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Nighat Dad ( ur, ; born ) is a Pakistani lawyer and Internet activist who runs the not-for-profit organisation Digital Rights Foundation. Her work in the field of
IT security Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, the ...
has earned her many international awards.


Early life and education

Dad was born in 1981 in Lahore. She hails from a village in Jhang, Punjab. She received her education from the University of the Punjab, Lahore from where she has received a degree of the Master of Laws. Her marriage lasted only 18 months, and as a single mother, she had to wage a legal battle to win the custody of her child. During court proceedings she met many single mothers involved in legal battle to gain custody of their children, and she has been helping such women.


Work

Dad is a lawyer by profession and practice criminal and family law. In 2012, she set up the Digital Rights Foundation where she was executive director, educate Pakistani internet users, particularly women to protect themselves from online harassment. Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has also attended workshops of Dad, before being shot by the Taliban in October 2012. 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. She is also one of the 25 leading figures on the Information and Democracy Commission launched by
Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
. In November 2018 she joined
The Tor Project The Tor Project, Inc. is a Seattle-based 501(c)(3) research-education nonprofit organization founded by computer scientists Roger Dingledine, Nick Mathewson and five others. The Tor Project is primarily responsible for maintaining software for ...
's board of directors. On 6 May 2020, Facebook appointed her to its content oversight board.


See also

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Internet censorship in Pakistan Internet censorship in Pakistan is government control of information sent and received using the Internet in Pakistan. There have been significant instances of website access restriction in Pakistan, most notably when YouTube was banned from 2 ...


References


External links


Digital Rights Foundation
1981 births Living people Pakistani lawyers Pakistani activists Pakistani women activists Internet censorship in Pakistan University of the Punjab alumni People from Jhang District Facebook Oversight Board members 20th-century Pakistani women 21st-century Pakistani women {{authority control