Jillian C. York is a writer and activist whose work examines the impact of technology on our societal and cultural values. Based in Berlin, she is the Director for International Freedom of Expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a fellow at the Center for Internet & Human Rights at the European University Viadrina, a visiting professor at the College of Europe Natolin, and the author of Silicon Values: The Future of Free Speech Under Surveillance Capitalism. Find her on Twitter and check out her website.

Pakistani family-law lawyer Nighat Dad pivoted to free-expression rights after she struggled, as a woman, to access the internet, especially under pressure by her family. She soon found out that women across Pakistan were encountered the same impediments to getting online, escalating to physical threats and murders based on women's online activity. In 2012, Dad founded the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) to secure the rights — and safety — of women online. Through political campaigning, the DRF helped stop the passage of a cybercrime law that would give police an oversized ability to harass and prosecute people for their internet use.

Follow these links to learn more about Nighat Dad:

• Check out her Wikipedia page.
• View the illustration IFEX curated of Nighat Dad as part of its Faces of Free Expression gallery, which we used to create our exhibit by the same name.
• Learn about Digital Rights Foundation and some of the resources they provide.
• Find her on Twitter.

The Visionaries online series features conversations with changemakers who, often at great personal risk, defend free-expression rights in today's increasingly complicated digital world. All events are free, with suggested donations.