Solidarity statement with Afghans in Pakistan: Stop the deportations!

Updated text 23 October 2023.

Translations (to be inserted) – please come back soon for Dari, Pashto, Urdu, Turkish and more.

What’s been happening? Millions at risk.

The government of Pakistan announced a deadline for all “undocumented Afghans” – essentially Afghans seeking refuge but denied this status by the government – to leave the country by November 1, 2023. The demands were qualified through unproven accusations of Afghans being involved in “terrorism.”

The government of Pakistan’s demand for Afghans to leave the country has put all Afghans at risk. There are multiple eye-witness accounts and media reports of:

● Afghan homes and shops being demolished by law-enforcement agencies

● Growing cases of the illegal detention of Afghans.

● Widespread harassment of Afghans by law-enforcement agencies (verbal, physical, and psychological abuse).

● Afghan families being forced to cross the Pakistan/Afghanistan border to Afghanistan.

These experiences of being criminalised and discriminated against are not new for Afghans in Pakistan and directly emerge from discriminatory British colonial laws, wars, and border-making in Afghanistan and adjacent geographies, which were inherited and not challenged by the post-independence governments of Pakistan. This has also meant that the demands for Afghans to leave Pakistan are linked to Pakistan’s, often hostile, relationship with its own ethnic minorities, specifically those who reside in/originate from areas that border Afghanistan – Pashtuns, Baloch, and Hazaras, who also have a long history of facing discrimination and who find when Afghans are being forced to leave Pakistan that their right to belong in Pakistan is also questioned. For example, Pakistani Pashtuns have been stripped of their citizenship status after being accused of being Afghans – a process that is managed by biometric computerised ID cards – and are burdened with the task to prove they are “native” to Pakistan through lengthy bureaucratic processes.

Who are Pakistan’s Afghans?

Pakistan is home to over 4 million Afghans, which, in legal terms, includes Afghans denied a legal plan and settlement status, registered refugees, visa holders, and others. Afghans of all ethnicities live in Pakistan. After August 2021, conservative accounts estimate that 600,000 Afghans also sought refuge in Pakistan – some of whom are considered to be “in transit” and awaiting relocation to countries such as the U.K, U.S., Canada, Germany; the remainder fall into the category of Afghans without any legal status and with no governmental institution and/or limited support from international refugee and humanitarian organisations.

The division of Afghans into different legal categories is intentionally ambiguous, inconsistent, and politically duplicitous. People who should be classified as refugees are not. The government of Pakistan’s call to deport what it calls “undocumented” Afghans, is a way to refuse to include newer claimants of refuge – who, in practice, are not only those moving to the country after 2021, but include all post-2001 Afghans entering the country. From the late 1970s until the mid-2000s, Afghans were afforded the status of refugees through prima facie (on first encounter) status - meaning any Afghan who entered Pakistan was considered a refugee. But in the post-2001 the War on Terror years, when war was taking place in Afghanistan, led by the U.S. with Pakistan as a key ally, the U.S. and its allies claimed the war against the Taliban was a success and Afghanistan was a "safe country" – meaning claims for refuge were null and void.

The more important conversation the Pakistan state needs to have is how to, not why, engage in long-term and constructive legal and socio-economic efforts for the inclusion of Afghans, which must include, as a minimum, pathways to permanent residency and/or citizenship.

The vast majority of Afghans – at least 90 percent – were either born in Pakistan or have lived in the country for forty years. These millions of persons have, quite literally, built the villages, towns, and cities – and a shared culture – in Pakistan, alongside Pakistani citizens and other nations in the country. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s more recent Afghan arrivals seek refuge because they are living in a context of permanent war and many are at immediate risk of persecution in Afghanistan.

Further underscoring the absurdity of the government of Pakistan’s demands for Afghans to leave the country is that Afghanistan is in the midst of a humanitarian disaster with deadly earthquakes killing thousands. The WFP estimates that more than 15 million Afghans across 25 of the 34 provinces face acute food insecurity.

It is also crucial to acknowledge that Afghans are in Pakistan in the first place because a number of states and actors – from the Soviet Union, to the U.S., the U.K, countries in the E.U., and the Gulf Arab region, Iran, and, indeed, Pakistan itself – have driven war and prevented Afghan self - determination/sovereignty in Afghanistan for over forty years. “We are here, because you were there,” so to speak.

