Tanzila Khan



Tanzila Khan is a Pakistani entrepreneur, disability rights activist, author and founder of Girlythings PK, a platform and website which delivers sanitary napkins to menstruators facing barriers in Pakistan. Khan focuses on raising awareness of and access to diversity and inclusion in all sectors, reproductive health and education especially for those with disabilities. She has given many talks around the world, written two novels, produced one short film, FruitChaat and runs two organizations to de-stigmatize disability.

Disability Tax, is a term coined by Khan that describes the extra expense a person with a disability has to bare due to their disability while accessing public life. The tax burden is on the individual as the institution refuses to provide accessible options or alternatives in the same equal pricing as compared to an individual without a disability hence making the life of a person with a disability far more costly and challenging.

Early life
Khan has been reliant on a wheelchair since birth. In her youth, she was involved with theater, directing a production of The Addams Family Rendezvous. She later worked for global change-makers youth camp and a Youth Activism Summit, designing several workshops for the latter.

Khan would later revisit the medium of theatre in "Theatre of the Taboo", a training module for sexual and reproductive health and rights and related issues. Khan holds a Bachelor of Laws degree in International Development from the University of London and a Masters in Entrepreneurship degree from Uppsala University, Uppsala Sweden.

Girly Things
Due to the endemic menstrual taboo, support for feminine hygiene products is inadequate in Pakistan. In response, Khan founded the startup company Girly Things PK to make them more accessible for women in Pakistan, delivering sanitary napkins to women at home and in emergency situations, in the manner of a food delivery service. The urgent kits include a disposable undergarment, three pads and a blood stain remover, the latter being an original Girly Things product.

Khan recounts a personal experience of her period starting while she was running errands. She found herself in urgent need, but the shops were not accessible to wheelchair users such as herself. The company aims to expand to offering contraceptives. The company also offers products that some women may be uncomfortable purchasing openly in shops, including toilet seat covers and hair removal creams, and is investigating means for sanitary disposal of used pads.

Other projects

 * Khan wrote, produced and performed in a short film called FruitChaat which addressed challenges of a woman with a disability in Pakistan. The film won Zee5 Award and is available on Youtube on the channel, Iwish.


 * Khan is a travel blogger and raising awareness on disability traveling through blogging and her social media channels.

Works
Khan published her first book at just 16, using the proceeds to fund community projects in her area. She has written the following works:
 * A Story of Mexico
 * The Perfect Situation: Sweet Sixteen

Awards
Khan has won the following awards for her activism:
 * Amal Clooney Award presented by King Charles, by Prince´s Trust International
 * Young Connector of the Future (Swedish Institute)
 * Young Leader (Women Deliver)
 * Khadija tul Kubra Award (national level recognition for advocacy)
 * Youth Champion at Rise Up (Packard Foundation)
 * Six-two 35 Under 35 Changemaker of 2018
 * Received funding from AmplifyChange to establish a Training Institute in Lahore on SRHR and disabilities
 * Invited to speak at TEDxKinnaird in 2012