Farieha Aziz is a Karachi-based APNS-awardwinning journalist. She is a co-founder of Bolo Bhi, a digital rights and civil liberties group. She currently hosts her own podcast on Dawn News English called the DigiPod, on developments in tech and on digital policy and law, including gender and safety.
She regularly conducts awareness training on digital safety, the cybercrime law and anti-harassment policies. She also provides assistance to women seeking legal recourse against harassment and gender-based violence, offline and online.
In 2015, she led the campaign to stop the government of Pakistan from enacting the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, and worked with other rights groups, business associations, legislators in the National Assembly and Senate, and the Standing Committees on IT of both Houses, to highlight the detrimental impact it would have on civil liberties – particularly speech and privacy. Since the passage of the law, through public seminars and trainings, articles and policy briefs, briefings and presentations before parliamentary committees, public interest litigation and assistance to the court as an amicus curiae, she regularly raises issues regarding the implementation of the cybercrime law – especially the misuse of the law and excesses by the investigation agency.