Basira Paigham

Basira Paigham (born 1997/1998) is an Afghan LGBT-rights activist.

Early life
Paigham originates from Samangan Province.

Activism
In 2015, Paigham began anonymously using social media to connect with other LGBT individuals in Afghanistan. In 2016, she created a Facebook group specifically for LGBT Afghans. In 2018, Paigham and some of her fellow activists organized community meet-ups in Kabul, as well as organizing mutual aid for fellow LGBT Afghans. During this time, Paigham also spoke with international groups and journalists under a pseudonym about her life as an LGBT person living in Afghanistan. She also gained some notability domestically as a women's rights activist.

In 2020, Paigham was witness to a Taliban attack on the National Directorate of Security office in Samangan.

In 2021, in the days after the Taliban claimed power, Paigham began receiving threatening phone calls from unknown numbers, and her apartment was searched. In October 2021 she obtained a visa to enter Pakistan, and from there she fled to Ireland. Paigham was recognized by the BBC as one of the 100 most influential women of the year; at the time, she was living in an Irish refugee camp.

Paigham was a keynote speaker at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom's 2022 Born With Pride Conference. In 2023, she was made a UN Rights and Religion Fellow of Outright International.

Personal life
Paigham is a lesbian. She has said that her family is unsupportive of her sexuality.