Honoured: Survival, Strength and My Path to Politics

By the age of five, Naz Shah was used to the sight of her father beating her mother. At six, her father left the family for a teenage neighbour. At twelve, she was sent to Pakistan for protection from her mother's new abuser, only to be forced into marriage at the age of fifteen. Within a couple of years, her mother would be in prison, jailed for murdering the man who had subjected her to years of physical and sexual torture, and Naz and her two younger siblings would be left to fend for themselves. For years, Naz campaigned alongside Southall Black Sisters for her mother's release and was instrumental in achieving a reduction in her life sentence. Sustained by the ever-increasing strength of her Islamic faith and guided by its values of justice and compassion, she found purpose in the fight for her family and for others who had been silenced. In 2015, she was elected to Parliament, overturning George Galloway's majority to win back Bradford West for the Labour Party in one of the most momentous battles of the campaign. In serving the very community that once turned its back on her, she has transformed betrayal into leadership. In Honoured, Naz reveals how growing up against almost impossible odds lit the fire that still drives her today. This is the unflinching account of a young British Muslim woman coming of age and discovering the power of her own voice. An inspiring story of survival, faith and political awakening, it charts the making of an activist determined to speak out, stand up and claim space in a world that rarely offers it. Read more