Aisha, a native of Kenya, has lived in Nairobi since 1985. Her passion for justice, fairness, and humanity was shaped early in life, having grown up in a family of strong, outspoken women. This environment greatly influenced her dedication to advocacy, particularly for women and girls.
She began her career as a champion for women and girls, working for five years in Northern Eastern Kenya with the Kenyan Somali community. During this time, Aisha played a pivotal role in empowering women and girls to raise their voices and pursue political, economic, and social inclusion. Notably, she supported the establishment of the first girl-led movement in North Eastern Kenya, which focused on advocating against harmful cultural practices, including Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and early marriage.
Building on this foundation, Aisha now serves as a Senior Program Manager at Namati. She works under the Citizenship Rights Program, where she supports partner organizations that assist ethnic minority communities at risk of statelessness due to discriminatory practices in acquiring nationality documents. Her responsibilities include designing and implementing comprehensive program strategies, ranging from community outreach and forums, legal casework, advocacy and capacity-building.
Currently, Aisha is piloting a project aimed at creating a grassroots movement among affected communities. Through legal empowerment, she seeks to enable these communities to advocate for systemic and policy reforms that address the discrimination they face in accessing vital legal identity documents.
Aisha holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Nairobi, awarded in 2009. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in International Relations, with a focus on Foreign Policy and Diplomacy, at the United States International University–Africa.
She draws inspiration from the words of Mahatma Gandhi: “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”