SheLeads: Neelam Punjani

Neelam Punjani is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Alberta. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing at the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery from Karachi, Pakistan. Shortly after her undergraduate program, she began working actively within the community, advocating for young people's sexual and reproductive health and rights. Neelam’s current topic of research was inspired by seeing countless young girls in her home country unable to express themselves. Her research aims to find out the development of mental health issues that arise due to a lack of open communication regarding sexual and reproductive health among young girls. Neelam’s motivation is to allow young girls and women to access their sexual and reproductive health rights, and provide them with awareness, support, and opportunities, which may not have been otherwise accessible due to societal taboos.

Young girls and women around the world face stigma everyday due to restrictive laws. The stigma, silence, and shame surrounding sexual and reproductive health can sometimes result inin life-threatening consequences.

Neelam is a certified master trainer of “Human Sexuality”. She is also the first nurse to become a youth champion from Pakistan, and she was awarded with “Outstanding leadership in advancing innovation and quality in sexual and reproductive health and rights” by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and Public Health Institute, California. As part of her advocacy work, Neelam conducts voluntary sessions in her community to provide information on different topics related to sexual and reproductive health and rights, preventing child sexual abuse, puberty issues in adolescents, human sexuality, and sexual health assessment. The sessions are geared towards parents, teachers, youth, children, nursing students, doctors, nurses/midwives, and other healthcare professionals.