Jalila Haider (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
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Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

, Pakistan. She is known to be the first woman lawyer from Quetta's Hazara minority, and an advocate for the rights of her persecuted community. She is a member of the

Awami Workers Party The Awami Workers Party ( ur, عوامی ورکرز پارٹی) is a left-wing socialist political party in Pakistan. The party seeks to unify the struggles of workers, peasants, students, women and ethnic and religious minorities in Pakistan und ...

(AWP), leader of the Balochistan chapter of

Women Democratic Front Women Democratic Front (WDF) is an independent socialist-feminist organization based in Pakistan. It was founded in the federal capital Islamabad on March 8, 2018, by hundreds of delegates from Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. ...

(WDF), and also an activist in the

Pashtun Tahafuz Movement The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM; ps, پښتون ژغورنې غورځنګ ''Paṣtūn Zhghōrənē Ghōrźang''; ur, , lit=Pashtun Protection Movement) is a social movement for Pashtun human rights based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan ...

(PTM). She founded a non-profit organisation, "We the Humans – Pakistan," which aims to empower local communities in Balochistan by strengthening opportunities for vulnerable women and children. She was named in BBC's 100 Women of 2019, and was chosen as an International Woman of Courage by the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

in March 2020. In 2022, she won the first-ever ‘Pakistan Peace Award’ for her work and contribution to bring tolerance and sustainable peace in the country.

Early life and education

Jalila Haider was born on December 10, 1988, in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. She holds a master's degree in International Relations from the

University of Balochistan The University of Balochistan (UB) (Urdu: جامعہ بلوچستان; Balochi: بلوچستان ء یونیورسٹی ), also known as Balochistan University, is a public university located in the downtown area of Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. ...

Career

Haider has been a supporter of the rights of vulnerable communities and has spoken out against human rights violations and abuses faced by them. She has campaigned against the enforced disappearances and killings of Baloch political workers and has led protests and sit-ins against the ethnic cleansing of the Hazaras. She participates and speaks against the atrocities faced by the Pashtuns and believes that their pain is similar as they are all demanding for their

right to life The right to life is the belief that a being has the right to live and, in particular, should not be killed by another entity. The concept of a right to life arises in debates on issues including capital punishment, with some people seeing it as ...

guaranteed in the

Constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan ( ur, ), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. Drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, with additional assistance from the country's Pakistani political parties, opposition ...

. Haider also addressed a meeting of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement in

in March 2018, for which she received criticism and harassment. After four separate attacks targeting the Hazara community in April 2018, Haider led a peaceful hunger strike camp outside Quetta press club, which lasted for around five days. Haider and other leaders demanded that Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff,

Qamar Javed Bajwa General Qamar Javed Bajwa ( ur, ; born 11 November 1960) is a retired Pakistani army general who served as the tenth Chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan from 29 November 2016 to 29 November 2022. In 2018 he was ranked 68th in the ''Forbes' ...

must visit the community and take concrete steps to bring the perpetrators to justice and ensure their security. Haider and community elders had inconclusive talks with Balochistan Chief Minister Mir

Abdul Quddus Bizenjo Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo ( ur, ; born 1 January 1974) is a Pakistani politician who has been serving as the Chief Minister of Balochistan province of Pakistan since 29 October 2021. He has been a member of the Provincial Assembly of Balochista ...

, Federal Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Provincial Home Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti. The strike ended after

held meetings with the tribal elders and representatives of the community, including Hazara women, in which he ensured security and protection of the community's right to life. Following the hunger strike, on 2 May 2018, the Chief Justice of Pakistan,

Mian Saqib Nisar Mian Saqib Nisar ( ur, ; born 18 January 1954) is a Pakistani jurist who served as the 25th Chief Justice of Pakistan from 31 December 2016 till 17 January 2019. He has previously served as the Law Secretary. He also served as a visiting prof ...

, took suo moto notice of the killings of Hazaras. In the subsequent hearing on May 11, these targeted killings were termed as ethnic cleansing of the Hazara community and Nisar instructed all the security agencies to submit reports on the forces behind these killings. Apart from her political activism, Haider has been practicing law at the

Bar Council for years. She specializes in defending women's rights and provides free legal services to people who cannot afford legal counsel on a wide range of issues, including fair justice,

extrajudicial killing An extrajudicial killing (also known as extrajudicial execution or extralegal killing) is the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding. It typically refers to government authorities, whether ...

, domestic violence, marriage disputes, sexual harassment, and property rights. In 2018, Haider also met Mr. Ihsan Ghani, National Coordinator,

National Counter Terrorism Authority The National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) ( ur, ), commonly called Nacta, is a Pakistani internal security organization responsible for making counter terrorism and counter extremism policies and strategies. It also develops action plans a ...

(NACTA) in Islamabad to put forward the grievances of the Hazara women who are facing social, economic and administrative challenges as the male breadwinners of their households have been killed. Haider has also contributed to the feminist struggle in

by fighting against the norms of patriarchy and leading all major movements, including the

Aurat March The Aurat March ( ur, or , English: Women's March) is an annual socio-political demonstration in Pakistani cities such as Lahore, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Faisalabad, Multan, Quetta, Karachi, Islamabad and Peshawar to observe International Women ...

. In 2020. Haider received a scholarship in the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

which is a public

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...

located in Falmer, Sussex, England.

Accomplishments

In 2014, she was selected as an Atlantic Council Emerging Leaders of Pakistan Fellow and was a member of the first batch of Pakistan Social Entrepreneurs by Rajeev Circle Fellows in 2015. In 2015, Haider was selected as one of ‘News Women Power 50’ list of Pakistan's most influential and powerful women. She was also a 2016 Swedish Institute Young Connectors of the Future Fellow. She was named in the BBC's 100 Women in 2019 which is a list about inspiring and influential women compiled by

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

. She was chosen as an International Woman of Courage in March 2020 by the US Secretary of State. She received

Hum TV Hum TV is a 24-hour Urdu General Entertainment TV channel based in Karachi, Pakistan. It was founded by Sultana Siddiqui and Duraid Qureshi. It is owned by Hum Network Limited and traded on Pakistan Stock Exchange as (HUMNL). Hum Network Limi ...

Women Leaders Award 2020, for her achievement in the past year.

Threats

Haider has received criticism from her society and threats and harassment from state and non-state actors for her activism against human rights excesses. In March 2019, Haider's name was put on Pakistan's

Exit Control List The Exit Control Lists (ECL; ur, ) is a system of border control maintained by the Government of Pakistan under Exit from Pakistan (Control) Ordinance, 1981. The people on the list are prohibited from leaving Pakistan. Priorities 1. Exit from P ...

(ECL) after her participation in the public gatherings of

Sources

This article was created during ‘WikiGap’ event, in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

, Pakistan on 11,12 October 2019, organized by Swedish Embassy.

References