Fouzia Saeed

Dr Fouzia Saeed is a brave social activist who has brought out issues that were not talked about at the time; violence against women, when it was not acceptable to talk about it; women's mobility issues, prostitution and sexual harassment. All these are examples of issues which were invisible. Her work flagged them, helped the society to recognize them and initiate a debate around them. Her book taboo provoked a national debate on women's morality and the concept of good and bad women.
Professionally, she is a development expert and has influenced the women's development processes in other countries, like USA, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Cambodia, Bahamas, and Pacific Islands, through assignments in the field of gender and development. In this field she has worked mostly with the UN organizations (UNDP, UNIFEM, WFP, UNFPA and ILO), but also for German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Dutch Development Agency, Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC), Overseas Development Agency (ODA, now called DFID), United Kingdom, UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), United States Aid for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank.
Her main identity remains as a human rights and women’s activist in Pakistan. Currently she continues to struggle against the talibanization of her country promoting democracy and social justice.