It’s impossible not to be impressed by Humaira Awais Shahid. Raised in Kuwait but a long-time resident of Lahore, this Pakistani journalist has pushed her fierce advocacy of women’s rights through the media and parliament, in a country not always welcoming of the idea. Hearing her speak on issues of inequality—both gender-based and otherwise—she is eloquent and emotive.
Shahid has spent her career working to put women’s rights issues on the agenda in Pakistan. When she took on the job of editing the women’s section of the Daily Khabrain, the independent newspaper owned by her husband’s family, she emptied the pages of celebrity gossip and fashion tips, filling them instead with stories of the daily injustices suffered by women, from acid attacks to the trading of women to resolve disputes in rural areas. Later on, as a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, she pushed her fellow politicians—mostly male, and often deeply conservative—to back legislation that supported justice for women. She now represents 200 women’s organisations advocating for the adoption of the International Violence Against Women Act in America, which would see the US addressing global violence against women through foreign policy.
…Read the full article here on the Prospect website.
Jessica Abrahams 