Nisha Ayub

Nisha Ayub is a leading advocate for transgender rights in Malaysia. She is a co-founder of two NGOs – the SEED Foundation, which provides support to transgender individuals and other marginalized communities, and Justice for Sisters, which provides legal aid to transgender individuals and seeks to end persecution of LGBTI people. Recently, she spearheaded a campaign to promote positive images of transgender people, and currently runs workshops on sexual orientation and hate crimes for government, corporate, and civil society groups. As a transgender, Muslim woman living in a Muslim-majority country, Ms. Ayub has been beaten and imprisoned simply for who she is. At age 21, she was arrested for dressing as a woman and served three months in a men’s prison, where she was sexually abused. Despite continuing threats, Ms. Ayub perseveres in fighting for the rights of LGBTI individuals throughout her country.