Arfana Mallah
{{Short description|Pakistani scientist and activist}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Arfana Mallah
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date =
| native_name = عرفانہ ملاح
| birth_place = Pakistani
|birth_name =
| occupation = Academics,. Professor of Chemistry in Sindh University, Jamshoro
| known_for = Activism, Leader and founding member of Women's Action Forum
}}
Arfana Mallah ({{langx|ur|عرفانہ ملاح}}) is a Pakistani Human rights activist, leader of the Women's Action Forum and a professor of Chemistry at the University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan.{{cite web |url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=90358 |title='Stoking of ethnic tensions' by govt condemned |work=The News International |date=10 January 2008 |accessdate=16 January 2010}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}
Education
Arfana BegumMallah received a master's degree in chemistry from Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad in 1998, a M.Phil in analytical Chemistry in 2002 and a PhD in Chemistry in 2012 from the University of Sindh at Jamshoro.{{Cite web|title=Faculty Members – University of Sindh Jamshoro|url=https://usindh.edu.pk/academics/faculties-uos/natural-sciences/dr-m-a-kazi-institute-of-chemistry/faculty-members/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919175211/https://usindh.edu.pk/academics/faculties-uos/natural-sciences/dr-m-a-kazi-institute-of-chemistry/faculty-members/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 19, 2022|access-date=2020-08-15|language=en-US}}
Career
{{as of|2023}}, Mallah is a professor at the Dr. M. A. Kazi institute of Chemistry, University of Sindh at Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan.
Mallah has been active in teachers' trades unionism since she joined the University of Sindh as a lecturer. She was the first elected female General Secretary of Sindh University Teachers association (SUTA) and was re-elected for a record further four terms of office. She was also elected as a member of Sindh University syndicate twice and was the first female elected member of it.{{cn|date=July 2023}}
She writes columns in Sindhi language dailies and has been hosting talk shows at different TV channels for two decades, her book about stories of internally displaced women has been published in Sindhi and Urdu .{{Cite web|date=2020-04-12|title=دنيا جي ڪوڙي ترقي جو ماسڪ روڙيندڙ وبا....ڊاڪٽر عرفانه ملاح -|url=https://www.pahenjiakhbar.com/%d8%af%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%a7-%d8%ac%d9%8a-%da%aa%d9%88%da%99%d9%8a-%d8%aa%d8%b1%d9%82%d9%8a-%d8%ac%d9%88-%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%b3%da%aa-%d8%b1%d9%88%da%99%d9%8a%d9%86%d8%af%da%99-%d9%88%d8%a8%d8%a7-%da%8a/|access-date=2020-08-15|language=sd|archive-date=2020-08-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803210824/https://www.pahenjiakhbar.com/%D8%AF%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D8%AC%D9%8A-%DA%AA%D9%88%DA%99%D9%8A-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%82%D9%8A-%D8%AC%D9%88-%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B3%DA%AA-%D8%B1%D9%88%DA%99%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%AF%DA%99-%D9%88%D8%A8%D8%A7-%DA%8A/|url-status=dead}}{{qn|date=July 2023}}{{cite web |title=Arfana Mallah – Karachi Literature Festival |url=https://www.karachiliteraturefestival.com/speakers/arfana-mallah/}}
Activism
Mallah is a women's rights activist.{{cite news |last1=Newspaper |first1=the |title=Sindhi women publicly announce free-will marriages |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/656098/sindhi-women-publicly-announce-free-will-marriages |work=DAWN.COM |date=2 September 2011 |language=en}} She and Amar Sindhu started a chapter of Women's Action Forum (WAF) in Hyderabad in 2008.{{cite news |title=Women decide to fight back |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/839589 |work=DAWN.COM |date=25 February 2009 |language=en}}
In 2012, Mallah was attacked by gunmen when she was traveling with Sindhu. They alleged this was a response to them protesting against the vice chancellor, who they claimed was involved in murders of at least five people on the campus.{{cite news |last1=Reporter |first1=The Newspaper's Staff |title=Demand for probe into attack on SU teachers |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/733819/demand-for-probe-into-attack-on-su-teachers |work=DAWN.COM |date=12 July 2012 |language=en}}
On December 10, 2014, when Malala Yousafzai shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Indian Kailash Satyarthi, Mallah urged the government to declare December 10 as 'Malala Day' and to organize a country-wide celebration.{{cite news |title=The 'peace' prize: 'Malala, Satyarthi's share of award might help ease Indo-Pak tensions' |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/779020/the-peace-prize-malala-satyarthis-share-of-award-might-help-ease-indo-pak-tensions |work=The Express Tribune |date=21 October 2014 |language=en}}
In 2015, Mallah organized the ‘Stop killing women’ campaign in Hyderabad via the WAF. The campaign issued a report, "WAF’s social FIR", which mentioned crimes against women in Sindh in 2014 and 2015. The report claimed that hundreds of women were killed in different cases of kidnapping, gang rapes, honour killing, domestic violence, sexual assault and suicides.{{cite news |last1=Correspondent |first1=The Newspaper's Staff |title=WAF launches 'Stop killing women' campaign |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1212429 |work=DAWN.COM |date=12 October 2015 |language=en}}
She wrote a series of short stories about women who had been displaced in the 2010 Pakistan floods which were published in the Sindhi daily newspaper Daily Kawish.
