Women’s rights defender, humanitarian volunteer, peace activist
Tahira Abdullah (Urdu: طاہرہ عبداللہ, Born: c, 1953 - ) is a Pakistani human rights activist, women's rights activist,[1] social scientist and supporter of gender equality. She is based in Islamabad.[2][3][4]
In 2009, Abdullah was arrested in Islamabad during her participation in the movement for the restoration of an independent Judiciary.[5]
Abdullah works on a voluntary basis for numerous trusts, civil society organisations, non-profits, policy groups, and academic bodies. She is a strong supporter of extremism-free education[6][7][8][9] and easy access for women from rural areas.[10] As a strong supporter of women's rights[11][12] she always raise her voice against all kinds of gender violence.[13][14][15][16] Topics on which she has spoken included “opening up spaces for human rights defenders”,[17] in response to the murder of Rashid Rehman (lawyer for Junaid Hafeez) in 2014.
In 2014، she opposed the actions of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) in closing down a private TV station for a fortnight for allegedly broadcasting blasphemous content; Abdullah's view was that “this is not the answer”.[18] In response to the Kasur child sexual abuse scandal she commented that “One child missing is one child too many”.[19]
Works
Co-author Suggestions on Women's Empowerment for Election Manifestos of Political Parties (Aurat Foundation, 2012) [20]
The situation of disabled children in Pakistan (UNICEF, 1981)
