Rana Asif Habib

Advocate Rana Asif Habib

Advocate Rana Asif Habib holds a Master’s degree in Sociology and a Law degree from the University of Karachi. He is the Founder and President of Initiator Human Development Foundation and a dedicated child rights activist. He was awarded the Ashoka Fellowship in 2008 for his work for the welfare of street children.

Leadership & Professional Roles

• President & Project Lead – Initiator Human Development Foundation (2004 – Present)
• Convener – Movement for Child Protection & Welfare
• Member – Provincial Commission on Child Welfare and Development, Government of Sindh
• Member – District Task Force on Child Trafficking
• Member – Population Association of Pakistan
• Member – Federal Ombudsman Prison Committee
• Vice-Chairman – Interfaith Peace Commission International
• Member – Sindh High Court Bar
• Focal Person – Child Protection Committee, Sindh Police
• Focal Person – Commissioner Karachi Helpline 1299

Previous Positions

• Cooperative Teacher – Department of Sociology, University of Karachi (Aug 2003 – Dec 2003)
• Chief Coordinator – Azad Foundation (Apr 2002 – Jul 2003)
• Social Motivator & Tutor – Model Literacy Project
• Suicide Counselor – Helpline Services (1996 – 1999)

Child Rights Education Program (CREP)

Completed two-year Child Rights Education Program covering:

• Human Rights Education & Child Rights
• Life Skills to Work with Children
• Child Rights – International & National Systems
• Child Protection & Safeguarding
• Child Rights Governance

Role as Trainer

• Child Protection Bureau Punjab – Child Rights Governance
• Social Welfare Department, Government of Sindh
• SPARC – Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000
• Asia Foundation – Master Trainer (Human Rights Education Program)
• International Labour Organization (ILO) Pakistan
• Ministry of Youth Affairs – Sexual & Reproductive Rights
• Karachi Youth Initiative – Counter Violent Narratives Program
• Ministry of Human Rights – Gender Equity Program
• University of Karachi – Sociology, Criminology & Pakistan Studies

Research Work

• Assistant Research Coordinator – Study on Sexual Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children
• Assistant Research Coordinator – Study of Street Children Lahore
• Research Coordinator – Sindh Province & Global Indicator Study on Violence Against Children
• Researcher – Beggar Rehabilitation Programme
• Master’s Thesis – Income, Expenditure & Household Size in Karachi Squatter Settlements

Publications

• Silent Shrieks: A Situational Analysis on Violence against Street Children

Fellowships

• Ashoka Fellowship (2008)
• IVLP Fellow – U.S. State Department
• Fellowship – Child Rights Education Program (CREP), Pakistan

Certificates & Trainings

• Capacity Building Workshop on Protection of Children
• Training on Strengthening Human Rights Organizations
• Workshop on Gender, Justice & Development
• National Workshop on Research Methods in Social Sciences
• Media Code of Conduct for Child Sensitive Coverage
• Tax Justice Training – ActionAid Pakistan (2014)

Educational Background

• Matriculation (Science) – Pakistan Navy School (1991)
• Intermediate (Pre-Engineering) – Ayesha Bawani College, Karachi (1994)
• Graduation – Government Islamia College (1997)
• Master’s in Sociology – University of Karachi (2000)
• LLB – University of Karachi (2015)

Languages

• English
• Urdu
• Sindhi
• Punjabi
• Arabic