Born in Bagh, Azad Kashmir, she experienced the 2005 devastating earthquake and sustained a spinal cord injury that left her wheelchair bound. Due to the lack of institutional support, she founded Chiragh-e-Manzil for Special Persons. Over there, she built learning spaces from scratch and worked on awareness campaigns. Instead of waiting for funding, she created a network and support systems. As her organization continued to grow, she became the NFWW representative for the region of Kashmir. For a remote region like that, often the voices of women with disabilities are not heard, but she advocated for them and represented them on a national level. She called for disability inclusion in the census, data on employment, and free transportation for persons with disabilities. Her work highlights that almost 20% of Kashmir’s population lives with a disability, yet it has only one government special education institution.

key achievements

• Pride of Performance Award (2007), National recognition for her work with disabled survivors of the 2005 earthquake, especially in Bagh
• Fatima Jinnah Gold Medal (2010)
• Earthquake Rehabilitation Leadership

Area of focus

• Inclusive Education Advocacy
• Policy & Data Inclusion
• Regional NFWWD Engagement