Sanna Ejaz ( ps, ثنا اعجاز) or Sana Ijaz, is a journalist and

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

from

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

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 is a leading member of 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), as well as a founding member of the Waak Movement, which aims to bring political awareness among

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

women. She focuses on advocacy to promote women's role in peacebuilding, reconciliation, and social activism. She was formerly the vice-president of the youth wing of

Awami National Party The Awami National Party (ANP; ur, , ps, اولسي ملي ګوند; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its curr ...

(ANP).

Career and social activism

Sanna worked as an anchor and host at the state-owned

Pakistan Television Corporation Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore. Background Historical co ...

(PTV) for two and a half years. However, she was fired from her job on 9 May 2018 because of her activism at PTM. In late 2018, she also lost her job at a nongovernmental advocacy organization,

Shirkat Gah Shirkat Gah women's resource centre, is a women's rights organization 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 dep ...

. Regarding her association with PTM, she said: "I was not doing anything wrong by supporting a peaceful demand for justice, for constitutional rights, and for peace. I will not back down." On 9 February 2020, just before PTM's public gathering in

Loralai Loralai ( ps, لورلايي, ur, ), also known as Bori ( ps, ), is the division headquarter of Loralai Division and district headquarter of Loralai District. It is in the northeast of Balochistan province in Pakistan. It is above sea level ...

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. ...

to mark the first death anniversary of Arman Loni, security forces arrested Sanna Ejaz,

Wranga Loni Wranga Loni ( ps, وړانګه لوڼۍ, ur, وڑانگہ لونی; also spelled Wrranga Lunri or Wrranga Luni) is a human rights activist and writer from Sanjawi in northern Balochistan, Pakistan. She is a leading member of the Pashtun Tahafuz ...

Arfa Siddiq Arfa Siddiq Kakar ( ps, عارفه صدیق کاکړه, ur, عارفہ صدیق کاکڑ; born 28 January 1987), also spelled Arifa Siddique, is a politician and human rights activist from the town of Muslim Bagh in northern Balochistan, Pakista ...

, and other female PTM activists as they were on their way to the gathering site. The security forces released them, however, when political activists gathered outside the police station to protest for them.

References

External links

"The Year of Shrinking Freedoms"
article by Rabia Mehmood, South Asia Regional Researcher, ''

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

'', 13 December 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ejaz, Sanna Living people Pakistani human rights activists Pakistani humanists People from Peshawar Pashtun women University of Peshawar alumni Plymouth State University alumni Pashtun Tahafuz Movement politicians Awami National Party politicians Pakistani prisoners and detainees Pakistani feminists Women television journalists Pakistani women journalists Pakistani television newsreaders and news presenters Pakistani television talk show hosts Year of birth missing (living people)

Career and social activism

See also

References

External links