Farzana Bari

Farzana Bari is a Pakistani feminist, human rights activist and academic. She holds a prominent position in the field of gender studies through her extensive professional experience.

Early life and education

Bari was born on 7 March 1957. She pursued advanced studies in the United Kingdom to specialize in sociology. She earned a Ph.D. degree from the University of Sussex. Her doctoral thesis focused on the "Effects of Employment on the Status of Women within Family."

Career

Bari serves as a leading voice regarding women's rights in Pakistan. She possesses more than 25 years of academic and professional experience in gender studies. As an academic, she served as the director of the Gender Studies Department at Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad. She is also recognized as the founder of the first gender studies department at any university in Pakistan.

Her research interests include women's substantive representation in Pakistani politics. She provides policy advice and advocacy to support the economic, political and social empowerment of women. Bari writes frequently as a columnist for The Express Tribune and Daily Times Pakistan.

In the political arena, she has held significant leadership roles. She joined the Awami Workers Party (AWP) when it was formed in 2012. She served as a senior leader and vice president of the party. During the third central congress of the AWP in Lahore on 12-13 March, she was elected as the women secretary.

Bari uses her platform to advocate for justice and gender equality. She militates against the male-dominated system of jirgas. She also pleads for looser Islamic rules regarding the rights of women in Pakistan.

Her activism involves addressing several critical human rights issues. In 2013, she estimated that at least 11 million women could not vote because authorities failed to issue them national identity card numbers. In January 2014, she campaigned to reopen the Kohistan dancing video case. She claimed that the girls in the video were murdered after they danced at a wedding.

She has addressed severe cases of exploitation and violence. In August 2015, she spoke regarding 300 children who were sex slaves in Hussain Khan Wala Village from 2006 to 2014. In May 2016, she opposed a decision by the Islamic council that would allow husbands to "slightly" beat their wives. She described the council as "decadent."

Bari also challenges the legal frameworks surrounding violence against women. She raised her voice against honor killings throughout Pakistan. When the National Assembly of Pakistan outlawed honor killing in October 2016, she issued a warning. She noted that judges must first decide if a homicide is truly an honor killing—a process that could allow the law to be bypassed.

Personal life

There is no information available regarding her private life. Her public work remains centered on her academic and political contributions.