AMWRRIRaising Awareness Every Day
AMWRRIDate of Birth: 1972
Place of Birth: Pakistan
After a horrible tribal court decision decided Mukhtar Mai was to be raped by several men, she pursued justice and spoke out about her story. The story gained global media attention and the Pakistan Supreme Court awarded her compensation money. She founded the Mukhtar Mai Women’s Welfare Organization, an organization that works to stop rape, educate young girls, and raise awareness about women’s rights in local communities. The organization also provides shelter and aid for victims of violence in her village, Meerwala in the Punjab, one of the most remote areas of Pakistan.
Sources:
https://hrf.org/event_speakers_posts/mukhtar-mai/
https://virtuefoundation.org/project/mukhtar-mai-womens-rights-project/
Date of Birth: January 13th, 1968
Place of Birth: Jammu and Kashmir, India
Farah Pandith was the very first Special Representative to Muslim Communities for the United States Department of State. Appointed by Hillary Clinton during the Obama administration in 2009, she is responsible for engagement with Muslims at an organization level as well as a people-to-people level. Born in India but raised in Massachusetts, she also worked on the National Security Council during the Bush administration. She stopped working in the government in 2014 but continues to work towards ways to improve Muslim outreach.
Sources:
Ali, S. (2017, Dec 7). 10 American Muslim Women You Should Know. Retrieved from www.huffingtonpost.com/samina-ali/10-american-muslim-women-you-should-know_b_4413809.html
(2019, March 12). Farah Pandith. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farah_Pandith
Jeffries, S. (2015, Dec 8). The Muslims Who Shaped America-From Brain Surgeons to Rappers. Retrieved from www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/08/donald-trump-famous-muslims-us-history