The government of Pakistan’s calls for the deportation of Afghans also mirrors the actions of neighbouring Iran, which has also been home to millions of Afghans for over forty years but is engaged in practices of mass deportations.

Additionally, the government of Pakistan’s calls for the deportation of Afghans is a consequence of the failures of the international humanitarian and migration regime and institutions in Pakistan – including the UNHCR and IOM – who have prioritised “repatriation” as the solution for Afghans in Pakistan (and Iran) when socio-economic and legal integration would be more the more just and humane solutions to advocate for.

Pakistan’s brazen call for deportations is also directly legitimated by – and mirror – the callous actions of governments in the U.K., U.S., Canada, Australia, and those in the European Union, including Germany, France, and other states who are architects of a global anti-poor and racialising migration regime in which closing safe routes to asylum, delaying asylum applications, and deporting Afghans – as well as other black, brown, Muslim and global South – persons is accepted, encouraged, and enforced.

Our calls

We, the undersigned concerned individuals, scholars, policy-makers, activists, and organisations reject the government of Pakistan’s deportation plans and stand in solidarity with Afghans in Pakistan – and elsewhere.

We recognise all Afghans are a part of Pakistan and must be formally recognised as such, which must include permanent residency and/or citizenship and upholding principles of refuge.

We understand all of our paths to freedom are interconnected and that, instead of pitting oppressed groups against each other, the struggles of Afghans in Pakistan must be connected to the struggles of ethnic and religious minorities, political dissidents, displaced Pakistanis, women, and others in Pakistan.

We understand the struggle of Afghans in Pakistan is also connected to the struggles of Afghans the world over, as well as oppressed people, refugees, and migrants across the world. From Kabul to Karachi, from Gaza to Khartoum, from Mogadishu to Tripoli, from London to Paris – we are free only when we are all free.

We pledge to contribute in everyday life - on the street, in conversations, on social media, in institutions, universities, by any means necessary, and in all spaces, to the intentional de-criminalisation of Afghans, and all other marginalised communities in Pakistan.

Call #1

We call on concerned individuals, activists, communities, and organisations in Pakistan and its diaspora to:

● Continue to stand in solidarity with Afghans in Pakistan, as a matter of their right and your/our obligation, not as charity or humanitarianism.

● Reject any and all attempts to divide ethnic and religious minorities and nations within the country.

● Document by any means available, report, and reject instances of the harassment of Afghans in the country by law-enforcement agencies.

● Educate others and not only actively reject the systematic, historical, structural criminalisation of Afghans, and the discriminatory treatment that accompanies such rhetoric about Afghans and other refugee and migrant groups in the country, but actively push to create a new language and practice of equality – and thus liberation for us all.

● Hold journalists and media content producers (social media accounts, television dramas, news discussion shows) to account when they reproduce tropes about Afghans or regurgitate unverified accusations of criminality levelled at Afghans.

Call #2

We call on concerned individuals, activists, communities, and organisations working with Afghans globally – especially in Iran, the U.K., E.U. states, the U.S., Canada, and Australia – to:

● Continue to stand in solidarity with Afghans.

● Organise to protect Afghan community members from racist violence.

Call #3

We call on the states who have driven conflict in Afghanistan to:

● Acknowledge their responsibility toward the peoples of Afghanistan within Afghanistan and outside of it. Not in the language of charity or humanitarianism, but as their right.

● Call for an end to the deportations of Afghans in Pakistan and elsewhere now.

Call #4

We call on the governments of the U.K., Germany, Canada, and others, especially the U.S. (who collected millions of dollars in visa fees from Afghans and yet leave them in perpetual limbo) who have agreed to relocate Afghan nationals to their countries to:

● Urgently speed up the relocation process of Afghan nationals as thousands are stuck in transit in Pakistan.

● Immediately open up safe routes of asylum for Afghans – and others.

Call #4

We call on the international migration regime in Pakistan – the UNHCR and IOM to:

● Immediately shift focus in their refugee and migration management “solutions” away from supporting repatriation programmes to instead advocating for the long-term legal rights of Afghans in Pakistan.