Mallah has been part of the Programme Management Committee of the Khanabadosh Writers’ Cafe{{cite news |last1=Correspondent |first1=The Newspaper's Staff |title=Literati pay tribute to Hassan Mujtaba |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1188796/literati-pay-tribute-to-hassan-mujtaba |work=DAWN.COM |date=18 June 2015 |language=en}} opened in 2015, in Sindh Museum, Hyderabad, as a place to promote free thought and pluralism.{{cite news |last1=Abbasi |first1=Reema |title=Footprints: Khanabadosh: A home for the thought |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1195377 |work=DAWN.COM |date=21 July 2015 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Inam |first1=Moniza |title=SOCIETY: GATHERING THE CREATIVE NOMADS |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1359645 |work=DAWN.COM |date=24 September 2017 |language=en}} She organized a week long, literary programme called Ayaz Festival, about the poet Shaikh Ayaz at the Cafe with her team in December, 2015.{{Cite web|date=2015-12-26|title=Peerless Sindhi poet Shaikh Ayaz comes back to life at week-long festival|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/1016734/peerless-sindhi-poet-shaikh-ayaz-comes-back-to-life-at-week-long-festival|access-date=2020-08-01|website=The Express Tribune|language=en}}
In 2019 and 2020, on International Women's Day (8 March), Mallah organized and led the Aurat Azadi March (Women's Freedom March) in Sindh.{{cite news |last1=Reporter |first1=A. |title=Defiance in the air as women stage Azadi March in Sukkur |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1539489/defiance-in-the-air-as-women-stage-azadi-march-in-sukkur |work=DAWN.COM |date=9 March 2020 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Correspondent |first1=The Newspaper's Staff |title=Women's quota in police jobs to be doubled, says Sindh IG |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1468407 |work=DAWN.COM |date=9 March 2019 |language=en}}
For the last twenty years, Mallah and Sindhu have faced threats from men in academia and landlords due to their activism.{{cite news |title=Two women's struggle |url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/94341/two-womens-struggle/ |work=Daily Times |date=16 February 2016}}{{cite news |last1=Correspondent |first1=The Newspaper's Staff |title=Heroic struggle of Asma Jehangir eulogised |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1463005/heroic-struggle-of-asma-jehangir-eulogised |work=DAWN.COM |date=11 February 2019 |language=en}}
In 2020, the International Federation for Human Rights issued an urgent appeal for intervention in a smear campaign against Mallah.{{cite web |title=Pakistan: Smear campaign against Dr. Arfana Mallah |url=https://www.fidh.org/en/issues/human-rights-defenders/pakistan-smear-campaign-against-dr-arfana-mallah |website=International Federation for Human Rights |access-date=10 March 2022 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Correspondent |first1=The Newspaper's Staff |title=Call for end to extremist tendencies |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1564163/call-for-end-to-extremist-tendencies |work=DAWN.COM |date=18 June 2020 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Women groups condemn JUI-F's campaign against academic Mallah |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/673267-women-groups-condemn-jui-f-s-campaign-against-academic-mallah |work=www.thenews.com.pk |language=en}} After two weeks of harassment, she was forced to issue a public apology.{{cite web |title=Activist Arfana Mallah Forced To Apologise For Condemning Professor's Arrest On Blasphemy Charges |url=https://nayadaur.tv/2020/06/activist-arfana-mallah-forced-to-apologise-for-condemning-professors-arrest-on-blasphemy-charges/ |website=Naya Daur |access-date=10 March 2022 |date=29 June 2020}}