Yusra Gilani

Yusra Gilani is a passionate young disability rights activist and healthcare professional from Pakistan. She holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree and leads the Youth with Disabilities Hub, a network dedicated to empowering young people with disabilities. She has expertise in assistive technology, psychosocial support for GBV prevention, and disability rights advocacy. She is committed to advancing assistive technology solutions and digital health innovations. Her personal experiences have inspired her advocacy for healthcare equity and accessible assistive technology. She actively works on disability rights, healthcare equity, assistive technology, and GBV prevention, particularly focusing on young girls and women with disabilities.

Currently, Yusra serves as an IDA AT Scale Assistive Technology User Consultant and as a Project Coordinator at the Special Talent Exchange Program in collaboration with UNODC. She has participated in numerous national and international conferences,trainings as a public speaker and panelist, emphasizing the need for inclusivity and representation. As a former AT User Fellow with the IDA-GDI Hub, Yusra led global efforts to integrate AT. She moderated the AT Global User Network Launch webinar and provided strategic insights as an AT user on online course development, ensuring a user-centered approach. She played a key role in disseminating the IDA-GDI Hub's AT Survey and contributed to various assignments on AT. Yusra also collaborated with UNFPA to provide psychosocial support and facilitate accessible referral pathways for young girls and women with disabilities facing GBV. She was selected among 75 Peace Architects under the SHE – The Peacebuilder project by Search for Common Ground and successfully led a peacebuilding initiative. She is also an alumna of the Power to Persuade project by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.

Her contributions have been recognized with the Khadija Tul Kubra Award by the Women Parliamentary Caucus, UNFPA, and STEP for her advocacy work.

Passionate about disability rights advocacy, assistive technology, peacebuilding, and healthcare equity, she is dedicated to leadership roles that drive meaningful change and create growth opportunities for young people with disabilities.