Call #5

We call on the Government of Pakistan to:

● Stop the arbitrary detention and harassment of Afghans.

● Stop the demolition of the homes of Afghans.

● Reverse demands for Afghans to leave Pakistan.

● Immediately stop any ongoing deportations.

● Stop using xenophobic constructions of Afghans – who are a vulnerable population – as scapegoats for the deeper rooted reasons for the country’s vulnerability to lethal bombings and attacks.

● Continue to offer protection to all vulnerable Afghans who have sought safety in the country and could be at risk if forced to return to Afghanistan.

● Open up pathways for Afghans who the government calls “undocumented”to be included into a system of refuge.

● Allow a legal refugee and asylum framework to develop within Pakistan, which includes pathways to long-term residency and/or citizenship. This is the only way to meaningfully integrate and manage the country’s sizable and long-term Afghan – and other – population , as well as newcomers.

Signed (please sign as an individual or an organisation):

A

Aadita Chaudhury. PhD Candidate. Graduate Program in Science and Technology Studies. York University. Canada.

Aamina Ahmad. Writer. University of Minnesota.

Aamna Qureshi. Author. New York.

Abdullah Zahid. Journalism student. Karachi.

Abdullah Ali Jawad. PhD Student, CUNY Graduate Center. New York.

Abdul Salam. Medical student. SEGi University. Malaysia.

Adeena Ahsan. Graduate Student. University of New Hampshire.

Aesha Munaf. Psychodynamic Counsellor / Artist. Islamabad.

Amina Jamal. Professor of Sociology. Toronto Metropolitan University for Critical Diasporic South Asian Feminisms. Toronto. Canada.

Aasiya Kazi. DPhil candidate. University of Oxford.

Adam Benkato. Associate Professor and Bita Daryabari Presidential Chair of Iranian Studies. University of California. Berkeley.

Adnan Haroon. Tehrik-e-Niswan.

AfgActivistCollective.

Afrasiab Khattak. Senior Leader. National Democratic Movement. Pakistan.

Ahmad Hasan. Capacity Building Professional. Pakistan.

Ahmad Kamal Butt. Marketer. Pakistan.

Ahmad Qais Munhazim. Assistant Professor. Thomas Jefferson University.

Ahmed Rashid. Journalist. Writer. Poet.

Ahmer Azad. Political Worker at PMKP. Karachi.

Ahsan Kamal. Quaid-i-Azam University. Pakistan.

Ailya Khan. Animal Rights Activist/Architect/ Non Profit Strategist.

Aimen Bucha. Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). Pakistan.

Aimun Faisal. Graduate Student. Dartmouth College.

Aisha Jamal. Professor. Sheridan College. Toronto. Canada.

Ajlina Karamehic-Muratovic. Associate Professor. St Louis University.

Ajmal Janan. Student at the National /University of Modern Languages. Islamabad.

Ali Altaf Mian. Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies. University of Florida.

Ali Nobil Ahmad. Independent Researcher.

Ali Raza. Associate Professor. Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

Ali Usman Qasmi. Associate Professor.

Alia Amirali. Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad.

Alina Agha.

Altaf Qadir. Associate Professor of History. University of Peshawar.

Amal Huma. Women Democratic Front.

Amar Latif Qazi. Karachi Bachao Tehreek. Graduate Student. Vanderbilt University.

Ambika Trasi. Artist/Curator. New York.

Amna Kaleem. Leverhulme Early Career Fellow. University of Sheffield.

Amna Mawaz Khan. Performance Artist/Member. Women Democratic Front.

Amnah Khan. Student.

Amen Jaffer. Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

Anders Widmark. Translator and Researcher. Uppsala University.

Aneeq Zaman. Freelance Motion Graphics Artist. Karachi.

Aneeque Javaid. Research Scholar. IIASA. Vienna. Austria.

Anis Haroon. Women’s Action Forum.

Annapurna Menon. Teaching Associate. University of Sheffield.

Anoushka Verma. Undergraduate Student.

Anwer Jafri. Tehrik-e-Niswan.

Aqil Shah, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

Areej Ayub Hussain. Artist. Women Democratic Front. Pakistan.

