Farzana Hassan

Farzana Hassan Shahid is a writer and commentator on Islam and gender issues based in Canada. Originally from Pakistan, she was educated at Kinnaird College, Lahore and earned a masters degree in political science with first-class-first standing from Punjab University. She then proceeded to the United States to earn a Masters in Business administration from the University of Massachusetts. Her earlier career involved appointments at Pakistan?s Administrative Staff College, the Management Association of Pakistan and appointments in the U.S. textile sector. For the past five years she ahs been actively involved in ecumenical and interfaith dialogue and was the President of the pacifist group ’Muslims Against Terrorism’. She is also a published poet and leads a group of South Asian literati in the Toronto area and publishes frequently for national newspapers and magazines such as The Toronto Star, Islamic Horizons and The Ambition. She is also the author of a novel pertaining to human trafficking in South Asia entitled Echoes from the Abyss. For her efforts in promoting better relations between faiths, the National Christian-Muslim Liaison committee gave their annual service award to her in 2004. She has been a featured speaker at the Canadian Jewish Congress as well as the United Church of Canada. Media appearances include interviews with the BBC World Service, The Voice of America and Le Monde.

She is fluent in English, Urdu and has a working knowledge of Arabic and French. Her interests also extend to the fine arts and she has a college-level certification in classical piano from the American College of Student Musicians. Apart from her professional pursuits, Ms Hassan-Shahid is the mother of three children and is married to real estate developer Muhammd Shahid.

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