strategic development director

Khine Su Win (she/her)

Khine Su Win is a health professional, medical doctor, researcher, trainer and human rights advocate with a profound focus on Global Health. Her career is anchored in the cause of capacity building among marginalized communities in various regions of Asia including South East Asia, South Asia and East Asia. With a passion for social justice, she works to enable and uplift marginalized groups, including People Living with HIV (PLHIV), Women Living with HIV (WLHIV), members of the LGBTIQ community, sex workers, People Who Use Drugs (PWUD), and opium farmers. By promoting their rights and advocating for their well-being, she strives to create a more inclusive and equitable society, where every individual’s voice is heard and respected.

senior global advocacy officer

Omair Paul

Omair Paul is the Senior Global Advocacy Officer at ILGA Asia. He joins the team with almost a decade of UN advocacy experience, previously serving as the UN Representative for Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) since 2014. He led the organisation’s UN advocacy strategy and campaigns, represented MPV in various high-level UN meetings & processes, and forged working relationships with diplomats, UN agencies, and civil society organisations (CSOs) and networks.

He focuses on countering fundamentalist religious ideologies and protecting the rights to free expression, freedom of religion and belief, and the economic and social rights of women, girls, and ethnic, religious, and SOGIESC minorities in Muslim societies.

project coordinator: afghanistan

Zohra Mousavi (she/her)

Zohra Mousavi is the Special Project Coordinator (Afghanistan Program) at ILGA Asia, and she has supported the development and implementation of communications campaigns across Afghanistan. She has deep experience on the emphasising hands-on participation to facilitate greater socio-economic inclusion of women, support youth empowerment, and drive systemic change from the grassroots level. Zohra has provided technical support to CSOs, NGOs, and government agencies to develop effective public policies, focusing on advocating for social behaviour change. She has founded Wander Kammer Museum — a digital museum that collects and displays refugees’ stories of (im)mobility and homemaking across Europe.

Zohra holds a diploma in Business Administration (Kardan University), a Bachelor’s in Political Science and Public Administration (The American University of Afghanistan), and a Master’s in Good Governance and Civil Society (Universität Osnabrück).

Follow Zohra on Twitter @zilga9.

project coordinator: afghanistan

Bechara Samneh (he/him)

Bechara Samneh (He/Him) is the Special Project Coordinator (Afghanistan Program) at ILGA Asia, and he serves as one of the Board Members of MOSAIC, where his work is focused on finding specialised and comprehensive service provisions for marginalised groups on a national and regional level. Bechara is also a researcher and advocate for policy reform on intersectional topics focused on SOGIESC, refugees and environmental justice. He also publishes academic and para-academic articles on social engagement in the fight against human rights violations, especially against LGBTIQ+ rights violations in the MENA region.

Bechara holds a Masters degree in Economics and Policies from UCL (University College London), a Masters degree in International Management of Public Procurement (University of Rome - Tor Vergata), and a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering (American University of Beirut).

senior research and policy officer

Ajita Banerjie (she/her)

Ajita Banerjie is the Research & Policy Officer at ILGA Asia where she focuses on access to justice and LGBTIQ rights in the Asia region. Ajita holds a Master’s degree in Human Rights Law from SOAS, University of London, and was the recipient of the Chevening Scholarship.

strategic communications fellow

Jean Linis Dinco (she/her)

Jean is a current Ph.D. candidate in Cybersecurity at the University of New South Wales in Canberra, Australia. Jean’s research focuses on analysing the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar using machine learning.

Before joining ILGA Asia, Jean previously worked as a Public Information Consultant for the United Nations Human Rights and as a Digital Project Manager for A Way Home Australia, a youth homelessness organisation based in Melbourne. Her past works include analysing media sentiments towards LGBTIQ communities in Nepal, cybersecurity in the South China Sea, the role of machines in the rising global transphobia and the impact of securitisation on marginalised communities in Aceh, Indonesia. Jean has been awarded by the Women in AI Ethics™ (WAIE) — a fiscally sponsored project of Social Good Fund — as one of the top 100 Women in Artificial Intelligence Ethics globally.

