Arifa - United Kingdom

When Arifa was a teenager, reading Jasvinder Sanghera’s book, “Daughters of Shame,” had a profound impact on her. The collection of stories from those who suffered through forced marriages and honour-based violence motivated her to become a voice and an advocate for the victims of such abuse. After years of campaigning, fundraising and raising awareness about the prevention of honour-based abuse, she was selected as an official UK delegate to the Sustainable Development Goals Summit. It was there that Arifa realized educational movements at the grassroots level were the source for change on a larger scale.

She founded Educate2Eradicate, a non-profit organization committed to spreading knowledge to prevent the hundreds of thousands of individuals at risk from experiencing forced marriage, genital mutilation and honour-based abuse. Educate2Eradicate provides information and resources online, leads training for youth and educators, and organizes events to increase understanding on the dangers of honour-abuse and how to prevent and fight against violent practices. To date, Arifa has educated more than 5,000 individuals and plans to grow Educate2Eradicate into a holistic program, training larger organizations and offering counselling and legal advice to victims.