Sister Zeph keynote speaker

At the age of 13, Sister Zeph dedicated her life to inclusion and education. As a child herself, she opened a free school and vocational center for underserved children and women and made a defining choice: she became a child laborer by necessity so that other children would not have to be. This early act of leadership shaped her lifelong commitment to education as a human right and a foundation for dignity and social change.

Sister Zeph is an educator, social entrepreneur, and Global Teacher Prize Laureate from Pakistan, internationally recognized for advancing inclusive education, women’s leadership, and community resilience. After leaving formal schooling due to exclusion, she pursued education through self-directed learning, earning two Master’s degrees in Political Science and History from the University of the Punjab.

In 1997, her initiative evolved into the Zephaniah Women Education and Empowerment Foundation (ZWEE). Through ZWEE, she has educated 3,000+ children, empowered 6,000+ women, and reached 70,000+ individuals. She has represented Pakistan at UNESCO Headquarters, COP28 Dubai, and global education and policy forums worldwide.