Photos by Caitlin Cunningham
When Urwa Hameed 鈥�22 was 12 years old and living in Pakistan, her teacher asked to speak with her father. Hameed鈥檚 first thought was 鈥淚鈥檝e done something bad,鈥� but it turned out that her teacher, a middle-aged Pakistani woman, needed legal advice, and Hameed鈥檚 father happened to be a lawyer who did pro-bono work from a tiny office in the village center. Hameed led her teacher there after class.
鈥淪he was a Quran teacher and believed in Islam very literally,鈥� Hameed recalled, 鈥渟o she told me, 鈥業鈥檓 not going to talk to him directly, I want you to translate all that I have to say.鈥欌��
The meeting was Hameed鈥檚 first introduction to how women navigate the legal landscape in Pakistan, a predominantly Muslim nation where traditional gender roles dictate most aspects of daily life. It led to her spending more and more time at her father鈥檚 office, serving as an intermediary between him and his female clients, many of whom were dealing with stolen inheritance or property. Most days, Hameed was one of the only women in the building, which housed social services for the entire village, but she felt very much in her element.聽
聽鈥淚 was very engaged in that work,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 found it very rewarding, very intimate鈥攊t was something I really enjoyed doing. So naturally, I wanted to do it when I grew up.鈥�
In December, Hameed will graduate from the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences with a degree in political science and international studies. Her experience has included many of the tried-and-true elements of college life鈥攕tudy sessions, research papers, karaoke parties鈥攂ut it鈥檚 also empowered Hameed to pursue a deeper understanding of the culture she grew up in, and begin establishing herself as a global advocate for immigrant and women鈥檚 rights.聽聽
A focus on education
Hameed grew up in Multan, a city in central Pakistan known for its plethora of Sufi shrines, in a house with no running water. Her family (Hameed is the eldest of four children) spoke multiple languages at home: Urdu, Punjabi (her father鈥檚 parents were from India), English, and Saraiki, the regional language.聽
Hameed鈥檚 father was passionate about education and sent Hameed to an elementary school located more than two hours from home. Later, dissatisfied with local options, he enrolled her in middle school in Islamabad, the nation鈥檚 capital, where she lived away from her family for three years.聽
In 2011, Hameed鈥檚 family moved to Connecticut, joining five of her father鈥檚 sisters who lived on the same street. Hameed has fond memories of her early teenage years, which were spent surrounded by extended family members who would drop by unannounced at all hours.
School administrators, unsure how to interpret her school paperwork from Pakistan, used standardized testing to determine Hameed鈥檚 grade level, and she became the youngest person in her ninth-grade class by three years. Undaunted, she thrived academically, graduating with a 4.0 GPA. At the age of 14, when most of her American peers were preparing to enter high school, Hameed was accepted at Boston College.
Looking back, Hameed feels she owes much of her success to her father, who emphasized her education and involved her in his work despite cultural pressures to do the opposite.聽
鈥淗e always really supported me, and he brought me into circles where no woman would normally be,鈥� Hameed said. 鈥淎 lot of that has to do with who I am today.鈥澛