This is a story of a social worker, writer, and development practitioner; an inspiring woman Saira Ali who belongs to a small town of Khairpur Mirs in Sindh. She completed her graduate work in Development Studies. Throughout her academic life, Saira was keenly interested and concerned about the inequalities of the society and always used to find solutions in improving lives of the people living around. Consequently, during her graduation, Saira became politically active and fearless to use dramatic tactics in support of a cause.
She possesses a strong ethical compass which has made her an authority on women’s rights. Being passionate about her cause, she is always actively involved in raising awareness about crimes against women. She always emphasizes the elimination of all negative customary practices including the epidemic of honour killing!
Saira has been on continuous struggle for past 12 years to steer out Pakistani young women especially in Sindh from the clutches of injustice, discrimination, and oppression. She believes that social taboos don’t allow women to raise voice and fear of reprisal causes them to continue being victims to abuse.
She has attended a five-week course on Peace and Security organized by Daniel Ken Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu, Hawaii USA. After this course at DKI APCSS, she started to initiate different key interventions in various communities of Sindh, Pakistan. Her research work was on Women and Peace included implementation of various activities in Rural Sindh.
She organized community discussions, meetings and focus group discussions FGD’s with different young female of different localities of Sindh mainly Khairpur, Sukkur, Jacobabad on core issues of Women Rights, Sexual Harassment, Peace & Harmony, Civic and Fundamental Rights of Constitution of Pakistan. Within these meetings, she briefed these rural women of Sindh regarding first aid, police reporting, FIR lodging, prosecution, medical examination, forensics, and post-trauma rehabilitation processes. By doing these trainings she strengthened, capacitated, and motivated about 700 young rural women to struggle for their due rights given within the constitution of Pakistan. She also linked these women with different line departments like Social Welfare, Dar-ul-Aman, and Child Protection Unit for redressal.
Known for her works, Saira escalated up the ladder and received one of the prestigious award “Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Youth Leader Award” in December 2021.
