Tahira Abdullah
Tahira Abdullah | |
|---|---|
| Born | circa 1953 Pakistan |
| Occupation(s) | Human rights advocate, social scientist, women's rights campaigner |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Known for | Advocacy for human and women's rights, gender equality, education reform |
Tahira Abdullah (Urdu: طاہرہ عبداللہ, born around 1953) is a prominent Pakistani advocate for human and women's rights, a social scientist, and a proponent of gender equality residing in Islamabad.
In 2009, Abdullah was detained amid the campaign to reinstate an independent judiciary. She actively contributes her time to numerous trusts, civil society groups, non-governmental organizations, policy institutes, and academic entities. Abdullah is a firm proponent of education free from extremism and champions enhanced educational opportunities for women living in rural regions. As a dedicated women's rights campaigner, she persistently challenges all types of gender-based violence.
Her public advocacy has included calls to "create more space for human rights defenders," particularly following the 2014 assassination of lawyer Rashid Rehman. In the same year, she condemned the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s (Pemra) decision to suspend a private television channel for two weeks over alleged blasphemy, remarking that “this is not the answer.” After the Kasur child sexual abuse case came to light, she stressed that “even one missing child is one too many.”
Works
- Co-writer of Suggestions on Women's Empowerment for Election Manifestos of Political Parties (Aurat Foundation, 2012)
- The situation of disabled children in Pakistan (UNICEF, 1981)