Huma Nayab ’25

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ike many 20-somethings, Huma Nayab ’25 spends a lot of her day online. But she’s not scrolling or swiping — she’s teaching others how to do so safely.

A recipient of a 2026 Projects for Peace grant, Nayab runs a culturally aware virtual workshop series, SwipeSafe, with the goal of helping women in her home country of Pakistan stay alert while going through the rishta (marriage proposal) process. Arranged marriages are common in the country, but young women are beginning to have a bigger say in whom they match with due to the influx of dating apps and online matchmaking platforms. What’s often missing, however, is education around how to safely use these tools, which leaves women at risk of scams, rushed proposals and relationships that are or can become abusive.

Nayab wants to fix this. In her workshops, Pakistani women aged 18–35 learn digital safety tips along with how to apply them in real scenarios. For example, Nayab and her facilitators show participants how to respond when a man asks for revealing photos and personal information too early, or how to advocate for themselves if they are being harassed online. She also emphasizes how to hold those boundaries firm even after a relationship has been established, to encourage healthy dynamics.

“In Pakistan, women aren’t taught to behave like that,” Nayab says. “They’re not told to say no; they’re always told to say yes.”

Nayab initially came to the College wanting to study economics. But after taking a few classes on South Asian history and performance, she developed an interest in human rights and women’s issues — in particular, women’s experiences with online platforms and technology in Pakistan. After working with survivors at a domestic violence organization, she knew she could combine her experiences to help Pakistani women.

“If I hadn’t had that freedom to think and write about and discuss these sensitive issues in class, I wouldn’t have had this opportunity,” Nayab says.

Developing and running the workshops with her co-facilitators has been a rewarding experience, she says, especially seeing the sisterhood that has developed among participants. From the cities to the mountains, women across the country are finding community in the space Nayab has created.

“For them, it’s a kind of therapy,” she says. “And that is really touching.”

— Emily Driehaus