Arjumand Bano Kazmi. Postdoctoral Fellow. Norway.

Arnold August. Black Alliance for Peace Solidarity Network.

Arooj Sultan. Justice Project Pakistan

Arsalan Khan. Associate Professor. University of Tennessee. Knoxville.

Arshad Isakjee. Senior Lecturer. University of Liverpool.

Asad Jamal. Lawyer.

Asli Shah Qurbani. Postdoctoral Researcher. Aga Khan University, UK (International).

Asma Hussain. PhD student at the University of Sussex. School of Global Studies.

Atif Sheikh. Twelve Gates Arts. Philadelphia.

Aurat March. Pakistan.

Ayesha Alizeh. Soch Videos.

Ayub Jan, University of Peshawar.

Ayyaz Mallick. Lecturer in Human Geography. University of Liverpool.

Aziz Hakimi. Associate Professor. Western Norway University of Applied Sciences.

Azra Talat Sayeed. Roots for Equity.

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Bahar Mehr. Political Activist. Afghanistan.

Beatrice Waithera Wanjiru Maina. Community Organizer. Poet. Writer. National Peace champion. Journalist.Beena Sarwar. Journalist. Filmmaker.

Beebrak Gurchani. Project Manager. Johns Hopkins University. Pakistan.

Bibi Hajra. Artist/Member. Women Democratic Front. Lahore. Pakistan.

Bibi Narjis. Preston University. Pakistan.

Bilal Tanweer. Associate Professor. Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies. LUMS.

Bushra Mahnoor. Mahwari Justice.

Bushra Gohar. Chairperson. Pakhtunkhwa, National Democratic Movement.

Bushra Shakil. Electrical Engineer. Sydney.

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Ceri Oeppen. Co-Director of the Sussex Centre for Migration Research. University of Sussex. UK.

Chris Moffat. Senior Lecturer in History. Queen Mary University of London

Ciaran Kennedy. Academic Global Health Physician. University of Birmingham. UK.

Colleen Bell. Associate Professor. Department of Political Studies. University of Saskatchewan. Canada.

Critical Pakistan. Berlin.

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David Wearing. Lecturer in International Relations. University of Sussex.

Dipti Nagpaul. Student. Migration & Development, University of Sussex. UK.

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Elisabeth Leake. Associate Professor of History. The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Tufts University.

Emily Fitzell. Artist. PhD Candidate. University of Cambridge.

Elliot Montpellier. Instructor. Langara College.

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Faez Shakil. Technologist. Quetta.

Farah Farooq. Graduate Student. New York University.

Farhana Rahman. Leverhulme Early Career Fellow. University of Cambridge.

Farooq Sulehria. Assistant Professor. Department of Liberal Arts. Beaconhouse National University.

Farwa Sial. Research Associate. Department of Economics. SOAS.

Farzana Shamim Khan. Women’s Action Forum.

Fatima Jan. Lawyer. Lahore

Fatima Najeeb Khan. Alumni. Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Fatima Naveed. PhD Candidate. University of Exeter.

Fatima Tassadiq. Postdoctoral Research Associate. University of Sheffield.

Fizza Ghanchi. Writer. Political Worker at Karachi Bachao Tehreek.

Fizzah Sajjad. PhD Candidate. London School of Economics and Political Science.

Fouz Siddiqui. Chief Information Officer. Scientia Pakistan Magazine.

Frances S. Hasso. Black Alliance for Peace Solidarity Network.

Furqan Kakar. Engineering Student. Islamabad.

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Ghazal Asif. Assistant Professor. LUMS University.

Gulalai Ismail. Founder Aware Girls. New York. USA.

Gulzar Nayani. Filmmaker.

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Hadi Enayat. Aga Khan University. Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilizations. London.

Hafsa Kanjwal. Lafayette College. US.

Hafsa Khawaja. Teaching Fellow. Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Haider Shahbaz. Graduate Student. UCLA.

Hannah Franke. PhD student in Social Work.

Harris Khan. Tehrik-e-Niswan.

Hazem Jamjoum. Writer. Translator. London. UK.

Heba Islam. PhD candidate. Johns Hopkins University. Department of Anthropology.

Helga Tawil-Souri. Associate Professor. New York University. USA.

