Pakistani activist wins Nelson Mandela award 2016

Tabassum Adnan is the founder of NGO Khwendo Jirga, or Sister’s Council


Sherinzada April 29, 2016
Tabassum Adnan PHOTO: FACEBOOK

Pakistani activist Tabassum Adnan won the prestigious Nelson Mandela – Graça Machel Innovation Award 2016 on Thursday.

The winners of the 2016 Innovation Awards were publicly announced at Ceremony held on 28 April, as part of International Civil Society Week (ICSW), which was hosted by CIVICUS, in collaboration with the Confederación Colombiana de ONG from 25 to 28 April, 2016, in Bogotá, Colombia.

Swat activist receives International Women of Courage Award



In 2015, Tabassum Adnan, founder of NGO Khwendo Jirga, or Sister’s Council, a women-only jirga was awarded the Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award in recognition of her services of women’s rights.

A victim of child marriage, Adnan was married when she was 13-years-old. After suffering 20 years of physical and mental abuse, Adnan divorced her husband, which made her lose her children, home, and money.

PHOTO: TABASSUM ADNAN/FACEBOOK

Swat's Tabassum Adnan dedicates Secretary of State award to all women

Later she started the NGO, Khwendo Jirga, a first of its kind women-only jirga, where women meet weekly to discuss issues such as honour killings, acid attacks, and swara, or giving women as compensation for crimes.

PHOTO: Tabassum Adnan/FACEBOOK

The jirga brought awareness to women’s security, their right to vote and offers free legal help to victims of violence.

COMMENTS (5)

zulfiqar butt | 7 years ago | Reply We the men should take a leaf from our women folk. They are showing us the way forward by constructive means...let us thank them for this!!
Naeem Khan | 7 years ago | Reply @Free: Congratulations to both of these Pakistanis, citizens like these make us so proud of them. I am from Mardan and my special congratulations to Tabassum Adnan , you make us so proud. Thanks for your work for the down trodden women all over the world.
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