination and women's rights.[2] Ismail graduated from Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad in 2002 with a Master of philosophy degree in biotechnology.[3][4] At the age of 16, she founded Non-governmental organization Aware Girls with her sister Saba Ismail,[5] aiming to challenge the culture of violence and the oppression of women in the rural Khyber Pakhtunkhwa area in the north west of Pakistan.[6] In an interview in 2011, she said:[7]

Ismail aims to get peace activists together to discuss ways to promote peaceful resistance to the Taliban and encourage more woman into politics, as well as investigating the psychological impact of terrorism on children and families. Malala Yousafzai was an attendee of Aware Girls in 2011.[8] She has criticised the British government's Prevent strategy saying it can lead to alienation of Muslims and could turn vulnerable individuals towards extremism.[9] Ismail has also spoken out against blasphemy laws in Pakistan and the effect this has had on progressive speech, secular activism, and the safety of secular activists. She said: "I am convinced that without a secular democracy, we will not achieve peace in Pakistan."[10]

In addition to Aware Girls, which she continues to chair, Ismail set up the Seeds of Peace network in 2010, training young people in human rights and political leadership, encouraging the participation of women in politics in Pakistan, and encouraging tolerance between people of differing faiths.[7] Seeds of Peace was a response to what Ismail saw as the increased 'Talibanisation' of young men and women vulnerable to militants in the Swabi district and other rural areas.[7] According to the World Humanist Congress, "her work is characterised by promoting peace and pluralism; challenging religious extremism and militancy; promoting good governance in areas stricken by militancy, providing civic education to young people; strengthening democracy; and political mainstreaming of young women."[3]

Between 2009 and 2011, Ismail was on the Executive Committee of the International Humanist and Ethical Youth Organization, and between 2010 and 2012 she was a Board Member of the Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights.[3] She also works for the Gender Working Group of the United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY), and is a member of the Asian Democracy Network.[4]

Ismail's organisation has widened its scope to include education on topics such as access to safe abortions, HIV and AIDS, and she continues to speak at international conferences to promote awareness of peace-building, tolerance and women's rights. Both Gulalai and her sister Saba have also acted as adviser on peace and women's rights to the United Nations and US governmental departments.[4][11][7] She has been threatened for her activism and has been forced to flee her home in the past. On May 16, 2014, four armed gunmen attempted to force their way into the family home, shouting for Ismail who had been delayed by lost baggage at the airport.[12] In an interview with the BBC she said,

In 2013 Ismail set up the Marastyal Helpline to give advice and assistance to women at risk from, and victims of, gender-based violence. The service gives advice on legal and medical aid as well as emergency ambulance information and emotional counseling and operates from Peshawar.[13][14]

In November 2017, the head of a youth parliament, Hamza Khan, uploaded her photo to social media and a video accusing Ismail of blasphemy, a charge which in Pakistan carries the death penalty, and urged his followers to kill her as an infidel. In February 2018 Ismail, refusing to be intimidated, filed a legal case against Khan who was arrested without bail. In a statement Ismail said,

In October 2018 Ismail was detained by airport officials in Islamabad and her passport held after attending a Humanists UK conference in the United Kingdom. After detention she was released on interim bail and officials at Islamabad International Airport confirmed Ismail's name was on the Exit Control List.[16]

Awards and recognition

Ismail won the 2009 YouthActionNet Fellowship.

In 2013, she received the Democracy Award from the National Endowment for Democracy, and was acknowledged as one of the 100 Leading Global Thinkers of 2013 by Foreign Policy magazine.[2][17]

In August 2014, she was awarded the International Humanist of the Year Award by the International Humanist and Ethical Union at the World Humanist Congress in Oxford, England.[18] She was elected to IHEU's Board of Directors in 2017.[19]

She received the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Award for Excellence in Development, under the theme of Democracy and Human Rights.[20]

In 2016, her organisation, Aware Girls, was awarded the Fondation Chirac Peace Prize for its contribution to the prevention of conflict in Pakistan.[21][22]

In 2017, Ismail was joint winner, with murdered journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh, of the Anna Politkovskaya Award, Reach All Women in WAR (RAW in WAR) award for campaigning against religious extremism.[23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Fidgen, Jo. "Speaking out at a cost". BBC World Service. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  2. 1 2 Interview with Gulalai Ismail, The World Justice Project, 15 October 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2014
  3. 1 2 3 Speakers, World Humanist Congress 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014
  4. 1 2 3 "Gulalai Ismail Founder and chair of Aware Girls". Huffington Post. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  5. ↑ "Two Pakistani women awarded Chirac Prize in Paris for conflict prevention". Dawn. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  6. 1 2 "A family of fighters for human rights". BBC World Service. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Madeleine Bunting, "Young women fight the 'Talibanisation' of rural Pakistan", The Guardian, 16 May 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2014
  8. ↑ Briggs, Billy. "The Peshawar women fighting the Taliban: 'We cannot trust anyone'". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  9. ↑ Briggs, Billy. "Renowned Pakistan-based human rights expert criticises UK government's counter-terrorism strategy". Daily Record. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  10. ↑ Bergh, Kirsti. "Bekjemper talibanisering med undervisning: Pakistansk kvinneaktivist til verdenskongressen". Fritanka.no. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  11. ↑ "Secretary-General Nominates Lead Author and Advisory Group for Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security". UN.org. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  12. ↑ "Aware Girls founders under threat in Pakistan". IHEU. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  13. ↑ Burke, Pamela. "Peacebuilder Gulalai Ismail Fights For Girls' Rights In Pakistan". The Women's Eye. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  14. ↑ "Marastyal Helpline: Providing Referral Services to survivors of Gender Base Violence". Aware Girls. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  15. ↑ Janjua, Haroon; Tomlinson, Hugh. "Pakistani feminist turns tables on man after blasphemy slur". The Times. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  16. ↑ Naseer, Tahir. "Pashtun rights activist Gulalai Ismail released on interim bail after detention in Islamabad". Dawn. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  17. ↑ Silverman, Amanda. "A deadly double standard". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  18. ↑ "Gulalai Ismail wins International Humanist of the Year Award", British Humanist Association, 9 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014
  19. ↑ "Our Board". International Humanist and Ethical Union. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  20. ↑ http://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/2307-pakistani-activist-gulalai-ismail-wins-commonwealth-youth-award
  21. ↑ Debenham, Cathy. "Gulalai Ismail biography". Ted x Exeter. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  22. ↑ Owensby, Susan. "Gulalai Ismail wins the 2016 Chirac Prize for the Prevention of Conflict". Radio France Internationale. France Médias Monde. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  23. ↑ "Pakistani activist Gulalai Ismail wins Anna Plitkovskaya Award". The International News. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
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