Zhiar Ali

Zhiar Ali is a former animal rights activist and a Kurdish advocate for LGBT rights. He presently resides in the Netherlands after having been based in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. In Iraqi Kurdistan, Ali is well known for his contributions to LGBT rights, including founding Yeksani, a group that works to promote LGBT rights in the Kurdistan Region. He is currently Yeksani's executive director and was a founding member of Kurdistan Vegans, Iraq's first pro-vegan animal rights group. Additionally, he has worked as a freelance journalist for news outlets, specialising in music journalism as well as political and social concerns.