Humaira Awais Shahid Fights for Women’s Rights in Pakistan

We're rebroadcasting an interview from March with Humaira Awais Shahid, a leading women's rights activist in Pakistan. When took on a job editing the “women’s section” of one of Pakistan’s leading Urdu newspapers in 2001, she transformed it from celebrity gossip and fashion advice to an investigation into lives of Pakistani women—including stories of acid attacks on women, the trading of girls as currency in tribal disputes, and other abuses. Shadid tells how her commitment to women led her to a seat in the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, where she advocated for the rights of women, girls, and the poor. In her book Devotion and Defiance: My Journey in Love, Faith and Politics, she looks at how Islamic values and ethics can be used as a vehicle for progressive change in the developing world.

This interview originally aired March 25, 2014.