Nazish

Pakistan, Summer 2025

Nazish Saddique is a Pashtun Pakistani W/HRD, community mobiliser, and radio contributor with a strong academic background and extensive grassroots experience. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan KPK, and has also completed part of a Master’s in Political Science.

Since 2014, Nazish has been actively involved in promoting women’s rights, girls’ education, reproductive health, and workplace safety for women. She has contributed to community radio as a scriptwriter and coordinator, addressing sensitive issues like gender-based violence, gender equality and women’s health. She also worked with Kurram Welfare Home to conduct awareness programs and door-to-door campaigns, empowering women and mobilising girls to speak up for their basic rights in remote and conservative areas of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa PAK-Afghan border area.

Due to her women’s rights activism, she was forcibly prevented from continuing her advocacy work for women and academic research on violence against women nurses within the healthcare sector. This obstruction came from the Pashtoon community, influential government figures, and members of the health sector. She was unlawfully detained for over four months in a private facility, during which time she received severe threats to her life. After managing to escape, she and her husband (a fellow HRD) were subsequently abducted, tortured and held for four days by authorities in Azerbaijan.

Despite facing many challenges, she remains a determined voice for justice and gender equality from abroad. She has participated in many international forums, including the World Social Forum 2024, the TRM & Wellbeing Workshop 2024, and Raise Voice for human rights defenders in her home country.

She is currently working on a women’s rights-related research project in the UK.