Hiba Haseeb Khan.

Hina Saleem. Education non-profit professional.

Humera Iqbal. Associate Professor. University College London.

Harmalah Khan. Researcher

I

Iftikhar Dadi. Professor. Cornell University. USA.

Ilam Khan. Senior Researcher. Riphah International University. Islamabad.

Ilyas Chattha. History. LUMS. Lahore. Pakistan.

Irsa Anwar. Fulbright Alumnus 2017.

Irum Afzal, Architect and Artist.

Isabel Käser. Postdoctoral Fellow. University of Bern.

Ismat Raza Shahjahan. President. Women Democratic Front.

Ijaz Khan. Retired Professor of International Relations. University of Peshawar.

Ifrah Hassan, Researcher, Armed Conflict Location and Events Data project.

J

Jalila Haider. Human rights activist. Advocate High Court. Balochistan Bar Council.

James Caron. Lecturer in Islamicate South Asia. SOAS. University of London.

Jamie Barnes. Senior Lecturer in Sociology. University of Sussex. UK.

Jason Lyall. Associate Professor. Dartmouth College.

Jasmine Wahi. Project for Empty Space.

Jawan Shir Rasikh. Independent scholar. Kabul. Afghanistan.

Jawziya Zaman. Writer & Editor.

Jeffrie Quarsie. PhD Candidate. Queen Mary University of London.UK.

Jo Wilding. Lecturer in Law. Barrister. University of Sussex. UK.

Jonas Otterbeck. Professor. Aga Khan University.

Jonathan Silver. Deputy Director. Urban Institute. UK.

Julie Billaud. Associate Professor of Anthropology. Geneva Graduate Institute. Switzerland.

Julio César Díaz Calderón, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico

Jaffer A. Mirza. PhD candidate. King’s College London.

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Kabeer Dawani. Independent Researcher.

Kashif Bhatti. Student (BS Computer Science). Filmmaker.

Kashaf. M.Phil. University of Karachi.

Kaveri Qureshi. University of Edinburgh. UK.

Kerrie Thornhill. Director. Résolu Ltd.

Khaleeq Nazar Kiani.

Khalida Zulfi. Tehrik-e-Niswan.

Khushal Khan. Member. National Democratic Movement.

Komal Waqar. Doctoral student.

Khadija Aftab, LUMS.

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Laiba Ali. Quaid-i-Azam University. Islamabad.

Laila Rajani. PhD Candidate. University of Edinburgh.

Lala Rukh Khan. Researcher. Pakistan.

Layli Uddin. Lecturer. Queen Mary University of London.

Leena Zaidi. Editor.

Leila C. Nadir. Associate Professor and Founding Director. University of Rochester, Environmental Humanities Program.

Lena Anyuolo. Writer and Poet.

Liala Zaray. Writer.

Liam Kennedy. Editor. Red Pepper.

Lilly Markaki. Associate Lecturer. Royal College of Art. London.

Lina Bhatti. Museum Professional. Washington DC.

Lisa Tilley. Senior Lecturer. SOAS. University of London.

Luqman. Medical Doctor. Quetta.

Lyndsay McLean. Reader in Anthropology and International Development. University of Sussex.

Lubna Haroon. Quaid-i-Azam University. Islamabad.

M

Maazah Muhammad Ali. Karachi Bachao Tehreek. Women Democratic Front.

Majid Ali. Info-Sec NUML. Islamabad.

Madiha Tahir. Assistant Professor. Yale University.

Maheen Pracha. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

Maheen Mashhood. History Student. LUMS.

Mahvish Ahmad. Assistant Professor in Human Rights and Politics. Co-Director LSE Human Rights. London School of Economics.

Mala Iqbal. Artist. New York.

Malik Shahzeb Hasan.Pakistani citizen.

Maria Amir. Teaching Fellow. LUMS. Lahore.

Maria Fantinato Géo de Siqueira.

Maria Patel. Mapping Displacement at TheDisplacement.com

Maria Rashid. Fellow. London School of Economics.

Mariam Durrani. Professorial Lecturer. School of International Service. American University.

Mariam Iskajyan. Practitioner. US National Refugee Resettlement Agency. Washington, DC.

