Rafia Zakaria is an author, attorney and human rights activist who has worked on behalf of victims of domestic violence around the world.
Her new book, The Upstairs Wife: An Intimate History of Pakistan, tells the parallel stories of her family and country, while guiding the reader through the complicated aftermath of Pakistan’s shift toward a more conservative culture. Through her intimate and nuanced portrayal of Pakistani family life, Zakaria emphasizes the often unheard female voices of her country and uses her personal story to serve as a metaphor for Pakistan’s complex political state.
