Urooj Arshad is an international LGBTQ+ rights activist who has experience in implementing programmes on a local, national and global level, since becoming a highly sought-after trainer on the subject. As the former Director of International LGBTQ+ Youth Health and Rights for Advocates for Youth, Urooj has been responsible for networking and managing collaborative partnerships with experts and organisations within the LGBTQ+ rights movement, and launched the Muslim Youth Leadership Council at the 2017 Urban Retreat. Now, when hired as a speaker, Urooj addresses the impact of islamophobia, homophobia, and transphobia, and how to ensure your company is an inclusive environment for all.
Urooj graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and then began her career as a Program Manager of the Youth of Colour Initiative for Advocates of Youth. Urooj would work her way up through the ranks to eventually become the Director, owing to her incredible and dedicated career in activism for Muslims and the LGBTQ+ community. After 14 years with Advocates of Youth, Urooj is now working as the Senior Programme Manager for Freedom House. Urooj has also been a member of the Centre for American Progress Women’s Health Leadership Network and a Fellow of the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute.
Looking to continuously improve the rights of LGBTQ+ Muslims, Urooj co-founded the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity. Always striving to continuously develop her leadership, Urooj took up several opportunities to expand her skillset including a fellowship with the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute, participating in two Centre for American Progress Programmes and a Public Voices fellowship with the OpEd Project. As a leading expert on the rights of the Muslim LGBTQ+ community, Urooj brought together other Muslim thought leaders, hosted by the Harvard University’s Alwaleed Islamic Studies Programme.
In recognition of Urooj’s incredible advocacy work, she became a recipient of numerous awards including the National Association of Asian American Professional’s Pride Award, the Young Women of Colour HIV/AIDS Coalition’s Award, the National Queer API Alliance’s Community Catalyst Award, National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance’s Community Catalyst Award and the Latino GLBT History Project’s Award. Do not miss your chance to be educated on Muslim LGBTQ+ rights by one of the leading experts on the subject with work which has featured in the likes of Teen Vogue, USA Today, The Oprah Magazine, NBC News, and was selected to serve on the U.S delegation to the 59th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Hire Urooj Arshad today!
How to hire Urooj Arshad
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Urooj Arshad for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
Below are Urooj's official speaking topics:
- LGBTQ Muslims in the age of Trump: How LGBTQ Muslims are simultaneously pushing back against gendered islamophobia, homophobia and transphobia during the rise of fascism under Trump.
- Gendered Islamophobia and homonationalism: How to unpack why and how gendered islamophobia and homonationalism became a political mainstream within the Western context.
- Global to local: Connecting LGBTQ work in Pakistan to issues affecting LGBTQ Muslims in the U.S.: How issues that affect LGBTQ Muslims in the U.S. like islamophobia, the war on terror and gendered islamophobia have an effect on LGBTQ Muslim organizing in Pakistan
- Understanding Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate: The historical and current context of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate as well as ways to dismantle these systems
- LGBTQ Rights and activism in Pakistan: Looking at the efforts to advance the rights of transgender people in Pakistan including the passing of the transgender rights bill and advocacy around implementing the recommendations from the law as well as potential opportunities for allies to help advance these rights.
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
"Urooj Arshad is a gem. She is a deeply passionate community leader, an inspiring speaker who speaks from the heart. Her stories and deep knowledge of intersectional social justice as well as internationalism come out through her talks. She is also a gem because of literal sparkle-- her outfits and style are on point, and she is well known for bringing the bling! Urooj's deep experience, interactiveness, and style are bound to engage students and participants at events. I look forward to every opportunity I have to bring her back to speak on our campus." - Shige, LGBT Equity Centre, University of Maryland
"We were lucky to have Urooj give an engaging and thoughtful presentation about the complexities of Queer Muslim life. She managed to encapsulate how her lived experiences and activism are inextricably enmeshed with larger societal structures and politics. She pushed students to think critically and engage beyond their perspectives with her anecdotes of work across continents and with a variety of communities. She didn't shy away from the difficult questions and explaining complex topics, leaving students thought provoked and ready for a fruitful discussion." - Amina Awad, co-chair of the Minority Coalition at Williams college
"Urooj’s presentation in Oslo, Norway during the 'Intersections of Islamophobia and LGBTIQ+phobia' seminar brought important perspectives from the U.S. Her critical analysis around gendered islamophobia not only grounds the reality of LGBTQ Muslims living in the U.S. within the larger geo-political contexts, it also makes connections that are relevant to those of us living in Europe. Her talk 'Islam and LGBTIQ+ are not mutually exclusive – best practices from the United States' is a testament to LGBTQ Muslim’s struggles in a time of rising fascism, xenophobia and islamophobia but also a reminder that the only way forward is by centering the intersectional lives of those most impacted." - Dino, Executive Director, Maruf Foundation, International platform for queer Muslims
"Urooj was invited to present her work and expertise at a two day workshop held at Columbia University entitled Global Governance of the Intimate. Her presentation 'Pushing back simultaneously against gendered islamophobia, homophobia and transphobia: LGBTQ Muslims in the age of Trump' was deeply engaging and informative for our group of feminist scholars, journalists, and activists working on gender in South Asia and the Middle East. Urooj masterfully touched upon complex issues using accessible language. Urooj has a clear passion and commitment to her work that energized us all." - Joymala Hajra, Program Coordinator, Religion and the Global Framing of Gender Violence, Columbia University
- 2019 - Senior Programme Manager, Dignity for All for Freedom House
- 2017 - Director of International LGBTQ Youth Health and Rights for Advocates for Youth
- 2011 - Associate Director, International Youth Health & Rights for Advocated For Youth
- Co-founder of the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity
- Recipient of the National Association of Asian American Professional’s Pride Award
- Recipient of the Young Women of Colour HIV/AIDS Coalition’s Award
- Recipient of the National Queer API Alliance’s Community Catalyst Award
- Recipient of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance’s Community Catalyst Award
- Recipient of the Latino GLBT History Project’s Award
