Review: I Should Have Honor: A Memoir of Hope and Pride in Pakistan by Khalida Brohi

Synopsis: From a young age, Khalida Brohi was raised to believe in the sanctity of arranged marriage. Her mother was forced to marry a thirteen-year-old boy when she was only nine; Khalida herself was promised as a bride before she was even born. But her father refused to let her become a child bride. He was a man who believed in education, not just for himself but for his daughters, and Khalida grew up thinking she would become the first female doctor in her small village. Khalida thought her life was proceeding on an unusual track for a woman of her circumstances, but one whose path was orderly and straightforward.

Everything shifted for Khalida when she found out that her beloved cousin had been murdered by her uncle in a tradition known as “honor killing.” Her cousin’s crime? She had fallen in love with a man who was not her betrothed. This moment ignited the spark in Khalida Brohi that inspired a globe-spanning career as an activist, beginning at the age of sixteen. From a tiny cement-roofed room in Karachi where she was allowed ten minutes of computer use per day, Brohi started a Facebook campaign that went viral. From there, she created a foundation focused on empowering the lives of women in rural communities through education and employment opportunities, while crucially working to change the minds of their male partners, fathers, and brothers.

This book is the story of how Brohi, while only a girl herself, shone her light on the women and girls of Pakistan, despite the hurdles and threats she faced along the way. And ultimately, she learned that the only way to eradicate the parts of a culture she despised was to fully embrace the parts of it that she loved.

Review: Having visited Pakistan in my early 20s, I eagerly requested this book from LibraryThing. I found story inspiring, but the writing a bit rough. Brohi is a strong, courageous woman who saw suffering and death in the lives of the women around her and chose to act, even against deadly opposition. Despite failures, Brohi forged ahead, and slowly saw change in her world. She started programs and created places of safety for women. She traveled the world, and grew as a person and an activist, learning from her mistakes, changing her ideas when they proved wrong, and growing as a person.
Despite the writing being simple and bit disjointed, the story itself is well worth reading. This will particularly be of interest to people who enjoy good news about the state of women across the globe and ways we can help each other.

Note: I received this book free via LibraryThing's Early Review Program, in exchange for my fair and honest opinion.

Bookmarks: 3.5 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-0-399-58801-3
Year Published: 2018
Date Finished: 10-16-18
Pages: 198