The United States on Thursday honoured a Pakistani activist Shad Begum from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for her contribution to efforts towards improvement in the lives of women in conservative communities. First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton conferred the International Women of Courage award on Shad Begum at a ceremony, also attended by Pakistan's ambassador to the United States Sherry Rehman.
According to the citation, Shad Begum is a courageous human rights activist and leader who have changed the political context for women in the conservative district of Dir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. As founder and executive director of Anjuman Behbood-e-Khawateen Talash (the Union of Women's Welfare), Ms Shad provides political training, micro credit, primary education, and health services to women in the most conservative areas of Pakistan.
Ms Shad not only empowered the women of Dir to vote and run for office, she herself ran and won local seats in the 2001 and 2005 elections against local conservatives who tried to ban female participation. Despite recent calls for suicide attacks against her by local extremists, Ms Shad continues to work out of Peshawar to improve the lives of women in the communities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.