Amina Masood Janjua

Amina Masood Janjua, (Urdu: آمنہ مسعود جنجوعہ; born 28 April 1964) is a Pakistani human rights activist and artist. She is recognised for her advocacy against enforced disappearances in Pakistan, particularly following the disappearance of her husband, Masood Ahmed Janjua, on 30 July 2005.^[1] She is founding chairperson of the organisation Defense of Human Rights Pakistan (DHR), through which she campaigns for the recovery of missing persons and the protection of civil liberties.^[2] Her work includes providing legal assistance to detainees, supporting families affected by enforced disappearance, and advocating for the elimination of torture in prisons and detention centres, both in Pakistan and abroad.

Amina Masood Janjua
آمنہ مسعود جنجوعہ
Born	(1964-04-28) April 28, 1964 (age 61)
Spouse	Masood Ahmed Janjua

Life

Janjua and her husband, Masood Ahmed Janjua, had three children (two teenage sons and a young daughter) at the time of his disappearance in July 2005.^[3][4] The family lived in Westridge, Rawalpindi, Punjab.^[5] Following his disappearance, Amina Janjua continued her husband's work in business and at the College of Information and Technology.^[5]

Beginning in September 2006, Janjua headed the organisation Defense of Human Rights.^[3] In 2010, it was officially registered as a trust.^[4] By January 2012, the organisation had registered 1,030 disappearances, of which 400 had been resolved, with the missing person returning to their family.^[3] Janjua has represented the organisation abroad, including in Manila, Philippines (September 2014) and at the Third World Forum in Buenos Aires, Argentina (March 2023).^[6]

Janjua has been involved with protests against the Pakistani government for their alleged inaction on the issue since 2006. Her eldest son, then aged 17, was beaten and arrested at one such protest in 2007.^[5] She appears regularly on local and foreign media as the spokesperson of missing persons and occasionally contributes articles in Urdu and English dailies of the country.^[7]