Team

Dr. Fatima Ali Haider
Founder & Chairperson

Dr. Fatima Ali Haider is a medical doctor by profession. In addition to working as a physician and EMDR therapist, she works on countering violent extremism and promoting inter-faith harmony. She has spoken on various platforms raising the profile of persecuted communities and advocating for the rights of terrorism affected families.

Dr. Narmeen Altaf Hamid
Co-Founder

Dr. Narmeen Altaf Hamid is a physician by training and holds a doctorate in Social Medicine from the UK. In addition to working as an Adviser on Gender, Health & Development, she also works for women belonging to marginalized groups and those living in areas of conflict.

Haleema Hasan
Communications and Operations Lead

Haleema Hasan is the Communications and Operations Lead at The Grief Directory and has worked with TGD in varying capacities since 2019. She is a public policy graduate student at Georgetown University. She is interested in intersectional policy and peace work pertaining to women, children and minorities. She most recently worked as a consultant in various departments of the provincial and federal governments of Pakistan. In the past, she has worked as a project manager and researcher in various areas, including rural and community development, labor wages, education, criminal justice, and food insecurity. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Komal Haider
Technology and Digital Lead

Komal Haider is currently the Technology and Digital Lead at The Grief Directory. She is pursuing her degree in law and also working in human resources at a software house. Over the last few years, she has worked with multiple NGOs in varying capacities. She first joined TGD as an intern and continued to work as a volunteer, also representing The Grief Directory at various platforms, such as the UNOTC’s Youth Consultations.

Aleeha Batool
Social Media Lead

Aleeha Batool first engaged with TGD as an interviewer of Dr. Fatima Ali Haider and continued working in various capacities, receiving the position of Social Media Lead in 2022. She was also an intern at the Young Peacemakers Program 2022. She is currently doing her housejob in Mayo Hospital, Lahore. She is an enthusiast of literary arts and is passionate about writing, particularly on social causes such as women empowerment and religious tolerance. She has won several intra-collegiate and national level competitions in this regard. She was the president of her university’s literary society and used the platform to publish newsletters and organise events highlighting the need for peaceful coexistence. She is interested in pursuing a career in psychiatry and hopes to work to dispel the taboo associated with mental health. She is an MBBS graduate of King Edward Medical University, Lahore. She also holds a Bachelor’s in Science from University of Sargodha.

Shazneen Shahid
Program Assistant

Shazneen Shahid was a summer 2022 intern at The Grief Directory, after which she stayed on as a Program Assistant, providing various logistical, research, and communications support to TGD. She is currently a student of Global Politics and English Literature, completing her Diploma from Lahore Grammar School. Shazneen is interested in pursuing Criminal Law & Legal Aid, alongside Investigative Journalism and Psychology. Her interests comprise of writing and advocating for social issues such as gender and racial equality, erasing the stigma of mental health from stereotypical societies, and rights of oppressed communities. She has engaged in her interests through various means including independently running an activism page that educates those unaware of the different challenges plaguing societies around the world, publishing and maintaining a docu-series about people afflicted with a condition called Microcephaly, and verbally engaging with members of her community.

Melanie D’souza
Program Coordinator

Melanie D’souza first joined The Grief Directory as an intern and, owing to her interest and performance, was engaged further as a volunteer and then as a Program Coordinator for the 2022 Young Peacemakers Program. She is an undergraduate student at Forman Christian College University, Lahore. She is completing her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a minor in English Literature. She completed her A levels from Lahore Grammar School. She has worked as a content and creative writer for film and magazine companies and as a teacher in different schools. She has a strong predilection towards social causes including intersectional feminism, awareness for institutional injustice and the advocacy for reform.

Shafaq Sohail
Team Member

Shafaq is a graduate from LUMS with a major in Anthropology/Sociology. She has been affiliated with the Grief Directory since December, 2018 where she has had the opportunity to engage with her academic interests in gender, marginalization and memory-making practices at a deeper, practical and more personal level.

