Khalida Brohi was a teenager when she learned that her uncle had murdered her cousin to restore his family’s honor. Her cousin’s crime: falling in love with a boy who she wasn’t betrothed to marry.

Since 2008, Khalida has been working to end honor killings and domestic violence in the indigenous communities of Pakistan. Her work has led to raising awareness abroad and at home and pressuring the Pakistani government to close loopholes in the law that allowed men to get away with the murder and violence against women in the name of honor.

She also works in the villages to change the mindsets of men like her uncle and women like her grandmother. People whose dignity she must respect while helping them loosen the grip honor has had upon their sense of worth.
This conversation with Khalida Brohi, author of I Should Have Honor was recorded in a special episode at The Women’s Building in San Francisco as part of Inflection Point’s collaboration with Women Lit/Bay Area Book Festival.

When radio journalist Sarah Delia heard a story about the sexual assault of one of her listeners, “Linda” (not her real name), she knew it was a story that needed to be told. It’s also a story about how one survivor took matters into her own hands when the police department she turned to for help seemed to be failing to help her. And it’s a story about how our criminal justice system handles sexual assault cases nationwide--and what needs to change to make violence against women the exception rather than the status quo.

Sarah turned Linda’s story into a new investigative podcast series called “She Says”. Listen to our conversation about the courage it takes to tell your story of sexual assault--and keep telling it---until you are heard by someone who can help you get justice. And also--what it takes to be the person who takes on the “second-degree trauma” of listening to and reporting on stories of sexual assault.

To learn more about what to expect from the criminal justice system in cases of sexual assault--and how you can help advocate for better policies, you can check out these resources on the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN).

She Says also has a list of resources on their website.

And if you or someone you know is a victim of sexual assault and need to talk about it with someone, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-HOPE.

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