A Brief Profile of Dr. Fouzia Saeed

Dr. Fouzia Saeed, a social scientist with a PhD from the University of Minnesota, is the author of “Taboo! The Hidden Culture of a Red Light Area,” based on 8 years of field research among the red light area of Lahore in Pakistan.

She had been working as an Executive Director of National Institute of Folk and Traditional heritage (Lok Virsa), being a cultural activist for a long time. She has transformed the institute into a vibrant hub of cultural activity.

Dr. Saeed is well known in the activist circles of Pakistan’s social movement, having worked for decades on women’s issues especially those linked to violence against women, prostitution, women in the entertainment business, women’s mobility and sexual harassment. Her work on violence against women spans over 20 years and includes founding the first women’s crisis center in Pakistan in 1991. Her earlier work with the Pakistani Culture Institute led to the book, Women in Folk Theater.