June 17

I Should Have Honor (2018)
By Khalida Brohi

Raised in Baluchistan province, Pakistan, Khalida is one of those rare girls whose father believes in girls' education.  Her father himself is the only one among several sons to go to school and becomes a journalist and an activist.  Khalida's young cousin Khadja is killed by her uncle for running away with a boy at age 14, and Khalida has found her calling.  She works to end this tradition of killing women for (from the men's perspective) bringing dishonor to the family.  In Khadja's case, she had refused to marry at a young age and be compelled to a life of servitude.  (Khalida's own mother was forced into marriage with her father at the age of 9.)  Khalida starts "Sughar" to give girls and women the power to overcome oppression; her organization grows beyond Khalida's own province to have branches throughout Pakistan.  Khalida efforts to fund Sughar brings grants from various international organizations, and she eventually comes to the US, where she meets her future husband David.  Only 28 years old at this writing, Khalida has accomplished much as a young woman and one hopes that her efforts through Sughar will result in many young women finding fulfillment in education and later marriages.