Lakshita Kanhiya
Human rights advocate and scholar

Lakshita Kanhiya (she/her) is a human rights advocate and scholar from Mauritius with a particular focus on the intersections of religion and sexuality, climate justice, rule of law, investigative journalism, and digital surveillance. Currently pursuing her doctoral studies, Lakshita holds two master’s degrees (both with distinction) – an LLM from the University of Pretoria and an MA from Amity University, India – as well as a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mauritius. She brings a wealth of experience from her work with civil society organisations, national human rights institutions, academia, media, regional human rights mechanisms, government agencies, the private sector, and donor partners. Her expertise spans programme development, project management, strategic litigation, advocacy, campaigns, research, and coalition building. Multilingual and a well-rounded facilitator, Lakshita is deeply committed to advancing transformative justice and fostering inclusive, rights-affirming social change across Africa and the Global South.