About Abia Akram
Born 1985. Abia Akram is a Pakistani academic and activist.
Abia Akram (Urdu: ابیہ اکرم; born ) is a Pakistani disability rights activist. She is the founder of the National Forum of Women with Disabilities in Pakistan, and a leading figure within the disability rights movement in the country as well as in Asia and the Pacific. She was named as one of the BBC's 100 Women in 2021.
Life Abia Akram was born in Pakistan and grew up with parents and siblings in Islamabad. She was born with the genetic form of rickets, and due to that, she uses a wheelchair. She began her education at an education centre for people with disabilities, before she started to attend a mainstream school,
Akram is recognized as a leading figure within the disability rights movement in as well Pakistan as Asia and the Pacific. She is the head and founder of the National Forum of Women with Disabilities in Pakistan. She is also founding member and coordinator of the Special Talent Exchange Program (STEP) and the Asia Pacific Women with Disabilities United (APWWDU). On top of this, she is the chair of the UNICEF Global Partnership for Children with Disabilities, and the Women's Coordinator of Disabled Peoples' International in the Asia-Pacific region. She was also the first woman from Pakistan, as well as the first woman with disabilities, to be nominated to Commonwealth Young Disabled People's Forum's coordinator.
She received a Master of Arts in Gender and International Development from the University of Warwick in England in 2011. She has also conducted research work in Japan. She was the first woman with a disability from Pakistan to get a Chevening Scholarship. She was named as one of the BBC's 100 Women in 2021.
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Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Abia Akram's
Frequently asked questions
Who is Abia Akram?
Pakistani disability rights activist
When was Abia Akram born?
Abia Akram was born in 1985 in Pakistan.
What is Abia Akram's occupation?
Abia Akram is an academic and activist.
What nationality is Abia Akram?
Abia Akram is Pakistani.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Abia Akram. https://biography.guide/abia-akram/
MLA: "Abia Akram." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/abia-akram/.
Chicago: "Abia Akram." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/abia-akram/.
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