Ms. Zenab Adnan Aurangzeb

Ms. Zenab Adnan is a humanitarian dedicated to female welfare, community development, interfaith harmony and the preservation of the Gandharan heritage of the Swat Valley in Pakistan.

She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Geography from the University of Peshawar, graduating as Salutatorian. As of 2022, she serves as the president of Maksan Institute, a residential institution based in Saidu Sharif that is devoted to the care and education of underprivileged Swati girls, particularly those who are orphaned or from single-parent families. She initially served as president of the institute from 1995 till 2007 while her late husband, Miangul Adnan Aurangzeb, was in active politics but worked alongside him after he took over as president from 2007 till his passing in 2022.

Since 2020, Ms. Adnan has been actively engaged in both local and international initiatives promoting the study and preservation of Swat’s cultural heritage. In July 2022, she hosted the senior Thai Buddhist monk, Most Venerable Arayawangso, in Swat and attended the inauguration of the Bell of Peace at the Swat Museum. The bell is dedicated to Miangul Adnan Aurangzeb in recognition of his contributions for the promotion & preservation of Buddhist heritage in the region of Gandhara. In March 2024, Ms. Adnan was invited as a guest speaker at the International Symposium on the Buddhist Heritage of Gandhara, organized by the Asia Center at Harvard University. In Sept 2024, she traveled to Tsinghua University, Beijing at the invitation of Prof. Li Xiguang to give a talk on the Buddhist archaeological heritage of the Yousafzai Sate of Swat.

In March 2026, she was invited to Thimphu, Bhutan by Queen Ashi Tshering Yangdon Wangchuck and Princess Ashi Dechen Yangzom Wangchuck, where discussions focused on the historical ties between Swat and Bhutan.

She is also scheduled to deliver a lecture at the Padmasambhava, Uddiyana and Tibet Workshop which will be held at the University of Oxford in September 2026.