Mariam Shazad.

Marium Sultan. Researcher. Hopkins.

Martin Sökefeld. Professor of Social Anthropology. LMU Munich.

Marya Hannun. Postdoctoral Researcher. University of Exeter.

Maryam. Pakistani citizen.

Maryam Mirza. Senior Economist. University of Illinois. Chicago.

Maryam Kanwer. Activist. Student. University of Essex.

Marziya Farooq, Urban Planner, Rutgers School of Economics

Mashail Malik. Assistant Professor. Harvard University.

Mateeullah Tareen. PhD student Humboldt University. Berlin.

Meera Ghani. Amnesty International.

Mehr Un Nisa. Assistant Professor. Michigan State University.

Mejgan Massoumi. Lecturer. Civic, Liberal and Global Education Program. Stanford University.

Melissa Gatter. Lecturer. University of Sussex.

Michael Rodriguez-Muñiz. Sociologist. UC Berkeley.

Michelle Khazaryan. Writer. Los Angeles.

Minahil Asim. Assistant Professor in Education. University of Ottawa.

Miranda Husain. Editor and Journalist.

Mirwais Khan. Intersectional Artist. Researcher.

Mishael Hyat Ayub. Yale. NUS College.

Momina Mindeel. Media Development Professional. Lahore/Islamabad.

Monish Bhatia. Sociologist, University of York.

Moniza Kakar. Lawyer. Human Rights Defender. Pakistan.

Mubbashir Rizvi. Professorial Lecturer. American University.

Muhammad Abeer Sohail. Electrical Engineer. Karachi. Pakistan.

Muhammad Anwaruddin. Tehrik-e-Niswan.

Muhammad Ibrahim Buriro. Student. IBA. Karachi. Member. Awami Workers Party.

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Muneeb Khan. University of Swabi.

Muskaan Mujahid, sub-editor, Dawndotcom

Mustafa Qadiri. CEO and Founder. Equidem.

N

Nadeem Khan. PhD Candidate. Qurtuba University of Science and Technology. Peshawar.

Nadje Al-Ali. Professor of Anthropology and Middle East Studies. Brown University.

Nadija Samour. LL. M. German-Palestinian criminal defence lawyer.

Naina Black. Tehrik-e-Niswan.

Namra Gilani. Lawyer. Pakistan.

Nashra Fatima. Pakistani citizen.

Nasir Mansoor. National Trade Union Federation.

Nasreen Rehman. Human Rights Commission Pakistan.

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Natasha Malik, Artist and Independent Curator.

Natasha Raheja. Assistant Professor. Cornell University.

Nausheen H Anwar. Professor. City & Regional Planning. IBA. Karachi. Pakistan

Neelam Hussain. Women’s Action Forum.

Neelofer Qadir. Assistant Professor. University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Nida Mushtaq. Women Democratic Front and Global Fund for Women. Islamabad. Pakistan.

Nicholas Micinski. Assistant Professor. University of Maine.

Nida Kirmani. Associate Professor. Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Nighat Said Khan. Archivist. Activict. Member, Women’s Action Forum.

Nirmal Riaz. Senior Research Associate. Karachi Urban Lab. Political Worker. Women's Democratic Front and Independent Translator.

Nishat Awan. Professor of architecture and visual culture. UCL.

Nivi Manchanda. Reader in International Politics. Queen Mary. University of London.

Noaman G. Ali. Lecturer in International Development. University of Bath.

Noor Habib. Graduate Student. University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Noreen Fatima. Women Democratic Front. Karachi.

Nuno Ferreira. Professor of Law. University of Sussex, UK.

O

Obaidullah Baheer. PhD Scholar at the New School. New York.

Ödül Bozkurt. Professor of Work and Employment. University of Sussex.

Ola Galal. Faculty Fellow. NYU.

Omar Sirri. Research Associate. SOAS. University of London.

Omar Kasmani. Freie Universität Berlin

Omer Aijazi. Lecturer in Disasters and Climate Crisis. University of Manchester.

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Palestine Speaks. Feminist Bloc. Berlin, Germany.

Palvashay Sethi. Writer and Teacher.

Palwasha Amanullah. PhD candidate. The University of Sheffield.

