IFEX: Taking on spies and bullies in Pakistan

This brave female digital rights activist in Pakistan is playing a pivotal role for thousands of men an women across that country.  Article by Marianna Tzabiras for IFEX Nighat Dad does not claim to be a superhero. But she does play the part for thousands of women across Pakistan when it comes to digital safety.  As Executive Director and founder of the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF), the Lahore-based lawyer has been teaching women and girls across the country how to stay safe online - a major concern in a nation where, for some, "dishonouring" one's family can have deadly results. 

This brave female digital rights activist in Pakistan is playing a pivotal role for thousands of men an women across that country. 

Article by Marianna Tzabiras for IFEX

Nighat Dad does not claim to be a superhero. But she does play the part for thousands of women across Pakistan when it comes to digital safety. 
As Executive Director and founder of the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF), the Lahore-based lawyer has been teaching women and girls across the country how to stay safe online - a major concern in a nation where, for some, "dishonouring" one's family can have deadly results. 
Dad has also been lobbying for better legislative protections for all of Pakistan's online users for a number of years, as well as demanding more accountability and transparency from the government's infamous intelligence services. 
Through these efforts, she has become not only a prominent voice on these issues, but also a respected partner among the many local and international organisations she works with. 
And it's not just peers and politicians who are taking notice: TIME magazine named her as one of its Next Generation Leaders in 2015. 
IFEX spoke to Dad by phone from her home in Lahore. The conversation came on the heels of three recent developments that illustrate the growing challenges for free expression in Pakistan: the release of a report by Privacy International shedding light on the tapping of communications by the country's intelligence agency, leaked e-mail exchanges between the Pakistani authorities and Hacking Team, and a ban on Blackberry services because of its use of strong encryption.

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