A culture 5,000 years in the making could disappear in less than 30.

Born in the UK to a Rajput Chib Pahari-speaking family from Mirpur (Jammu, Occupied by Pakistan), Refat Yasmeen operates at the intersection of postcolonial trauma, oral history, and inclusive storytelling. She is the author of Emna’s Journey, a children’s book series bringing to life the cultural identity and heritage of Mirpur, Bhimber, and Kotli.

As a disabled artist and researcher, she works without apology or limitation — turning lived experience into creative, academic, and community impact that reaches across borders.

Following a successful career in film, media, and business consultancy, Refat retrained as a mental health nurse — a decision inspired by first-hand experience of how one compassionate professional can transform lives within failing systems. This insight revealed a wider, urgent need: to address unrecognised trauma, safeguard cultural memory, and create systemic change.

Her mission is clear — to reclaim erased histories, amplify unheard voices, and deliver projects with measurable social impact. From publishing and theatre to academic research, each initiative is designed to be culturally rooted, socially relevant, and funder-ready.

Jammu’s heritage is vanishing — in the UK and in Jammu itself. We must act now.

The Jammuvī identity is disappearing. In the UK, mislabelling and language loss threaten to erase it from diaspora life. In Jammu, Pakistani government dam projects are flooding ancestral lands and destroying heritage.

Without urgent intervention, much of this culture — at home and abroad — will vanish within a generation.