Zainah Anwar

Zainah Anwar is a kick-ass women’s rights activist who relentlessly challenged the ways state authorities and non-state actors use and abuse Islam to justify discrimination against women. She grew up with an utter belief that God is just and Islam is just. As political Islam took root in Malaysia, she became outraged at how men in authority conveniently and wilfully invoked God to resist women’s demands for change, and to delegitimise and silence such women by labelling them as anti-God, anti-Islam and anti-Shariah. This led her to co-found two groundbreaking women’s groups that engage with Islam from a rights-based perspective,  to promote equality and justice for women living in Muslim contexts.

In 1987, she co-founded Sisters in Islam in Malaysia and was its founding Executive Director from 1999-2008. In 2009, she co-founded Musawah, the global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family, and became its founding Executive Director. She stepped down in 2021, and now chairs the Musawah Board.

Zainah has received several awards, including the 2019 United Nations Malaysia Award for advancing  Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the 2018 Harvard Law School award as one of the top  25 “Women Inspiring Change” globally in the areas of law and policy. She was named by Newsweek and The Daily Beast as one of the 150 women “who shake the world”,  by Women Deliver as one of 100 most inspiring people in championing the rights of women and girls, and was recognised by the online International Museum of Women as one of the 10 leading Muslim women at the global level. 

In retirement, Zainah spends much of her time watching movies, diving, walking, and churning ice-cream.

See All Speakers