Fouzia Saeed (born 3 June 1959) is a social activist, gender expert, trainer/facilitator, development manager, folk culture promoter, television commentator and author.
She is the author of two well regarded books.
Her first book is an ethnographic look at prostitution in Pakistan, TABOO!: The Hidden Culture of a Red Light District.
Her work on violence against women spans over 20 years and includes founding Bedari, the first women’s crisis center in Pakistan in 1991.
For over a decade, she focused on reducing the level of sexual harassment and the impact of debt bondage on Hindu women.
On 10 March 2009, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Yousaf Raza Gilani, named Saeed to a three-year term as one of the 15 members of the National Commission on the Status of Women.
Subsequently, she was appointed as the Chair of the Sexual Harassment Legislation Implementation Watch Committee from May 2010 to May 2012.
In February 2015, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appointed Saeed as the Executive Director of Lok Virsa, the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage.
She completed her term on 9 February 2018 with exuberant accolades from the press and civil society for her stellar success in revitalizing Lok Virsa and expanding the space for performance culture in Pakistan.Saeed says of herself: "I want to be judged by my abilities, my struggles and my achievements and not labeled or stereotyped by my gender, my economic background, my nationality or my beliefs."