Peace Prize Winner & Human Rights Activist to Speak at Trill Farm

In a place where lives are shattered by violence and militants rule the streets, one woman took it upon herself to stand up for women's rights and challenge the power of the Taliban. Gulalai Ismail, Chirac Prize winner for Conflict Resolution and founder of Aware Girls - working for the empowerment of young women and gender equality in Pakistan - will give an inspiring talk about the role of women and young people in tackling extremism and violence in Pakistan at Trill Farm's Supper & Conversations event on Saturday 22nd April.

Gulalai was just 16 when she co-founded innovative local organisation, Aware Girls, in Pakistan. Driven by a passion to challenge a culture of intolerance and extremism, Gulalai began running workshops in her home town to provide women with leadership skills to challenge oppression and fight for their rights to an education and equal opportunities.

Based in Peshawar, north-west Pakistan, Aware Girls has grown into an internationally renowned organisation that since 2002 has trained, empowered and inspired hundreds of youth in Pakistan. Nobel peace prize winner and victim of the Taliban's bullets, Malala Yousafzai, was among one of the earliest members.

Last year, with the support of international NGO Peace Direct, Gulalai and her team helped over 1,300 young people in Pakistan to challenge extremism. Despite threats against her own life, Gulalai next plans to expand her work into neighbouring Afghanistan.

A winner of the 2009 Youth Action Net Fellowship, the 2014 International Humanist Award, the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Award for Asia and the 2016 Chirac Prize for Convict Prevention, Gulalai was named as one of Foreign Policy's Global Thinkers in 2013 and has been featured by the BBC, Guardian, Huffington Post and more.

Flying from her home in Pakistan, Gulalai will talk first-hand about her experiences to guests at Trill. Tickets are available from Trill's website: www.trillfarm.co.uk

This event is being supported by Peace Direct in collaboration with Aware Girls.