Rubina Feroze Bhatti (; born 1969) is a Pakistani

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

and

leadership Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

consultant. She is a former member on the country's National Commission on the Rights of Child where she represented Punjab province. She is currently serving as an assistant professor at Pakistan Global Institute and a visiting fellow at Stanford University.

Early life and education

Rubina Bhatti, one of four children, was born and raised in

Sargodha Sargodha (Punjabi language, Punjabi/; ; ) is a city and capital of Sargodha Division, located in Central Punjab, central Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. It is Pakistan's List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 11th most populous city and ...

, where she completed her Matric and Intermediate. She did her

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in 1990 from the

University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (UoP) is a public university, public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1882, its international influence has made it one of the most prestigious universities in South As ...

, and earned her

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

from Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) in 1993. Later, she did a Master's in

Development Studies Development studies is an interdisciplinary branch of social science. Development studies is offered as a specialized master's degree in a number of reputed universities around the world. It has grown in popularity as a subject of study since the ...

Maynooth University Maynooth University (MU) (), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. Maynooth University was formerly known as National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ). It was Ireland ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in 2008 where she was honored with the Student of the Year Award. Finally, she earned a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

Leadership Studies Leadership studies is a multidisciplinary academic field of study that focuses on leadership in organizational contexts and in human life. Leadership studies has origins in the social sciences (e.g., sociology, anthropology, psychology), in huma ...

at the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in San Diego, California, United States. Chartered in 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

in 2015.

Career

Bhatti started a job as a lecturer of

at Government College for Women, Sargodha where she taught from February 1996 to December 2004. In 1998, she and a team of her students formed an informal group called Taangh Wasaib (Urdu words' meaning “longing for the fullness of humanity"). After teaching in a public education sector and completing Masters in Development Studies, she entered the social development sector, and formally joined Taangh Wasaib Organization which works for the promotion of communal harmony, gender equality, and respect for human rights. She served there in different capacities including General Secretary and as the executive director until March 2020. She used Sufism as a tool for building peace among diverse communities in Pakistan, and promoted the Sufis' message based on the ideals of brotherhood and harmony. She developed a Peace Garden, a place that served for both reflection and celebration, of stillness and revelry, poetry and music. She has been involved in providing her services to train

community leader Community leader is a designation, often by secondary sources (particularly in the media), for a person widely perceived to represent a community. A simple way to understand community leadership is to see it as leadership in, for and by the communi ...

activists Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

, and journalists on

leadership development Leadership development is the process which helps expand the capacity of individuals to perform in leadership roles within organizations. Leadership roles are those that facilitate execution of an organization's strategy through building alignmen ...

, peace-building, and human rights advocacy. She has served as a member of governing body at the Centre for Social Justice and Peoples Commission for Minorities Rights. Bhatti has served as

Visiting scholar In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting scientist, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic fo ...

Eastern Mennonite University Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) is a private Mennonite university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The university also operates a satellite campus in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which primarily caters to working adults. EMU is known for its Center f ...

in 2011, and as Project Lead, Women's Leadership Dialogue for Change at

, 2013–2014. She has given talks and lectures at national and international forums on empowerment of women,

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...

, women in

peacebuilding Peacebuilding is an activity that aims to resolve injustice in nonviolent ways and to transform the cultural and structural conditions that generate deadly or destructive conflict. It revolves around developing constructive personal, group, and ...

, women in leadership, and

. She served as a member of an Advisory Council for Minorities Affairs to

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

of Punjab during 2015 and 2018. Bhatti was selected to serve as the Member Punjab at the National Commission for Rights of Child, a statutory body established in April 2020 by the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

under NCRC Act, 2017 and is mandated to examine and review existing and proposed laws, policies, practice and proposals in the best interest of the children, and carry out an inquiry in cases involving a violation of child rights. As a member of NCRC, she is engaged in policy dialogue and monitoring situation to legally protect, and effectively implement the child rights in conformity with national and international instruments dealing with promotion and protection of children's rights.

Publications

*What is Leadership * The Vision of Peace *Productive volunteerism * Women's Rights *Human Rights Education

Articles

*Bhatti, Rubina Feroze (2021-12-11)
"Child Rights In Pakistan: Reframing Policy And Practice"
Naya Daur. Retrieved 2021-09-01 * * * * * *

Awards and recognition

*Woman of Courage Award 2011, from the

National Women's Political Caucus The National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC) is an organization which was founded in 1971 by leaders of the women's liberation movement to promote women's participation in government. The group describes itself as a multi-partisan grassroots or ...

* 2015

N-Peace Awards N-Peace, or ‘Engage for Equality, Access, Community and Empowerment’ is a UNDP flagship initiative founded in 2010 to commemorate a decade of UNSCR 1325 implementation via the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. Currently unique to the ...

by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) *Woman PeaceMaker at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice in 2009. *World Vision International Peacemaking Award in 2010 * Human Rights Awards by Ministry for Human Rights & Minorities Affairs, Government of Punjab during the

PML-N The Pakistan Muslim League (N) or (PML(N)) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right, Conservatism in Pakistan, conservative political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third-largest party in the Senate of Pakistan, Senate and the larges ...

and PTI governments *Among the 1,000 Women nominated for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

2005. *Nominated among the 100 women who matter most in Pakistan * Named among the female achievers of the year 2015 on The News International list of 2015's Movers and Shakers in Pakistan. *One of the world's 200

Women in Development Women in development is an approach of development projects that emerged in the 1960s, calling for treatment of women's issues in development projects. It is the integration of women into the global economies by improving their status and assisting ...

chosen by

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

in 2016 *

International Visitor Leadership Program The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is a professional exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The mission of IVLP is to offer current and emerging international leader ...

(IVLP) to study the

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

of community service and

volunteerism Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

in the

. She was honored as a Member of the Month at the International Exchange Alumni website in June 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhatti, Rubina Feroze Living people 1969 births Alumni of Maynooth University Pakistani women Punjabi women People from Sargodha Pakistani human rights activists Pakistani humanists Pakistani feminists Pakistani children's rights activists Minority rights activists Children's rights activists Pakistani women's rights activists Pakistani civil rights activists Nonviolence advocates Bahauddin Zakariya University alumni University of San Diego alumni Pakistani Christians