Rafiq Hajat

Background

He was born in Blantyre.

Career

He is the director for the Institute for Policy Interaction (IPI) in Malawi. He received a Bachelor of Arts in political science at Saint Xavier College in India in 1975. Vice president of the country"s chamber of commerce and industry, chairman of DEMAT, the Development of Malawian Traders" Trust, and also founding director of the Institute for Policy Interaction (IPI).

He has worked at the Malawi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and has been a Board member with Small Enterprise Development Organisation of Malawi and the Development of Malawi Traders Trust

Hajat and Malawi Democratic Party (MDP) president Kamlepo Kalua formed a Forum for the Defence of Democracy a pressure group on governance concerns under the Mutharika administration.

Hajat was one of the main civil society organizers of the July 20th Ultimatum and July 20th nationwide economic protests. This forced him to go in to hiding for a few days, but later he continued to organize the subsequent protests.

On September 2, 2011, the offices of the IPI were burned whilst Hajat was traveling to Lilongwe. 2012, Hajat was a finalist for the Front Lincolnshire Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk, which ultimately went to Syrian blogger Razan Ghazzawi.

Achievements

• 2012, Hajat was a finalist for the Front Lincolnshire Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk, which ultimately went to Syrian blogger Razan Ghazzawi.

Membership

He was a member of the executive in the United Democratic Front.