Hadiqa Bashir

Hadiqa Bashir, is a 14 year old young feminist campaigning against early and forced marriages in Swat valley. She goes door-to-door in her community, raising awareness about girls’ rights and the dangers of child marriage. She intervenes wherever possible if she hears about a young girl being forced to marry. She engage legislators for pro girls legislation and sensitizes Imams (Prayer Leaders) to play active role in stopping early and forced marriages. Her group also conducts Community theaters for mass awareness. To date, she says she has convinced five families in her community not to force their young daughters into early marriage. Earlier this year, she stopped one family from marrying off their seven-year-old daughter.

In 2015, she was honored with ‘Mohammad Ali Interna­tional Humanitarian Award’.