Nighat Dad to represent Pakistan as 2017 TED Fellow

Previously, Dad was selected as a 'Next Generation Leader' by TIME Magazine

Lawyer and Director of the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) Nighat Dad has been selected as a TedGlobal 2017 fellow and will be representing Pakistan.

Dad joins 20 other change-makers who will deliver a talk at the TED Global Stage this August in Arusha, Tanzania.



Ted Fellows are known to make headlines for their incredible work in all fields. "They are building companies, sequencing rare diseases, exploring the stars, making music, saving lives, mapping political violence, and much much more," states the Ted website.

Honored to have been selected as one of the 2017 TED Fellows Proud to be representing Pakistan!! https://t.co/61QJvp9vzo @TEDFellow

— Nighat Dad (@nighatdad) May 24, 2017

Dad joins a number of Pakistanis who have been bestowed with this honour, including Usman Riaz, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Ziauddin Yousafzai.

From cyber-bullying to stalking, the internet happens to be a vulnerable space for many Pakistani women and this is what Dad has been striving to remedy. Her non-profit organisation is aimed at educating Pakistanis regarding their digital rights and how to respond to harassment online.  The organisation also campaigns against legislations giving government bodies sweeping powers of surveillance online, dissemination of personal information of customers collected by telcos to government agencies and other organisations.



Previously, Dad was selected among as a 'Next Generation Leader' by TIME Magazine. She was also honoured with the Human Rights Tulip Award by the Government of the Netherlands in 2016.