Gulalai Ismail

Gulalai Ismail
ګلالۍ اسماعیل
Born (1986-10-30) 30 October 1986 (age 38)
Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan[1]
EducationJosef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver
Quaid-i-Azam University
OccupationHuman rights activist
Organization(s)Aware Girls
Humanists International
MovementPashtun Tahafuz Movement
Parents
  • Muhammad Ismail[2] (father)
  • Uzlifat Ismail[2] (mother)
RelativesSaba Ismail[3] (sister)
FamilySaba Ismail (sister)
AwardsInternational Humanist of the Year Award (2014)
Commonwealth Youth Award for Asia (2015)
Chirac Prize for Conflict Prevention (2016)
Anna Politkovskaya Award (2017)
Websiteawaregirls.org

Gulalai Ismail (Pashto: ګلالۍ اسماعیل; Urdu: گلالئی اسماعیل; born 30 October 1986) is a Pakistani human rights activist from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. She is the chairperson of Aware Girls, a global ambassador for Humanists International, and a leading member of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM).[2] She speaks on the subject of promoting peace and women's empowerment at conferences internationally, and is the recipient of the International Humanist of the Year Award, the Chirac Prize for Conflict Prevention, and the Anna Politkovskaya Award.

In 2019, during the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Ismail fled Pakistan and took refuge in the United States after fearing for her life for speaking out against sexual assaults and disappearances allegedly carried out by the Pakistani military.[4] In March 2021, she became a global ambassador for Humanists International.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference tin2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Hashim, Asad (12 April 2021). "Pakistani court grants bail to father of prominent activist". Al Jazeera. Gulalai Ismail is a prominent award-winning gender rights activist and is a leading member of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), a rights group that calls for accountability for alleged rights abuses committed by the Pakistani military and which has faced widespread restrictions for its work.
  3. ^ Gray, Lucy Anna (18 November 2018). "Forgotten Women: One detained and another receiving threats from across the world - meet human rights activists the Ismail sisters". The Independent.
  4. ^ "After Months on the Run, Pakistani Rights Activist Says She Will Continue Her Struggle from U.S." Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 19 September 2019.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference HI-ambassador was invoked but never defined (see the help page).