Shirin Musa

Shirin Musa is a fearless women’s rights activist whose advocacy has resulted in new laws, policies and protections for women facing violence in the Netherlands and beyond. A Dutch human rights defender born in Pakistan, she’s initiated landmark legal test cases and coined the groundbreaking concept of marital captivity, a situation Shirin lived through, in which a woman is unable to exit a religious or foreign marriage. Within months of winning her case and being emancipated from marital captivity, she founded the grassroots organization Femmes for Freedom to advocate for broader legal protections against gender-based violence. Shirin’s advocacy has led to historic legal innovations, including the adoption of five laws that criminalize harmful practices and expand services and protections for women, especially bicultural, migrant and refugee women. In 2025, she achieved a long-time dream and was elected to the Senate of the Netherlands, where she continues to advocate for reforms that safeguard the dignity of all women.

 Shirin Musa is a fearless women’s rights activist whose advocacy has delivered new laws, policies and protections for women facing violence in the Netherlands and beyond.