In 2015, Paigham began anonymously using social media to connect with other LGBT individuals in Afghanistan.[1] In 2016, she created a Facebook group specifically for LGBT Afghans.[1] In 2018, Paigham and some of her fellow activists organized community meet-ups in Kabul, as well as organizing mutual aid for fellow LGBT Afghans.[1] During this time, Paigham also spoke with international groups and journalists under a pseudonym about her life as an LGBT person living in Afghanistan.[1] She also gained some notability domestically as a women's rights activist.[1]
In 2021, in the days after the Taliban claimed power, Paigham began receiving threatening phone calls from unknown numbers, and her apartment was searched.[3] In October 2021 she obtained a visa to enter Pakistan, and from there she fled to Ireland.[4] Paigham was recognized by the BBC as one of the 100 most influential women of the year; at the time, she was living in an Irish refugee camp.[1][4][5]
Paigham was a keynote speaker at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom's 2022 Born With Pride Conference. In 2023, she was made a UN Rights and Religion Fellow of Outright International.[6]
Personal life
Paigham is a lesbian.[1] She has said that her family is unsupportive of her sexuality.[1]