Paniz Musawi Natanzi. Postdoctoral Fellow. Duke University.

Paolo Novak. Development Studies. SOAS.

Phethani Madzivhandila. University of South Africa.

Ping-hsiu Alice Lin. Postdoctoral Fellow. Harvard University.

Progetto20K. Solidarity collective.

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Qalandar Memon. Assistant Professor. FC College (A Chartered University). Lahore. Pakistan.

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Rabia Latif Khan. Postdoctoral Researcher. University of Sussex.

Rafia Asim. Activist.

Rana Saadullah Khan. MFA candidate. University of Oregon.

Rebecca Ruth Gould. Professor. SOAS. University of London.

Rishabh Yadav. PhD candidate. Jamia Millia Islamia.

Rukhsana Ahmad. Writer. London.

Rider Alsop. Writer.

Rafiullah Dawar. Dubai. HR Activist.

Rasti Farooq.

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Saad Khalid. Policy Lead. Acumen LLC. Washington DC.

Saadia Toor. Associate Professor. City University of New York.

Saba Gul Khattak. Independent Researcher. Islamabad.

Saba Imtiaz, writer.

Sadia Bajwa. Assistant Professor. Institute for Asian and African Studies. Humboldt University. Berlin.

Saeed Husain. Managing Editor. Folio Books.

Sai Englert. University Lecturer. Leiden University. Netherlands.

Salima Hashmi. Prof Emeritus. Beaconhouse National University. Lahore.

Salman Sikandar. PhD candidate. University of Massachusetts. Amherst.

Samar Abbas. Lawyer.

Sana Kazmi. Education, non-profit professional,

Samee Siddiqui. Assistant Professor. Drury University.

Sameen A.Mohsin Ali. Assistant Professor. IDD. University of Birmingham.

Sameera Ibrahim. University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Sana Haroon. Professor History and Asian Studies. UMass Boston.

Sana R. Gondal. Urban and Environmental Planner and Researcher. Karachi Bachao Tehreek, Women Democratic Front.

Sana Naeem. PhD candidate. Harvard University.

Sanaa Alimia. Associate Professor. Aga Khan University.

Sara Chaudhry. Associate Professor. Birkbeck University of London.

Sara Marzagora. Senior Lecturer. King’s College London.

Sara Obaid. Researcher.

Sarah Holz. Lecturer. Institute of Asian and African Studies. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Sarah Suhail, Feminist Collective Lahore.

Sarwat Malik-Hassan. Director of Pol Advocacy. Coalition for Civil Freedoms.

Sasha Ali. Creative Producer. Los Angeles. USA.

Seerat Fatima. PhD Student. University of Manchester. UK.

Sevgi Adak. Associate Professor. Aga Khan University. London.

Shafaq Sohail, PhD student. University of Texas at Austin.

Shahab ud Din Ahmad. PhD Candidate. Johns Hopkins.

Shaheera Pesnani. Heritage professional.

Shahrukh Wani. Economist.

Shan Khan. Lawyer, Washington D.C.

Shazia Adnan. Tehrik-e-Niswan.

Shazia Nusrat. Pakistani citizen.

Sheema Khawar. PhD student. York University.

Sheema Kirmani. Founder. Tehrik-e-Niswan. Karachi.

Shiza Khan. Research Assistant. UCL.

Shmyla Khan. Researcher. Pakistan.

Shozab Raza. Assistant Professor. University of Toronto.

Sibth Ul Hassan. Centre for Conflict Studies. Philipps University Marburg. Germany.

Sidra Kamran. Assistant Professor. Lewis & Clark College.

Shaneeda Sultana. Research Fellow at EUIPRHR.

Shokoufeh Eftekhar. Master of Fine arts. Academy of Media Arts. Cologne. Germany.

Sima Shakhsari. Associate Professor. UMN.

Simon Wolfgang Fuchs. Associate Professor of Islam in South Asia. The German Young Academy.

Simrah Farrukh. Artist. California.

Simran Siraj. Journalist. Pakistan.

Sobia Kapadia. Middlesex University. London.

Sohail Asghar. Documentary filmmaker. Islamabad.

Sonia Qadir. PhD Candidate. UNSW. Sydney.

