Biography 
During five years as a member of the Punjab Provincial Assembly, Humaira Shahid was known as one of the most “unmanageable” women in her country—a woman who wanted to make changes. She spoke out on behalf of victims of rape, honor killings, and other incidences of violence against women and children. Among her accomplishments were a resolution (passed unanimously) recognizing acid attacks on women and girls as attempted murder and a resolution against “vinni,” a customary practice in which women are bartered into virtual slavery in lieu of punishment for a crime committed by a family member. During a four-year legislative struggle that she fought to end the practice of usury, she was hounded by members of the mafia, who benefited from the law she sought to repeal. Ultimately, the law—which had allowed lenders to charge exploitative interest rates as high as 140 percent—was repealed despite opposition from the cabinet and administrative department of the province. After stirring debate throughout Pakistan, the legislation was replicated and adopted by the North-West Frontier Province Assembly. Ms. Shahid entered politics following a career in journalism that exposed her to social problems, particularly the oppression and discrimination facing women and children. She was editor of The Post, an English daily, from 2007 to 2009, and from 2000 to 2007 was editor of the women’s section of Daily Khabrain. Currently a scholar at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, Ms. Shahid is researching violence against women in the context of political Islam and tribal culture. (01.2010)
Read more about Humaira Shahid:
Violence Against Women is a Global Struggle
By Humaira Shahid and Ritu Sharma,
Boston GlobeFebruary 6, 2010