When not working, Jean enjoys doing data science projects and learning other programming languages.

senior communications officer

Nadine Hassan (she/her)

Introducing Nadine Hassan, ILGA Asia’s Senior Communications Officer with a Masters of Science in Sustainable Development from the University of Sussex. With extensive experience at UNDP, UN Women, and GIZ, Nadine is a seasoned communications consultant and advisor. Beyond her professional achievements, Nadine's passions extend to music, writing, and travel during her spare time. She is driven by a deep commitment to human rights and firmly believes in the power of community-based narratives for effective advocacy work.

Nadine's expertise lies in crafting compelling messages that resonate with diverse audiences. Her ability to engage and collaborate with local communities from the ground up is a testament to her dedication to social change. By encouraging a spirit of unity, she empowers others to join her in creating a fairer and more inclusive world, one impactful message at a time.

Monitoring and evaluation officer

Pukar Bista

With a remarkable dedication spanning several years, Pukar has collaborated with dynamic organizations, placing a strong emphasis on empowering historically marginalized communities, particularly diverse SOGIESC minorities and migrant workers.

Having obtained a Bachelor's degree in Economics from a prestigious U.S. university, Pukar commenced his career with a labor union in Washington, D.C. There, he has coordinated national labor campaigns and orchestrated impactful workers' movements. Deepening his understanding of the intricacies around these matters, Pukar pursued graduate studies at the University of Massachusetts--Amherst, immersing himself in labor history, queer and feminist theories.

Consultant

Thae Su Su Thwe (she/her)

Thae Su Su Thwe (Ma Thae Su) is the Finance Manager of ILGA Asia. Ma Thae Su has more than 20 years of working experience in the finance & HR departments of non-profit and for-profit organizations, including Medicine Du Monde, Association of Medical Doctors of Asia, International Organization for Migration (Myanmar Mission & Nigeria Mission), Cardno Myanmar, Women Voice and Leadership Program under Nordic International Support Foundation and PEN Myanmar.

She holds a B.A (Business Science), and Masters degree in Development Studies at the Yangon University of Economics in 2016. She has contributed her finance and HR knowledge in post emergency response, maternal and child health, migrant health, migrant protection, disaster risk reduction and disaster management program, national community driven development program and human rights program across Myanmar and also in Nigeria by coordination with humanitarian and development partners and donors.

campaign coordinator

Bilguun Batjargal

Prior to joining ILGA Asia, he worked as a Campaign Coordinator for the United Nations Free & Equal Campaign in Mongolia where he supported designing and implementing campaigns to promote SOGIESC rights under the guidance of the United Nations Human Rights. Bilguun is also a licensed lawyer in Mongolia and has been providing pro bono legal advice related to SOGIESC rights to members of the LGBTIQ community since 2018.

Bilguun says: “I’m very excited to join ILGA Asia and to work with the wonderful and vibrant team members to achieve our common goal of promoting universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the elimination of all forms of discrimination and stigmatisation based on SOGIESC in Asia.”

Bilguun holds a Bachelor of Laws (National University of Mongolia) and Master’s in International Economic Law (University of Barcelona). He speaks Mongolian, English, Japanese and Korean. When not working, Bilguun enjoys learning new languages, traveling and clubbing.

communication officer - design

Keiko Carasig (he/she/they)

Keiko is an independent queer filmmaker and multimedia artist from the Philippines. They are the outgoing president of UP SAMASKOM, a premiere student-led media performing organisation that celebrates and empowers queer performers, and a proud member of UP Babaylan, the longest-existing LGBTIQ+ student organisation in Asia.

They also work as a multimedia artist for Babaylanes, a non-government organisation that capacitates queer Filipino youth and pioneers programs on human rights education.

Keiko says: “Queer people walk to search for more reasons to walk. ILGA Asia is my way to meet others who walk the same path as me."

Keiko is a film student at the University of the Philippines Diliman. They make films on eroticism and the sociological concerns of queer people. They are a huge devotee of Leslie Cheung.

communications intern

Mai Herras (she/they)

Mai is a Filipina researcher whose interests include gender rights, media freedom, and climate justice.

She has done communication and research work for various nonprofit and grassroots organizations in the Philippines since graduating from the Ateneo de Manila University in 2019. Aside from her work in the development sector, she is also a published poet.

She believes that the core of any movement must be the communal action of caring for one another.

In her spare time, she likes to curate literary and music lists.