At the age of 11, her grandmother attempted to arrange her marriage. Having seen a classmate suffer from an early marriage, Bashir was determined to avoid the same fate. With her uncle’s support, she successfully resisted the marriage. Since then, Bashir has been actively working to end child marriage in her community. In 2014, she founded Girls United For Human Rights, an organization that advocates for girls’ rights in Pakistan where she currently serves as Executive Director.
Hadiqa Bashir is dedicated to protecting and promoting girls’ rights in the tribal regions of Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. She has volunteered at A Society for Women’s Rights and Hwendo Jirga (local council) and serves on the volunteer Board of Directors at EveAlliance. She is also a Women Deliver Young Leader, the winner of the With and For Girls Award (2018–2019), a Commonwealth Youth Award Finalist (2017), a two-time Children’s Peace Prize Nominee (2016 & 2017), the winner of the Asian Girls Rights Award (2016), the recipient of the Muhammad Ali International Humanitarian Award (2015), and has received an honorary award from the Honorable Chairman of the Senate of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. She is also an Asian Girls Ambassador.