Devotion and Defiance: My Journey in Love, Faith and Politics

by Humaira Awais Shahid

An inspiring personal story by the most prominent Muslim woman activist and legislator for women’s rights in Pakistan.

In the fall of 2001, a newlywed English professor took on a job editing the “women’s section” of one of Pakistan’s leading Urdu newspapers. She soon transformed pages of celebrity gossip and fashion advice into a vehicle for the investigation of the true lives of Pakistani women. News of acid attacks on hapless women, the trading of girls as currency in tribal disputes, and other abuses transformed this young mother into a fiery advocate for women’s rights—one guided by Islamic ethics and ideals of social justice as she taught rural leaders to distinguish between religion and tribal custom. Her commitment to her countrywomen led her to a seat in the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, where she fought to protect women, girls, and the poor.

Humaira Awais Shahid’s extraordinarily warm and passionate voice provides remarkable insight into how Islamic values and ethics might yet be a vehicle for progressive change in the developing world.

Genres: Nonfiction

305 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 20, 2012

Reviews

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely one of the best autobiographies I've read of a Pakistani politician, or any politician for that matter. She does a great job of describing her efforts and telling her story without falling into the trap of describing herself as the one and only savior for Pakistan when everyone else was the problem. The book describes both her strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures, as well as complimenting those who helped her. It also has two great sections that explore some of the important social challenges facing Pakistan and South Asia, where she provides intimate details of the human perspective of some of these cases. It is a touching story with a heartbreaking but redemptive ending, which made it all the more interesting to me since she is the friend of a friend.

[Dennis Fischman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book after finishing Saadia Faruqi's collection of short stories, to get a nonfictional perspective on life in Pakistan. Shahid's book is just as narrative as fiction but more interesting because it tells stories about people who are still active in Pakistani politics today.

At times, I did wonder if Shahid was running for something. As a journalist and as a member of parliament, she is always on the right side of every fight, according to her own account. Her only disclosed weakness is that she puts her own health at risk fighting to end the treatment of women as property that can be exchanged to settle disputes among men. Not a terribly incriminating admission!

The book is lively, engaging, personal, and at the same time a much better insight into the workings of power in Pakistan than many academic accounts. Recommended.

[Imaduddin Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This memoir perfectly illustrates the merit of reserved seats for a protected group of people, elected through proportional representation. The elected politicians are not beholden to the vested and sometimes evil interests of constituents. They are free to push for reform, as Humaira Shahid so persistently did in the case for women, for the betterment of their protected people. She fought to illegalise usurious private moneylending that would result in the harvesting of organs or child marriage. She fought against child marriages to settle scores between families. She fought against violence by acid attacks.

This is an inspiring story of how the daughter of a tailor transformed into a university administrator, journalist and then elected official in Pakistan. When else would you hear of an editor who follows-up a Helpline with a resolve to find solutions to people's problems not only with pressure from publicity, but with legal fees for those being helped, and, moreover, legislative change?

She covers the events and practices of the naughties; a period I relate to most closely as I overlapped with her in Pakistan at this period, though I neither knew her or of her until we met at a conference at Harvard.

One thing I might change for a future edition: give uninitiated readers a preview of how the story ends. After the first 90 pages, I started reading the chapters from the back to understand where we were going.

[Daughters Of Abraham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daughters of Abraham! This book was a huge hit for our group. We had a fabulous discussion about life's trials that test our faith.
This book is more political than most that we choose. But, the story is both personal and political.
Over the course of this memoir, Humaira Awais Shahid becomes a wife, a journalist, mother, and a legislator. She questions her faith and she regains it. She stands for what she thinks is right, based on Islam.

Ms Shahid's causes seem like they are obviously right, by Western standards. They are also obviously right according to Islam. She has spent years seeking justice for abused women who are burned on stoves or by acid and women who are forced into marriage by their families. She makes progress in ending Pakistan's version of loan sharking.

A warning: Don't look at the pictures in the middle of the book until you are finished reading it. The pictures give biographical information and act as a spoiler about her personal life events.

[Rona · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Muslim friend of mine asked me to read this because Humaira Awais Shahid is a true Muslim. Over the course of this memoir, the author becomes a wife, a journalist, mother, and a legislator. She questions her faith and she regains it.She stands for what she thinks is right, based on Islam.

Ms Shahid's causes seem like they are obviously right, by Western standards. They are also obviously right according to Islam. She has spent years seeking justice for abused women who are burned on stoves or by acid and women who are forced into marriage by their families. She makes progress in ending Pakistan's version of loan sharking.

A warning: Don't look at the pictures in the middle of the book until you are finished reading it. The pictures give biographical information and act as a spoiler about her personal life events.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be a good read. Humaira Shahid's diligence in fighting for woman's rights as a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab in Pakistan should prove inspiring for all interested in human rights. Having to overcome politics and prejudice while being a mother, wife and newspaper columnist is an adventure in juggling that many business women should be able to relate. Her use of Islamic principles found in the Quran as inspiration is an interesting contrast to the popular perception that Islam limits the rights of women. I hope that she proves an inspiration to women in Muslim nations to stand boldly for human rights.

[Barry]

An academic Pakistani woman enters the legislature and discovers and fights a violent patriarchy.

I've also read these books by women from that part of the world.

The Favored Daughter: One Woman's Fight to Lead Afghanistan into the Future
by Fawzia Koofi

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced
by Nujood Ali

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
by Malala Yousafzai

[Fred Kohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems that all we ever hear in the West is how awful things are in Pakistan. That is why it was so refreshing for me to read this book. Sure, Pakistan has a lot of problems, but there are a lot of good people living there who love their country and are tackling those problems. Humaira Shahid is one.

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humaira Shahid is an amazing woman. As one of the first women appointed to the Punjab Provincial Assembly, she faced an overwhelming amount of prejudice and powerlessness. She fought long and hard for the rights of Pakistani women and against the practice of private money-lending. And during all of this she helped to run her husband's family newspaper the Daily Khabrain and raise her family.