Social Justice

Nighat Dad

Dad is a Pakistani lawyer and internet activist; and also the founder and Executive Director of the not-for-profit Digital Rights Foundation (est 2012). She has been using this organisation as a platform to  educate Pakistani internet users, particularly women to protect themselves from online harrassment.Dad led campaigns to protect online freedom of speech in Pakistan as well campaigns against legislation that gives the government broad powers of surveillance online, most notable one is the controversial Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2015.She also contributed in the draft of Acid Prevention Law 2010 and the Domestic Violence Bill of Pakistan. In 2015, she was named in the TIME magazine’s list of next generation leaders, for helping Pakistani women fight online harassment. In 2016, she was awarded the Atlantic Council Digital Freedom Award and Dutch government’s Human Rights Tulip award.

Dad completed her L.L.B from the University of Punjab in 2004 and also completed certifications from the Diplo Foundation and Berkman Klein Center (Harvard University).

Sarah Belal

Ms. Belal is a Director at the Justice Project Pakistan (JPP). JPP provides direct legal representation to the most vulnerable prisoners in the Pakistani criminal justice system by representing individuals on death row, victims of police torture, and those who have been scooped up in the U.S.”war on terror” and held beyond the rule of law. Sarah Belal studied History at Smith College, Northampton. She completed her law degree from Oxford University in 2006. She qualified as a barrister after completing the Bar Vocational Course in 2007. She obtained her licence to practice in Pakistan in 2008 and gained rights of audience in the High Court in 2008. Since 2009, she has been leading the team at Justice Project Pakistan

Rimmel Mohydin

Rimmel is a human rights defender, currently working as a South Asian Campaigner for Amnesty International. She was previously the Head of Communications at Justice Project Pakistan which helps defend the poorest prisoners facing the harshest punishments. She has spearheaded national campaigns to stop the executions of prisoners across the country and abroad. Previously, she worked as Associate Editor at Newsweek Pakistan, where she covered many stories of national import. She was also the program coordinator for the Lahore Literary Festival, the country’s largest literary event from 2014-2016. 

She studied International Relations at the London School of Economics.