Shahnaz Bukhari
Encyclopedia
Shahnaz Bukhari is a Pakistan
i clinical psychologist, and activist. She is founder and director of the non-governmental organisation, Progressive Women’s Association (PWA).
, Lahore
and returned to Pakistan in 1984 after living in Saudi Arabia
for seven years. While in Saudi Arabia, Bukhari worked as a private family counseling psychologist. Looking at her homeland with new eyes, she realized that "no one was providing services to the victims of violence." She initially began helping female victims of social and domestic violence, who have been subjected to rape, incest, battering and karo kari (honor killings), by founding the Progressive Women's Association (PWA) in 1985. In March 1994 she started taking on cases of acid and burn victims and mutilation of women, which she calls "plain murder" and as of early 2010 PWA, has counted over 8,000 victims since 1994 in Rawalpindi alone.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i clinical psychologist, and activist. She is founder and director of the non-governmental organisation, Progressive Women’s Association (PWA).
Education and work
She holds a Master's of Science from Punjab UniversityUniversity of the Punjab
University of the Punjab , colloquially known as Punjab University, is located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The University of the Punjab is the oldest and biggest University of Pakistan. The University of the Punjab was formally established with the convening of the first meeting of its...
, Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
and returned to Pakistan in 1984 after living in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
for seven years. While in Saudi Arabia, Bukhari worked as a private family counseling psychologist. Looking at her homeland with new eyes, she realized that "no one was providing services to the victims of violence." She initially began helping female victims of social and domestic violence, who have been subjected to rape, incest, battering and karo kari (honor killings), by founding the Progressive Women's Association (PWA) in 1985. In March 1994 she started taking on cases of acid and burn victims and mutilation of women, which she calls "plain murder" and as of early 2010 PWA, has counted over 8,000 victims since 1994 in Rawalpindi alone.
Activism
- Bukhari lobbied for the institution of all-female police stations in Pakistan and was successful in January 1994, under Prime Minister Benazir BhuttoBenazir BhuttoBenazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
- In 1999 she converted her family home in RawalpindiRawalpindiRawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
into Pakistan's first shelter home for battered women with children. AASRA accommodates 30 residents at a time. It has supported 150-120 women per year since it started in spite of police raids.
- Bukhari and the Progressive Women's Association have uncovered over 5,675 stove-death victims as part of the 16,000 cases they have documented of violence against women.
- Bukhari's work along with the Progressive Women’s Association was highlighted in the The National Geographic Channel's program Honor Killings by Michael Davie. In addition, Bukhari’s work with victims of burning and acid attacks was also documented by Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times, and she was named one of the 21 Leaders of the 21st Century by Women's eNewsWomen's eNewsWomen's eNews is a nonprofit online news service based in New York City. It publishes international news articles specializing in coverage of women's lives.- History :...
.
Controversy
In 2001, she was arrested and falsely accused by a sharia court for "abetting an attempt to commit adultery". In the case, after a woman fled the AASRA shelter seeking escape from her abusive husband, Bukhari was charged for failing to deliver the woman to the authorities. She was tried under nation's Sharia law and exonerated two years later. Bukhari remained undaunted and went on record saying: I am a born activist,"Threats
Since becoming an women's activist, Bukhari as well as her children have been the target of many threats and acts of terror aimed to discourage her from continuing her work. She describes her environment as hostile. Her private residence and shelter home for battered women have been raided by the police and sought shut down on many occasions, and she routinely receives death threats.Awards and recognitions
- May 20, 2004 - 21 Leaders for the 21st Century Award
- 2003 - Civil Courage PrizeCivil Courage PrizeThe Civil Courage Prize is a human rights award which is awarded to "steadfast resistance to evil at great personal risk — rather than military valor." It is awarded by the Trustees of The Train Foundation annually and may be awarded posthumously....
, New York-based Northcote Parkinson Fund