As part of Women's History Month, Fawzia Afzal-Khan of English,
an internationally known Islamic feminist and vocal performer, presented
"Bold and Beautiful: Acting Out as a Pakistani/American/ Muslim
Wo/Man," a multi-media lecture. The event included a performance
of parts of her play "Scheherazade Goes West," which appeared
in The Drama Review. She also sang Sufi songs and recited poetry
from her recently recorded CD.
Afzal-Khan has spoken in venues around the world, including the
University of New South Wales in Australia; the University of California
at Los Angeles and the Cairo Public Library in Egypt.
In November 2001, when novelist Salman Rushdie bemoaned the silence
of Muslim women in an article critiquing radical Islamist movements
published in The New York Times, Afzal-Khan responded in print
with "Here Are the Muslim Feminist Voices, Mr. Rushdie!"
Afzal-Khan was born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan. Winner for several
years of the Best All-Pakistan Classical Vocalist Award in the late
1970s, Afzal-Khan continues to perform and record North Indo-Pakistani
classical vocal music, as well as joining with others in the jazz and
Indian classical band she founded, The Neither East Nor West Ensemble.
She also has performed with the leading Pakistani alternative theatre
troupe Ajoka.