Fauzia Ilyas (born 1989) is a Dutch Pakistani

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

, political

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

, and the president and co-founder of Atheist & Agnostic Alliance Pakistan. Ilyas, an open

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

and apostate of Islam, fled from Pakistan after receiving threats to her life and faced potential legal charges for

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

in Pakistan. Ilyas received asylum in the Netherlands, where she is now a critic of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

and campaigner for

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...

, and atheist rights in Pakistan.

Biography

Youth and arranged marriage

Ilyas was born in 1989 and grew up in a religious

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...

family in Pakistan. At the age of 16, her father announced her

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...

with a businessman whom she had never met, and her new husband forced her to wear a

veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent ...

and

sexually abused Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...

her. Ilyas sought help from her parents, but they refused, giving

ic excuses for her husband's behaviour. After daily unanswered

prayers Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified an ...

, Ilyas increasingly questioned the existence of

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...

and professed her doubts to her husband, who reacted by forcing her out of their home and preventing her from seeing their daughter.

Apostasy and escape

Later, Ilyas met a fellow

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

named Sayed Gillani. They married and together founded Atheist & Agnostic Alliance Pakistan in 2012. After failing to keep their identities secret, Ilyas and Gillani faced death threats and

charges Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

, which is legally punishable by death in Pakistan. In 2015, they fled via

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

to the Netherlands. First, Ilyas arrived in an asylum centre in

Den Helder Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base. From here the Royal TESO fe ...

on 30 August, and was joined by Gillani in December after friends helped him fund his escape from Pakistan.

Activism

As of December 2015, the Atheist & Agnostic Alliance of Pakistan had about 3,000 members. Ilyas featured both in

Deeyah Khan Deeyah Khan ( ur, , , born 7 August 1977) is a Norwegian documentary film director and human rights activist of Punjabi/Pashtun descent. Deeyah is a two-time Emmy Award winner, two time Peabody Award winner, a BAFTA winner and has received the ...

's British documentary '' Islam's Non-Believers'' (October 2016) and in Dorothée Forma's Dutch documentary '' Non-believers: Freethinkers on the Run'' (December 2016). In January 2017, Ilyas presented her story to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

with the International Humanist and Ethical Union. In April, she also received the International Atheist of the Year award. Ilyas criticised

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

for taking down almost all Pakistan-based secular and Islam-critical pages in response to mass flagging campaigns by Islamists. She argued that Facebook should be a platform for

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

, and stop facilitating the Islamist crackdown against so-called "blasphemers".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilyas, Fauzia 1989 births 21st-century atheists Dutch atheism activists Former Muslim critics of Islam Critics of Sunni Islam Living people Pakistani atheists Pakistani emigrants to the Netherlands Pakistani former Muslims Dutch former Muslims Pakistani human rights activists Dutch human rights activists Women human rights activists Pakistani secularists Dutch secularists People from Lahore People from Den Helder University of the Punjab alumni Naturalised citizens of the Netherlands Former Muslims turned agnostics or atheists Dutch critics of Islam Articles containing video clips

Biography

Youth and arranged marriage

Apostasy and escape

Activism

See also

References