Tabassum Adnan (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Pakistani women's rights activist from the

Swat Valley Swat District (, ps, سوات ولسوالۍ, ) is a district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. With a population of 2,309,570 per the 2017 national census, Swat is the 15th-largest district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa prov ...

. She won the U.S. State Department's 2015

International Women of Courage Award The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...

for her efforts in seeking justice for Pakistani women.she is the best human rights defender awardee in 2014 recently in 2015 she honoured with nelson mandela award for her great work in her area swat

Biography

Tabassum Adnan was born in 1977 and grew up in the Swat Valley of

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 was a child bride at 13, mother of four and a victim of domestic violence, when she divorced her husband of 20 years. Finding herself homeless and without means of support, Adnan attended a

women's empowerment Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several ways, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, and training.Kabeer, Naila ...

program run by a local aid group. It inspired her to work to change women's ability to participate in decision-making processes. Initially she approached the male-only, main Swat Aman

Jirga A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic ...

, but was rejected. Jirgas are traditional informal judicial councils which enforce ''

qisas ''Qisas'' or ''Qiṣāṣ'' ( ar, قِصَاص, Qiṣāṣ, lit=accountability, following up after, pursuing or prosecuting) is an Islamic term interpreted to mean "retaliation in kind",Mohamed S. El-Awa (1993), Punishment In Islamic Law, Amer ...

'', retribution laws, and though not intended to replace formal judicial systems or police procedures, decisions of the elders are socially respected and do often impact the judiciary. In May 2013, Adnan started her own jirga, the first run by women in the country. Traditionally, women in the region have been used as chattel to settle disputes of men, traded in marriage to absolve debts, claims of honor, and retribution for crimes. Because women have little power, Adnan recognized that her group would need to pressure authorities to act. Her 25-member all-female jirga pressures police and the traditional court system to act while providing legal assistance to the victims. The ''Khwendo Jirga'', or Sister’s Council, in addition to providing justice support for women advocate for free education for girls; protection of women and girl's health; training in both traditional domestic and non-traditional

vocational A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious co ...

skills;

microfinancing Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings ...

, access for women to peace negotiations, justice, and voting; and laws which protect women from violence, specifically,

honor killings An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of ...

, dowry harassments, acid attacks, and torture. Initially the ''Khwendo Jirga'' was opposed both by men's jirgas and prominent women's rights activists. In 2014 an event happened, which changed the public perception of Adnan's group. A child was raped and the authorities failed to act. ''Khwendo Jirga'' organized a protest walk bringing visibility to the case. The suspects were apprehended and for the first time in Pashtun history, a woman, Adnan, was asked to sit on the male jirga and assist with dispensing justice in the case. Since the first protest, the women have repeated the success and in July, 2014, Adnan and Khwendo Jirga were lobbying for the passage of a law prohibiting child marriages. Despite strong protest from religious factors, the

Sindh Assembly The Provincial Assembly of Sindh ( ur, ) is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Sindh, and is located in Karachi, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution o ...

unanimously passed a ban on marriages for anyone under the age of eighteen and in December, 2014 the Punjab Assembly unanimously passed a resolution to work on amending the present law. Since their first success with the men's jirga, Adnan has been invited to participate on other cases dealing with "women's issues." Though she still receives threats Adnan continues, as she believes that women should be part of the decision-making processes that effect their lives.

Awards

In 2013, Adnan was awarded the Human Defenders Award, in 2014 she was a nominee for the N-Peace Empowerment Award, and in 2015, she won a U.S. State Department

. She has won the Nelson Mandela Award 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adnan, Tabassum 1977 births Living people Pakistani human rights activists Pakistani women's rights activists Pakistani civil rights activists People from Swat District Pashtun women Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award