Gulalai Ismail
Timeline of Legal Persecution and State Operation
Gulalai Ismail is a human rights activist from Pakistan associated with the Pakhtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM). Gulalai got involved in advocacy already at the age of 16 when she founded “Aware Girls”, an NGO dedicated to women empowerment in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which was attended by Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousufzai back in 2011. Despite the international recognition for her services, Gulalai's relationship with the Pakistani state remains tumultuous. Frequently accused by terrorists and military alike for being a “western agent” working in anti-national interests, she was forced to flee Pakistan and seek asylum in New York in 2019.
2002
Gulalai founded an NGO Aware Girls, aiming to challenge the culture of violence and oppression of women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
2010
Gulalai sets up the Youth Peace Network, which supports young people in becoming peace activists in their communities.
2013
January
Gulalai sets up the Marastyal Helpline to advise and assist women at risk and victims of gender-based violence.
January 17
Gulalai receives the Democracy Award from National Endowment for Democracy.
2014
May 16
Armed gunmen break into Gulalai’s home and accuse her of being a “western agent”.
August
Gulalai is awarded the International Humanist of the Year Award by the International Humanist and Ethical Union.
2015
March 11
Gulalai received the 2015 Asia Region Commonwealth Youth Award for Excellence in Development.
Gulalai extends the Youth Peace Network to Afghanistan to work with the youth of Afghanistan on countering violence and working on conflict resolution.
2016
November
Gulalai’s organization, Aware Girls, was awarded the Fondation Chirac Peace Prize for the Prevention of Conflict, by then French president Francois Hollande.
2017
October 7
Gulalai receives Anna Politkovskaya Award by Raw in War, a human rights organization, for her courage to speak out and defy violence and armed conflict in Pakistan.
2018
February 3
Gulalai participates in the Pashtun Long March, following the killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud.
May 5
Gulalai’s Facebook account is suspended after being reported as “fake”. The account is later restored.
August 13
An FIR is registered against 19 PTM leaders, including Gulalai following Manzoor Pashteen’s address in Swabi.
October 12
Gulalai is detained at the airport by the FIA following her return from the UK. She is later placed on the ECL and her travel documents, including her passport, are confiscated.
December 3
Gulalai deactivates her Twitter account after several hacking attempts.
December 28
Gulalai is summoned by the counter-terrorism wing of the FIA for questioning.
2019
January 20
Gulalai writes an open letter extending support to women of Kheshor about the outrageous attack upon the dignity of women of Khesor-Waziristan.
February 5
Gulalai participates in protests against Armaan Loni’s murder.
Gulalai is arrested alongside other workers of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement for holding a demonstration.
February 7
Gulalai is released from jail, however her phone was seized.
March 14
Gulalai’s name is removed from the Exit Control List.
May 31
As a result of her speech at a protest, the police files a complaint against Gulalai accusing her of defamation, promoting enmity, and sedition.
September 19
It comes to light that Gulalai escaped to New York where she applied for political asylum.
October 2
A Non-bailable arrest warrant is issued for Gulalai for “maligning state institutions”.
October 17
Gulalai’s home in Islamabad is visited by armed persons. Her father says he refused to open the door.
November 4
Gulalai calls for signatures on a letter 28 to the US Congress against the witchhunt of her family members.
November 5
Gulalai’s father is mistreated in prison and denied medical treatment.
November 6
Amnesty International calls upon the Government of Pakistan to drop charges against Gulalai’s father Professor Muhammad Ismail. He was charged with hate speech and cyber terrorism.
November 22
Gulalai’s Facebook account is suspended for “security reasons”.
November 23
Gulalai’s Facebook account is suspended. She did not receive any communication from Facebook.
2020
July
A terrorism case is registered against Gulalai’s father and mother Uzlifat. Gulalai was accused of funneling weapons to terrorists who carried out a 2013 suicide attack on a Sunday service at Peshawar’s All Saints Church.
December 22
Gulalai is threatened on Twitter. The hateful post is deleted later on.
2021
January 28
Gulalai’s parents face judicial harassment. She says they are summoned to the courts on a daily basis.
January 29
Gulalai’s parents face judicial harassment. She says they are summoned to the courts on a daily basis.
February 3
Gulalai’s father is arbitrarily detained.
February 5
There is another hacking attempt against Gulalai. This time on Gulalai's Yahoo account is targeted.
Police raids her parents’ house without a search warrant and confiscates documents.
February 15
Gulalai’s father is denied bail.
