Aaliyah Farouk is a 32-year-old Scottish-Pakistani journalist and activist from Leith, Edinburgh. Raised in a politically engaged household, she was drawn early to issues of equality and representation, influenced by both her Pakistani heritage and the diverse working-class community she grew up in. After earning an MA in Gender Studies from the University of Edinburgh and a Diploma in Investigative Journalism from City University London, she worked as a campaigns officer for a leading LGBTQ+ rights charity in Scotland. Her career has blended frontline activism with incisive journalism, producing columns for Pink News and Gal-Dem and op-eds for The Guardian and The Ferret. Known for her unapologetic stance on trans rights, anti-racism, and decolonisation, Aaliyah speaks regularly at activist conferences and challenges tokenism and political hypocrisy with academic precision and sharp wit. She lives in Edinburgh’s Southside, balancing reporting with grassroots organising.