An iconic and visionary forerunner of the women’s rights movement, Ms. Nigar Ahmed is remembered for co-founding the Aurat Foundation, a respected organization dedicated to women’s empowerment since 3 decades. Working tirelessly to uplift women, Ms. Nigar Ahmed contributed to shaping policy debates on women’s empowerment through close involvement with bodies such as the National Commission on the Status of Women. She also researched the work of women in the informal sector, organized national conferences for peasant women as well as radio programs to inform on health and agricultural issues. Her work helped put women on the electoral agenda in the 1993 & 1997 elections, and she was responsible for organizing networks of citizens’ action committees in 70 districts to support women. She also was a consultant to the United Nations Development Fund for Women, and was involved in a rural credit and gender sensitization program of the UNDP staff. She was a co-author for the report on Women’s Development Programs for Pakistan’s Eight Five-Year Plan. So great was her impact, Ms. Nigar Ahmed received the Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah Life Time Achievement Award for her contributions, and was one of the 1,000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.

Celebrating Pakistan’s 75th Independence Day, FWBL pays tribute to iconic women whose legacies are strongly interwoven in the fabric of the nation’s heritage. Their remarkable achievements, in their own unique way, contribute to who we are as a nation today.