Sophia Khan. Karachi. Pakistan.

Soraya Afzali, PhD Candidate, Trinity College Dublin.

Stephen M. Lyon. Dean of Arts & Sciences. Aga Khan University. Karachi.

Sultan Sial. Associate Professor. Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). Pakistan.

Sumaira Ishfaq. Women’s Action Forum.

Syed Bassam Ghufran Ahmad. Alumnus. Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Syeda Gul e Zahra. Freelancer. Pakistan.

Syeda Raazia Naqvi. Student. Pakistan.

Sairah Yusuf. LUMS. .

Sapn Kumari. IBA Alumna

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Tabinda M. Khan. El Colegio de México. Mexico City.

Tabita Simran. Tehrik-e-Niswan.

Taha Kaihan Masud. Alumnus. Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Tahir Zaman. Co-Director Sussex Centre for Migration Research (SCMR). University of Sussex.

Tayeba Batool. PhD Candidate. University of Pennsylvania.

Talib Jabbar. PhD Candidate. University of California Santa Cruz.

Tania Qurashi. Artist. Philadelphia.

Tania Saeed. Associate Professor. Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). Pakistan.

Tobias Franz. Associate Professor of Economics. SOAS. University of London.

Tooba Syed. Women Democratic Front. Pakistan.

Tariq Mehmood. Associate Professor. American University Of Beirut.

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Usman Khan. Postdoctoral Fellow. SOAS. Xian International Studies. University China.

Uzair Ibrahim. PhD candidate. University of Exeter.

Umair Javed. Assistant Professor. Dept of Humanities & Soc Sciences. LUMS.

Umayr Hassan. Software Engineer. Lahore.

Umme Hani Imani, University of Oxford

Umair Rasheed. P.hD. candidate, UIUC. Teaching Fellow, LUMS.

Umer Farooq. Graduate Student, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

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Vicki Squire. Professor. University of Warwick.

Victoria Simpson. Research Project Coordinator. The University of Sheffield.

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Wafa Imtiaz. Lecturer. Sindh

Waqas H. Butt. Assistant Professor of Anthropology. University of Toronto Scarborough.

Wangui Kimari. Lecturer. American University. Nairobi.

Wagma Mommandi, PhD Candidate, University of Colorado Boulder

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Xari Jalil. Co founder/Journalist. Voicepk.net

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Yang-Yang Zhou. Assistant Professor. Dartmouth College.

Yasmin Jiwan. Professor Emerita. Concordia University.

Yasser Kureshi. Departmental Lecturer. University of Oxford.

Young Women Growing Initiative. Kenya.

Yuman Amir. Writer. Pakistan.

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Zahra Ali. University Professor. USA.

Zahra Currimbhoy. Marketing Specialist. Germany.

Zaid Abro. Postgraduate Student. London School of Economics & Political Science Zaib un Nisa Aziz. Assistant Professor. University of South Florida. Tampa.

Zainab Alam. Asst. Professor. Howard University.

Zainab Badi. Policy Analyst. New York..

Zain Ul Abdin. Student. Dept of Philosophy. University of Karachi.

Zavier Nunn. Postdoctoral Associate. Duke University.

Zaki Abbas. Senior sub-editor. Dawn.

Zebunnisa Burki. Journalist.

Zeena Yasmine Fuleihan. PhD Candidate in Literature. Duke University.

Zehra Hashmi. Assistant Professor. University of Pennsylvania.

Zehra Khan. Home Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF).

Zehra Nabi. Writer and Assistant Professor. IVSAA.

Zeina Maasri. University of Bristol. UK.

Zoha Batool Khan. Graduate Student. Binghamton University, SUNY.

Zoha Waseem. Assistant Professor. University of Warwick.

Zoya Rehman. Women Democratic Front. Pakistan.

Zuha Noor-Sylvia. Postgraduate student. University of Cambridge.

Zuzanna Olszewska. Associate Professor in the Social Anthropology of the Middle East. University of Oxford.

Zobia Akhtar. Alumnus. Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Zainab Muzaffar. Writer. Lahore.

Zainab Marvi. Design Researcher. Germany.

Muhammad younus shafae. Finance at YTS

Muhammad Qiyas. Quaid Azam University