Nayyab Ali is a Pakistani human rights defender, transgender activist and social scientist with ten years of experience in working on gender equality, livelihoods and economic empowerment. As an independent consultant, she has been associated with UN agencies to advocate transgender rights. In 2020, she was awarded the Franco-German Prize for Human Right

She became one of the first few transgender people who ran for election in the 2018

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 ...

elections. She is the first Pakistani to receive the GALA awards. She is first Transgender Woman to elect as Co- Chairperson of EVAW/G Allianc
Pakistan
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pakistan has declared International Award Winner Transgender rights activist Nayyab Ali as Gender Equality Advocate in Pakista

As a researcher and renowned activist, working on gender and minority inclusion issues, Ms. Nayyab Ali has been a resource person for building law enforcement agencies' capacities and sensitisation across Pakistan and for tackling the political, institutional and social challenges of the transgender community. Her expertise, experience and personal journey have led her to become the national coordinator of All Pakistan Transgender Election Network, to be an active member of the special committee formed for the review of the bill, which became the Pakistan transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018 and also to create the first school for Okara's transgender communit

Personal life

Ali was born as Muhammad Arslan in Okara, Pakistan, Okara city,

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

district. She was disowned by her family at an early age of 13, when she was in her eighth grade. She then moved to her grandmother's house where she continued her education. Nayab started working for

transgender rights A transgender person is someone whose gender identity is inconsistent or not culturally associated with the sex they were assigned at birth and also with the gender role that is associated with that sex. They may have, or may intend to establi ...

when she was 17 years old. Later on, she started living with a Guru; the head of transgender sanctuaries. She is also a victim of

acid attack An acid attack, also called acid throwing, vitriol attack, or vitriolage, is a form of violent assault involving the act of throwing acid or a similarly corrosive substance onto the body of another "with the intention to disfigure, maim, tortu ...

s and was harassed during her time as a student.

Education

Nayyab is among the few educated transgender people in her country. She pursued a bachelor's degree in

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

, from the

University of Punjab The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...

and later did her master's degree in

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

from Preston University, Islamabad.

Career

Teaching

Nayyab has remained a teacher prior to her political career. She also has served as Transgender Rights Expert Consultant at UNDP, Nayyab Ali is one of the most prominent transgender people of Pakistan. She is an activist, educator, and one of the Master Trainers of #UNDPinPakistan. Despite suffering many personal tragedies, she has dedicated her life to activism and a struggle to protect the rights of the trans communit

Activism

Nayab has been advocating transgender rights from an early age. She has worked for the welfare of transgender community in Pakistan and also started her own venture, the 'Khawaja Sira Community' in Okara District, Okara, which offers a basic literacy and numeracy programme, vocational training, life skills education and driving classes for the transgender community. She has served as Chairperson, All Pakistan Transgender Election Network (APTEN). For the past decade, Nayab has been giving technical support to the government institutions to improve the lives of her community and get them their basic human rights. She is the first transgender person in Pakistan to register her company with the

Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) ( ur, ) is the financial regulatory agency in Pakistan whose objective is to develop a modern and efficient corporate sector and a capital market based on sound authority principles, in ...

(SECP). Nayyab Ali had provided technical support for community input and for setting up a basic legislative framework for the protection of Transgender Rights in Pakista

Politics

After Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018, a historic bill passed in 2018, that granted the

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

community a right to obtain legal documents, right to vote and stand in election. Nayab, along with 12 other transgender candidates became the first of their community to stand in the 2018 Pakistan elections. She stood for the national assembly seat NA-142 in Okara in the 2018 elections on PTI's Ayesha Gulalai's seat and was able to receive a total of 1197 votes, which was more than many of her female counterparts. Nayab is also a member of the provincial voter committee of the

Election Commission of Pakistan The Election Commission of Pakistan ( ur, ; ECP) is an independent, autonomous, permanent and constitutionally established federal body responsible for organizing and conducting elections to the national parliament, provincial legislatures, l ...

. and also a part of the All Pakistan Transgender Election Network in Punjab.

Awards

Nayab Ali became the first person from Pakistan to receive the GALA International Activist

Award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...

held in

Dublin, Ireland Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

in 2020. The awards, which are organized by the National X Federation of Ireland (NXF), recognized Nayab as "an international activist outside of Ireland who works tirelessly to promote the full equality and inclusion of gender minorities people in society"., She is the Laureate of Franco - German Prize for Human Rights & Rule of La
2020
She is also Laureate of APCOM HERO ASIA Award under Transgender Category in 2020

Nayyab Ali became Pakistan's first transgender person to win the 2nd Interactive Youth Forum (ISYD) 2020 award on working for ensuring basic rights to her fellow community.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Nayyab Pakistani women's rights activists Transgender rights activists 21st-century Pakistani women politicians Pakistani LGBT politicians Pakistani transgender people Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Transgender women politicians Transgender scientists Pakistani LGBT rights activists