Hammad Anwar
Director Operations & Communications

Hammad is a Marketing and Finance Major from the Lahore School of Economics, and has been involved in various social organisations since 2010. He is the Founder and Curator of digital platform Sukhan سخن which is highlighting stories of people who are changing narratives. He is also the mastermind behind a sports intiative Mani`s Cricket Myth and Over The Line and previously was the Lead Curator and Co Founder for My Voice Unheard and holds a firm belief that perceptions around the world about Pakistan need to be re-evaluated. He is also working as Communication Expert in Public Sector. Previously he has worked as Project Manager for CFx Comics spear-heading Pakistan`s first Digital Graphic Novel Series. He has also previously served as Director Communications at Rabtt. He was nominated to US State Department’s International Visitors Leadership Program in April 2014.

Gauher Aftab
Advisor

Gauher Aftab has held leadership roles at companies involved in education, advertising, financial services, telecom, and various tech industries. In his previous position he helped to scale CarFirst, an auto sector startup, in under two years to 300 full-time employees and a million dollars in monthly topline. Prior to that he has worked as an adviser and consultant for the KP Education Support Program to develop training and curriculum for new teaching staff; and was a co-founder of CFx Comics, where he launched Pakistan’s 1st Urdu comics platform and a primary years children’s reading app, as well as implementing several social and behavioral change communications projects including a comic book series to counter extremist narratives among young adults and adolescents. Guardian’ comic series to promote non-violence and tolerance.

Roshni

Ms Roshini was an intern at TGD in 2019 after which she joined our core team as a volunteer. She helped organise a Diwali Festival at a Church and Iftar gatherings at a mandir, a church and a gurdwara. She also arranged several interfaith activities in Muharram with youth from Muslim and Christian communities. She was a participant of the Salamati fellowship programme on ‘Peace and Interfaith harmony’ (by Peace Without Borders), a participant of ‘Amplifying Leadership of Local Youth’ Fellowship, an executive member of the awareness campaign, ‘Sweepers are Superheroes’. These are just a few of her innumerable efforts towards building a peaceful and tolerant community in our region.

Dr. Tehmina Ranjha

Dr Tehmina Ranjha is a Research fellow at Centre for Security Strategy and Policy Research and Assistant Professor at School of Integrated Social Sciences, University of Lahore. She has a PhD from University of the Punjab with a PhD in Political Science. She is currently a consultant to the US based Wikistrat.

She is a Counter Terrorism expert and works on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) and developing deradicalisation programmes in Pakistan. She has been pioneering research on the empowerment of victims of terrorism and countering violent extremism, and regularly speaks at national and international forums advocating for the same, including The Grief Directory’s Young Peacemakers Program, where she has shared her insights and years of experience with our young interns and even encouraged some of them to pursue similar work.

Umaima Tahir Wadood

Miss Umaima Tahir Wadood holds a Masters degree in Defense and Strategic Studies from University of Punjab. She is a journalist by profession. She has written on a number of social causes like women empowerment and empowering victims of terrorism. She has been an advocate of developing educational opportunities of minorities in Pakistan and has contributed to this extensively. She is also an online blogger. She contributes regularly to The News International, writing both personal pieces as well as on social issues.She has personal and professional experience with terrorism and countering violent extremism, and has supported The Grief Directory in its work by often joining events as a speaker, participant and/or journalist.

Dr. Naumana Amjad

Dr. Naumana Amjad has a doctorate in Psychology from University of Warwick, UK and is currently the Professor of Applied Psychology and Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at NUR International University, Lahore. She is a fellow of the International Society for Research on Aggression, and a member of tje International Association of Positive Psychology. She has researched extensively on extremist behaviour in the youth and its underlying psychological causes in order to combat this issue at its roots with behavioural training.

Zehra Kamal

Zehra Kamal Alam is a practicing psychologist based in Islamabad. She has been actively working on issues of emotional health, trauma and gender-based violence since 1999. Zehra holds a specialization in Global Mental Health and Trauma and her interest lies in understanding the impact of gender socialization, life experiences, and violence on the mental health of communities, especially children and young adults within the marginalized groups. Apart from private practice and providing technical support to an emotional health project at a school, she also supervises counselors of a mental health helpline run by a local Pakistani NGO called Rozan and frequently volunteers with The Grief Directory.